Nursing Career - Diploma/Degree?

DonkeyKong77

klaw3 wrote:

If she works for a hospital Trust that is working in partnership with the Open University she may be able to apply for a secondment to do a nursing diploma and get paid a monthly wage at a healthcare assistant rate instead of a bursary. This route would take 4 years. She could then top up her credits to gain the degree if she wanted to at a later date independantly. Degrees are usually required for senior roles in nursing.

never thought of that route at all. How do i find the trusts that work in partnershi with OU (i will check the OU website to see if there's any info on there). She is wanting to top-ip/eventuially end up with a degree at the end and i think she is a bit fearful of the academia level required, so her way is probably safer to her.

kirstyme

hiya

In reply to the first post,

I am currently a staff nurse who qualified with a diploma! At the end of the day we all do exactly the same job and get teh same pay so I decided the idea of ending earlier and doing the same job appealed to me!

I qualified 4 years ago when you could do the degree over 4 years or diploma over 3years! After qualifying from a diploma you are only 3 modules short to obtain your degree!

So 4years on Im now back at uni part time doing my degree! I did a module through my work which they funded so I now only have 2 modules to pay for! Im half way through my current module which Im doing online!

So Id recommend the diploma route! Nearer the time, your sister can decide if she wants to pick up the degree course and can study both at the same time, or after finishing the degree you can stay at uni for a further 3months to do your diploma, you could also do bank work etc cause she'll then be a qualified nurse or like me she can take a break from studying and go back in a few years time!

There is no employment benefits for me doing the degree, it is for personal development Im currently doing it!

DonkeyKong77

Hello

Srry to bump this thread up, but thought i'd ask for even more advice...

Well she applied for advanced deiploma courses i think, and has a couple of interviews lined up, one at Manchester and another at Sheffield Hallam i think.

Any tips, advice experiences most welcome, she has her clothes situation organised at least :rolleyes:

kitty123

Hi,
I don't know if this is still a dilemma, but I thought I would reply anyway.

I started my nursing training in 1997 and began and advanced diploma at Bournemouth University. I don't know if they still run this course, but I think they probably do. For various reasons I transferred back to a university near my home and ended up doing the usual diplma because I wasn't allowed to ugrade to the degree in those days.

However, I am in the process of finishing my part time degree 6.5 years post qualifying! With the university I am with you are given a maximum of 4 years (post qualification) to complete your 120 credits at level 3 (i.e the third year of a degree). I didn't begin my degree straight after I qualified which is why I am still studying now.

Personally I think this has been quite beneficial. Not only did I get paid a bursary as a student so I wasn't skint, but I have had to study again as a qualified nurse. I think it keeps your academic abilities flowing and you can often choose to obtain a flexible degree by studying modules that interest you. It is very beneficial to updating your nursing practice because you are also working at the same time.

I have been lucky enough to have most modules funded by my employer, so it has not cost me anything other than a lot of my evenings and weekends! I have also had do take some holiday to attend the study days as I cannot expet to be released from work every week. (I work full time in the community).

It seems as though nursing is moving towards a degree profession, so I think whichever route you choose you should make sure you get your degree one way or another.

Good luck!

Degeneratemoo

I have yet to meet a nurse in the workplace that actually has the degree... if it is moving to a degree only career there are going to be a lot of nurses that will have to do a lot of work!

Helen_E_3

DonkeyKong77 wrote: »

Hello

Srry to bump this thread up, but thought i'd ask for even more advice...

Well she applied for advanced deiploma courses i think, and has a couple of interviews lined up, one at Manchester and another at Sheffield Hallam i think.

Any tips, advice experiences most welcome, she has her clothes situation organised at least :rolleyes:

Sorry this will probably be too late but I'm at Sheffield Hallam at the moment but on the degree course. I'm only in my first year but if she would like any advice about the course at Sheffield i'd be happy to help if I can!

DonkeyKong77

i am lovin the goodwill on this board!

She went to Sheffield last week i think, meant her gettin up at 5:15am to get there for 9 :eek: , but as she went to the interview at Manchester beforehand, she was probably more relaxed for Sheffield, even though this was meant to be a 4 hour krypton factor-esque interview. It'd be fair to say she didn't like the process, but she liked the interview part and the uni in general.

She hears back from them next week most probably.

Her first choice is Manchester(location and money reasons), and it was a straight interview with a couple of staff (one nurse i think). Apparently, she impressed them, but in a convuluted way, they are asking her to do GCSE Maths again , even though she has the grades to be offered a place. The c-grade she has in Maths is a low-C, i personally don't get it, as they say NMAS will send her a rejection letter - as NMAS have a deadline for 25th May and she wont have received a successful letter from Manchester...........confused? i am :rolleyes:

I keep telling her to clarify this with Manchester, and trust she will. I'd rather they send her an acceptance letter and then she can re-do GCSE maths again if they want her to.

They say she wont have to go through clearing, but will just have to wait and see.

Helen_E_3

Sheffield's interviews are terrible! I didn't apply for the nursing course (transferred very early!) but had one for Radiography and I really didn't like it...felt that they were just going through a process and not looking at the real me. The one to one interviews were far better in my opinion.

I can't really understand why your sister would need to retake maths GCSE as I have a C in maths (not sure if it's a high or low one though) and was taken no problems at all

I really hope that your sister gets in at Manchester and enjoys the course, it is hard work but worth it.

Lady_K

Does anyone here know what happens when youve done the 3 years advanced diploma with regards to finance if you do the degree part in 6 months full time? I thought it was online is the 6 months still online?

My daughters on the advanced diploma now and shes saying she wants to get the degree bit done in the 6 months full time rather than 12 months part time. Its just does she get any help from uni or anything? she couldnt claim jobseekers as she has to be available for work

And does it make any difference if she does it over 12 months?

Oldernotwiser

Degeneratemoo wrote: »

I have yet to meet a nurse in the workplace that actually has the degree... if it is moving to a degree only career there are going to be a lot of nurses that will have to do a lot of work!

There's no reason why this couldn't happen. Teaching became a graduate only profession early in the 70s and most teachers only had a Cert Ed. The rapid development of the OU was largely caused by teachers topping up to a degree.