secondment to nursing

chella

Hi I have applied for a job as a hca, the job description said that hcas were encouraged and would be supported with a secondment to nursing. Can someone tell me what this involves.

I am worried if I do get the job I wont get to uni as I do not have enough gcses, I failed maths.

Or would uni accept me as I would have been employed at a hospital and would have hands on experience. Does this count or is it all about the gcse marks?

If anyone has been there done it,I would be grateful to hear how you got on.

WLC

As far as I was aware, they stopped seconding nurses due to funding/cutbacks, but there may be some that still are.

I'm a nurse, although not currently practicing. When I got into it, I completed the Access Course first, which helps you get the credits required for uni. Then I completed my nursing degree. The Access Course really helped prepare me for uni, with the assignments etc.

Not sure about secondments though, I would speak to the employer and ask whether this is a possibility and how you personally would go about it

Person_one

I'm currently a student nurse, on secondment from my HCA job.

I'm afraid you won't get onto any nursing degrees without GCSE maths or the equivalent.

However, many trusts wouldn't second you straightaway anyway, you'd have to work for them for a while, possibly gaining an NVQ, and then apply for a secondment later on.

If nursing is what you want to do, I'd look into getting your maths GCSE at a local college while you get your experience as a HCA, or maybe even doing an Access to Nursing course if you can work your shifts around it.

Why do you think you failed your maths? How old are you? Are you confident you could pass it if you put your mind to it and studied? Do you have English and Science GCSEs?

chella

Thanks for the reply, I did do an access course at college but my maths was so far behind I couldn't keep up. 3 different tutors tried to teach me, I just cannot understand algebra and divisions, numbers jump around , I feel very very stupid.

I am an HCA, I have completed drugs training, and in my job I am fine with the maths that's involved , but I couldn't hack the maths at college.

Actually getting this job has given me confidence with regards to numbers, they do scare me, but this job and its training has made me feel a whole lot better, I will look into doing my gcse via adult education, its difficult though, with so many different shifts and never knowing when the new rota is coming out.

Person_one

Have a look at this, how does it make you feel? Do you think you could get to grips with this kind of thing?

http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursing-practice/clinical-zones/prescribing/drug-calculations/203545.article

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you really do need a reasonable grasp of numbers to be a nurse. Its not that the formulas required are particularly complicated, most drug calcs are actually pretty strightforward out in practice, its the potential consequences if you make mistakes. Most nursing degrees require higher pass rates for drug calculation exams than all other exams/assignments.

Mrs_Ryan

I've just done Edexcel Level 2 Basic Skills Maths as part of my Advanced Apprenticeship and this is equal to GCSE Maths and an accepted alternative to GCSE Maths. I have dyscalculia and I passed this easily. When I began my nurse training previously I was accepted by one of the top universities in the country without C grades in either Maths or Science so it is possible.

Dunroamin

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

I've just done Edexcel Level 2 Basic Skills Maths as part of my Advanced Apprenticeship and this is equal to GCSE Maths and an accepted alternative to GCSE Maths. I have dyscalculia and I passed this easily. When I began my nurse training previously I was accepted by one of the top universities in the country without C grades in either Maths or Science so it is possible.

Not all universities will accept this as an alternative to GCSE Maths, which might explain why you're having problems getting a university place. (Apologies if I'm confusing you with someone else.)

Things have tightened up considerably in the last few years and it's now much harder to get into university for nursing (fortunately) so I agree with PI that this is a problem that the OP is going to need to address.

milliemonster

I am a nurse and completed my return to practice 3 years ago after being out for a few years, I find it a little odd that you say you completed drugs training as part of your HCA? HCAs routinely do not have anything to do with drugs in a hospital setting so I'm not sure what that is, but anyway, the NMC now have set drugs calculation exams at a pass rate of 100% this means whatever nursing course you apply for, you have to achieve 100% in the maths exam to pass, this is to get on the nursing course and also to pass it at the end, so your maths has to be top notch to be honest.

I disagree that drug calculations are pretty simple, some of the drugs we work with in cardiology are quite complicated to work out (mcgs/kg/min) and have the potential to cause catastrophic problems if infusion rates based on these formulas are calculated incorrectly (I am thinking of iv amiodarone, tirofiban etc here) also paediatrics, so I understand wholeheartedly why these exams are set at the rate they are now.

Whether people like it or not, there is much more now to being a registered nurse than handing out a few pills, writing care plans and making beds, being a fantastic HCA does not always equate to being a competent nurse (and vice versa) the roles of each are very different, nursing course providers have to select the students they feel are going to be most successful at passing the course, so having a minimum standard at gcse level is a must.

Andy_L

chella wrote: »

Hi I have applied for a job as a hca, the job description said that hcas were encouraged and would be supported with a secondment to nursing. Can someone tell me what this involves.

Once you've been an HCA for a few years (and demonstrated promise) they will send you off to "nurse school" to qualify as a nurse on the proviso that you do your practical stuff at that hospital and, usually, agree to work as a nurse for them for x years after graduating.
Unlike someone doing the course on their own they will continue to employ you, and thus pay your salary, rather than you receiving the nursing bursary

Person_one

Andy_L wrote: »

Once you've been an HCA for a few years (and demonstrated promise) they will send you off to "nurse school" to qualify as a nurse on the proviso that you do your practical stuff at that hospital and, usually, agree to work as a nurse for them for x years after graduating.
Unlike someone doing the course on their own they will continue to employ you, and thus pay your salary, rather than you receiving the nursing bursary

Except that they don't 'send you', you have to go through the same application process as everybody else, and then apply separately to the trust for your secondment after you've got an offer.

You don't necessarily do all your placements at your employer's hospital either, just a minimum of around 40-50% depending on the uni/trust. There's no guarantee of a job there after graduating either, you apply like anybody else.

You do remain employed and still get your salary rather than the bursary though, that bit's correct.

Mrs_Ryan

Nope all the unis I applied to stated they accepted my qualification, I think it's something else entirely which is stopping me getting in but that's another story :mad: how is it fortunate that now only very bright students are making it onto the nursing course? Some of the top courses want qualifications on a par with a medicine course which personally I think is ridiculous. I also think that those who could potentially make very good nurses are being denied while I personally think that the course is spawning too many of the 'too posh to wash' brigade. I'm not a bright spark but I'm not stupid and it frustrates me greatly that because I didn't get straight A grades fifteen years ago that I can't get a chance!