News: Our Access to Nursing students tell us what becoming a nurse means to them.
We’re proud to support the next generation of nursing professionals and enable our students to take the next step in their career with our wealth of career focused courses. To celebrate International Nurses Day, we spoke to some of our aspiring nurses who our studying our Access to Nursing and Midwifery course to find out what becoming a nurse means to them.
Jonny joined our Access to Nursing and Midwifery course last year and aspires to work in adult nursing. After working in a completely different industry for the past 20 years, he returned to education so he could fulfil his ambition of a career change and enter the world of nursing.
I have been a plasterer for over 20 years and decided I wanted a career change. Studying an Access course is giving me the opportunity to start a rewarding career and give me a second chance to try something new. I am hoping to start my nursing degree later this year and because of studying my Access course I now hold conditional offers at The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University for a nursing degree.
— – Jonny, Access to Nursing student.
“When I was at school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I got a job with a building company and 20 years later I’m still in the industry. I always thought in the back of my mind I wanted to try something new and had been considering it for a few years, now I have finally taken the plunge.
“Being a plasterer has helped in more ways that I thought. Having been self-employed for several years and being in a customer facing job, I’ve got excellent communication skills and a good understanding of what people want and need. I’m looking forward to starting a rewarding job that has a sense of giving back.” – Jonny, Access to Nursing student.
Our Access courses offer a fast-track route to university level study for those who don’talready hold the necessary qualifications. If you want to pursue a career in adult, child or mental health nursing, midwifery or other health professions, then our Access to Nursing and Midwifery course will put you on the right track.
For Lauren and Teegan, they assumed when they didn’t get the A Level results they had hoped for, that they wouldn’t be able to achieve their dreams of becoming nurses. However, for Lauren, enrolling onto the access course was the best decision she ever made and Teegan was able to reignite the prospect of achieving her dream career again.
I’ve always wanted to become a nurse but unfortunately didn’t do very well in my A Levels. I felt unable to achieve my dreams and lost a lot of confidence in myself. Studying an Access course has been perfect for me and it’s the best decision I have ever made and becoming a nurse means everything to me. Nurses are incredible and being able to be a part of different journeys, meeting different people and trying to be a positive Impact in all the lives I come across will be so rewarding.
— Lauren Horan, Access to Nursing and Midwifery.
“My goal is to graduate university as an adult nurse but want to specialise in postpartum nursing to help mothers after birth.
“From personal experience the teachers I have had the privilege of meeting restored my confidence and the belief in myself that I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it.” – Lauren Horan, Access to Nursing and Midwifery.
I completed my A Levels in 2021 but didn’t do very well. After being told repeatedly that I would never be able to get into a nursing/midwifery degree I began to give up on getting my dream career. My confidence in myself was completely knocked and I lost all faith in my abilities. My friend recommended the access course so I applied and was offered a place. Although I was scared because I still did not believe in myself enough, I was excited and it reignited the prospect of achieving my dream career again.”
— Teegan Harrison Goodger, Access to Nursing and Midwifery
“It felt like a one in a million chance (as cheesy as that sounds!) that I had been waiting for which resulted in me being able to go on and achieve this level 3 qualification which got me an offer to study my dream degree at my dream university.” — Teegan Harrison Goodger, Access to Nursing and Midwifery
Whilst Helen Branson was at school she didn’t enjoy learning so decided to return to education as an adult learner. She was inspired to enter into a nursing career after working in the caring profession and is due to start her Adult Nursing degree at the University of Derby in September.
I was never a keen learner at school so knew that to get the qualifications I needed to study at University I’d need to enter as an adult learner. I’ve completed care work within a charity setting and obtained a plethora of transferable skills. Applying these skills to nursing means I’ll be making a difference in a different way. My goal once I qualify is to specialise in neonatal intensive care nursing so I can walk through a family’s tough journey with them and support them when they are at their most vulnerable.
— Helen Branson , Access to Nursing and Midwifery
Our Access courses are designed to give you the skills you need to approach and complete university level study and our Access to Nursing and Midwifery covers many useful subjects that will give you a solid understanding of the concepts you’ll need to study a nursing or midwifery related degree at university.
Considering a rewarding healthcare career and want to study on an Access course? Our learners share their top tips:
If you’re wanting to join us on an Access to Nursing and Midwifery course in 2022 we have courses starting this September at our City Hub and Basford campuses.
You can apply online in a matter of minutes and funding options are also available and many of our learners use an Advanced Learner Loan to fund their studies — if you progress onto a Higher Education Course on completion of your Access Course, your Advanced Learner Loan is written off, meaning you can study your Access Course for free!
If you’re aged 19 – 23 and it’s your first full Level 3 course, then you may not have to pay fees for an Access to HE Diploma.
Don’t hesitate to sign up! Ask lots and lots of questions, the tutors are there for you and there is no such thing as a daft question. It is possible to complete this course with a young family, but time management is key. Every assignment and piece of work is valuable and helps towards your end goal – make sure you set the time aside to complete it thoroughly.
— Helen Branson.
The course is demanding but worth it! Make sure you’re organised before the course begins and if you can, spend some time brushing up on biology.
— Jonny
Time flies by so take in every single day. I have no doubt this course will change your life as its changed mine. Listen to the advice and feedback of your teachers as they really do want the best for you. You will get out of the course what you want, as long as you put the effort in and there is a lot of support available if you need it.
— Lauren Horan
For any future students wanting to join the access to nursing and midwifery course my biggest piece of advice would be, to do it! If you are passionate about perusing a future career like nursing or midwifery, and you are willing to put in as much work as you possibly can in order to do so then I would 100% say to apply for the course.
— Teegan Harrison Goodger.
Access Courses at Nottingham College:
If you’re aged 19+ and want to study for a university-level course but don’t have the necessary qualifications, then our Access to Higher Education (HE) courses could be a great choice for you! Funding to study an Access course is available and if you use an Advanced Learner Loan to fund your Access course and progress onto a Higher Education course, you don’t have to repay your loan!
It is our goal to help you begin your journey to a new career and we do all we can to ensure that the transition to full-time education runs as smoothly for you as possible.
We create a relaxed environment for all our students, as we believe that this helps inspire learning. You will have the chance to join like-minded people on our Access courses, in a mature environment with supportive tutors.
Published on:
- 12th May 2022 (11:41 AM)
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