Training to be a nurse help

pennyshahin_2

Hi I'm hoping for some help here please, I'm currently writing a book where one of the characters is currently at school and she wants to be a nurse , she currently 14, what would the path for her to follow be please, would she have to go uni, or on a placement and what qualifications would she need any help gratefully received thanks

londonirish_3

first is pre access course at college, then access to nursing at college one year , then on to 3 years at uni tht x

londonirish_3

on pre access no qualifications needed, thats what pre access is for , you go on placements when you get to uni

Lil_Me_2

Or you just get 5 GCSE and go on to do 3 years at uni doing a Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE) or get A-levels and do 3 years at uni doing a BSc or a BA (depends on university whether they class nursing as a science or an art, most say science).

Once at uni it's 50% theory and 50% practical spent on placements working alongside registered nurses.

http://studentnurse.org.uk/forum/index.php is a great forum to see what going on with Student Nurses and the type of problems they encounter. Depends how in depth your book is going to go really, most student nurses are 18+ so it's a long way off for your character.

augustsmummy

Or do as I did and do GCSEs, then 2 years at college doing A levels in random subjects and then go to uni and do the DipHe .
You have to be 18 and over to do the DipHe.
Your character could do Health and social care at college then the DipHe (as many of my friends who knew what they wanted to be from the start did).

pennyshahin_2

Thanks to everyone who responded that's a great help.

pennyshahin_2

If you got 5 O'levels and left school at 16 and went on to higher education-would you do a placement then.

Lil_Me_2

Yes. In order to be a nurse you have to go to university and as part of that you will complete a variety of placements. So EVERYONE does placements (more than one!). I did 7 different placements, but it varies by university.

A few other points - you wouldn't be able to leave school at 16 with O'levels - it's GCSEs now. Secondly you can't go into Higher Education to do a DipHE until you're 18 years old, so you'd have time to fill here.

Lil_Me_2

Also, on a side note, the DipHE is being phased out, and as of Sept 2013 will no longer be offered, so you'll need to factor this in if your character is going to uni in "the future" or if you're going to leave the timescales empty.

pennyshahin_2

I think that I won't go into to much detail., I think that I'll say that when she's 16 she's going onto college to do a health and social care course then the diphe when she's 18 would that work. Could she do a placement while doing a levels?

Caroline73_2

No teenager in their right mind should consider the diphe. Nursing is moving towards all degree level registration.

A levels then straight into degree would be easiest option. Placements aren't part of a levels, she would be highly unlikely to get a hospital placement unless doing a nursing registration course.