Study Guide: Nursing
Introductions
If you have the misfortune of ending up in hospital, you’ll spend more time with a nurse than a doctor. Doctors swoop in to diagnose problems or sew things back together (shudder), but they’re usually gone as soon as the job’s done. On the other hand, your nurse will be with you before, during and after your treatment to make sure you’re doing okay. Now, we’re not trying to start a ‘who’s better?’ argument here – it’s just that doctors and nurses have two very different job descriptions. A nurse is wholly concerned with a patient’s care, which involves monitoring recovery, making sure patients are comfortable, and administering medicine (yes, that means jabs). They’ll also answer questions, calm fears and ease a patient’s worries – and if you’re in hospital, this could be a saving grace.
Different disciplines
We know that nurses care for sick people. But with so many types of people and sicknesses out there, nurses must specialise in a certain area. Here are just a few of them:
Mental Health Nursing. Did you know that almost one in three people have a mental illness at some point of their life? Mental health nurses work alongside GPs, psychiatrists and pyschologists to help care for patients. Most care is given in patients’ homes or in specialist clinics.
Children’s Nursing. This area of nursing deals with children of all ages who’re suffering from many conditions – from babies born with heart complications to teenagers with broken limbs. It’s an important job, because health problems can affect a child’s development. Children’s nursing can take place in hospitals, day care centres, child health clinics and in the child’s home.
Practice Nursing. Practice nurses work in GP surgeries as part of a primary care team that includes doctors, nurses and pharmacists – in a smaller practice, they could be the only nurse on duty. Many of these nurses organise and run clinics, and some progress on to become nurse practitioners who handle their own set of patients, much like doctors.
Healthcare Assistants. These people work with nurses, midwives and other health care professionals to help look after patients’ comfort and well-being. They could be working in clinics, hospitals or in patients’ homes.
Neonatal Nursing. These nurses work with babies who’re born sick or prematurely. Often, these babies require specialised feedings and constant monitoring.
The skills
As a nurse, you’ll need excellent people skills. While caring for patients of all ages and backgrounds, you’ll have to put them at ease, gain their confidence and be sympathetic to their problems and fears. Good observation skills are crucial to monitoring a patient’s progress and you’ll also need to be able to communicate with patients, their family members and other healthcare professionals. Finally, nursing can be both physically and emotionally challenging, so you’ll need to be hardworking and able to handle situations of crisis and distress.
Ways in
Nurses must hold a degree or diploma in Nursing. The good news is that the NHS offers bursaries and financial help to those registering onto Nursing degree courses.
Diploma. Studying for a diploma of higher education (DipHE) in Nursing will get you an academic and professional qualification. Study generally lasts three years and involves a mixture of theory and supervised nursing practice in both the community and hospital settings.
Degree. Study is 50% supervised nursing practice and 50% theory. Most programmes last three years although some can last four. At the end of it, you’ll be awarded a Bachelor of Science (Bsc).
Armed Forces. The Armed Forces sponsor degree study for student nurses in exchange for service. In addition to course work, you’ll receive basic training.
Qualifications
Entry requirements for both diploma and degree courses typically require five GCSEs grades A-C (including Maths and English) or a combination of A Levels, AS and GCSEs. Generally, it’s a good idea to take A Levels in Biology, Psychology and other Science courses. Equivalent BTEC certificates and NVQs are also accepted. Each course has its own specific requirements, which you can check on the UCAS website (www.ucas.com).
Most higher education institutions will be interested in your personality and life experiences. Have you ever cared for an elderly grandparent? Babysat? Volunteered your time with disabled people? These are all desirable experiences for a future nurse to have. If you’re eager to start, you can sometimes work as a healthcare assistant without any formal qualifications, then eventually pursue a degree or diploma.
The jobs
With nursing, there’s plenty of room for advancement and pay raises. Starting out as a clinical support nurse in a hospital, you could be earning around £12,500, depending on your location. (Nurses working in high cost areas like London will earn up to 15% more on their salaries.) Registered nurses command salaries around £20,000 - £24,000 and team leaders and managers will earn around £35,000. At the top of the pile, nursing consultants can earn salaries in excess of £70,000. As you progress up the ladder, roles tend to become more supervisory and less involved with the day-to-day of patient care.
Nursing is a rewarding job, but it can also be a tough one. People get sick 24 hours a day and it’s likely that you’ll have to work night and weekend shifts to help care for them. On the other hand, the demand for nurses is high, all around the world. As a qualified nurse, you’ll have the opportunity to work anywhere from North America to South Africa. Similarly, there will always be jobs here at home and plenty of room for promotion.
More info
www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/nursing.shtml
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