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A Career That Really Makes a Difference

As a qualified nurse you could be helping someone recover from an operation; encouraging someone to live life independently in the community; enabling someone with a mental illness to come to terms with the voices in their head or bringing a crash victim back from the verge of death. Nursing covers a range of activities that few other professions can match.

It's a demanding job with serious responsibility. In return, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you make a real difference to the quality of people’s lives.

With more experience you could be managing a busy hospital ward with a budget the size of a small business. You could be helping to push back the frontiers of nursing practice in your chosen specialism.  All the while, the NHS will support you as you continue to develop your patient caring skills in an environment where no two days are ever quite the same.

There are no national minimum entry requirements for entry into nursing and midwifery as each higher education institution (HEI) set it’s own criteria. However, these are generally around five GCSEs or equivalent at grade C or above in English language or literature and a science subject for a diploma programme and 5 GCSEs plus two A’ levels or equivalent for a degree programme. All applicants must be able to demonstrate evidence of literacy, numeracy and good character.

The NHS is the largest employer of nurses in England.  But there are other organisations which you could consider once  you’re qualified such as the prison service, armed forces, voluntary and independent sectors.

NURSE SPECIALISMS

Nursing is organised into four specialisms or "branches". During the first year of your course you will be introduced to all of these specialisms as part of the Common Foundation Programme. In the second and third years you will focus on the branch you choose.

Adult nurses

Adult Nurses are primarily concerned with nursing sick and injured adults back to health in both hospital and community settings or caring for them until they die.

Children's nurses

Care for sick children and provide support to their families in both hospital and community settings or caring for them until they die.

Mental health nurses

Care for people with mental health problems in hospitals and in the community, helping patients to overcome their ill health, or to come to terms with it, so they can lead as normal a life as possible.

Learning disability nurses

Work with people with learning disabilities to help them become as independent as possible and to live within the community.

There are many opportunities for nurses to work once they have qualified and gained relevant experience. Many of these will require further study but you will certainly find an area that particularly interests you.  They include practise nursing; district nursing; school nursing; and health visiting.

You can find out more about nursing or any of the many other careers in the NHS at www.nhscareers.nhs.uk or call 0845 60 60 655.

CASE STUDIES

PROFILE:  MICHAEL EMMANUEL ADDO-BOATENG

(AGE 26)

ASSOCIATE COMMUNITY PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE

CAMDEN PRIMARY CARE TRUST

“I had always wanted to be a nurse but was really inspired by my grandfather, who had diabetes.  It was while I was looking after him, as his carer, that he was telling me that he thought I would be a good nurse.  Although my first career move was in construction, it wasn’t long before I began to remember his prediction, and made the decison to change direction into nursing.

“I studied at Middlesex University and qualified in 2004.  Doing my nursing degree was hard work and challenging, but very enjoyable and satisfying.  Completing the essays was probably the hardest part, but I was egged on to finish them on time by watching colleagues on the same course, some of whom were in their forties, with husbands and children to look after on top of the studies.  They made me feel that if they could do it, so could I, as a young, single guy!

“Both through practical experience and through my studies, becoming a nurse has helped me a lot.  I’ve learnt so much, have become more confident through things like building up a rapport with patients and working in a team, and have developed enormously both personally and professionally.

“In the last year of my degree, my lecturer talked to me about gaining more experience and qualifications, and after eight months working as a Community Nurse for Camden Primary Care Trust, I decided to look into a programme that was running through the local university, called The Pathway Programme.  It was introduced to allow a qualified nurse to gain experience in a variety of different specialisms, like District Nursing, Practice Nursing or Health Visiting, so that they can make up their mind about about what to specialise in.  It is still available in some areas.

“I’m now in my second year of the programme, and have really enjoyed learing about different areas of nursing within primary care.  I’m still at Camden Primary Care Trust, working in a team that includes three health visitors, a nursery nurse, myself as an associate community public health nurse, and a health visitor suport worker.

“My goal is to gain more experience in health visiting as, through Pathway, I’ve realised that Public Health and working with families and children is where my passion lies.  I’d like to get accepted onto a Specialist Practitioners Programme after that and finally, become a qualified health visitor, helping and supporting local families, through education and practical advice.  It’s so important to give children a good start, whether that’s through a healthy diet, correct immunisations, or recommending other support services where they might be needed.

“I have many friends who have finished their own degrees, but are still undecided about which direction to follow career-wise.  I’m always trying to inspire them to join the nursing professsion themselves.  I can honestly say that doing what I do is one of the best jobs in the world.”

Name:         Matt Sebouhian

Age:            36

Profession/job title:    Community Psychiatric Nurse, Specialist in Personality Disorder and Homelessness

Employer:        Humber Mental Health and Teaching Trust

Department:        Adult Mental Health

I was brought up in an NHS family – my mum, all my aunts and a couple of uncles are nurses, so it was almost inevitable that, when I left FE college with my O’levels, I went on to train as a nurse. But I got disillusioned during my adult nursing training and gave up before my finals, and worked in social services for a few years

Then in 1997 I started my nursing training. My partner had taken time out to take a Degree, and I had adopted the role of house-husband, looking after our two children. When she graduated, it was my turn to go back to studying, and I qualified in 2000, going on to work in a community mental health trust in Hull.

My professional interest has always been in social exclusion and personality disorder, and my training reflected this. I now work in a dedicated primary care personal medical services (PMS) practice for social exclusion where patients present social issues as well as health issues. I act as a care programme co-ordinator for a protected caseload of twenty two clients with severe personality disruptions. I also co-ordinate a Managed Clinical Network to address the needs of further clients within the PMS who present with chaotic, high risk attachment styles. We offer drop-in clinics to direct-access hostels in Hull as well as outreach to street homeless in order to deliver specialist mental health interventions and practical support wherever clients find themselves. Care delivery is underpinned by a belief in individualised, holistic interventions informed by robust evidence-based nursing and psychotherapeutic theory.

One of the most empowering moments for me was the first meeting of the Managed Clinical Network, staffed by representatives from all teams at the PMS who all work in primary care. It was here that I saw a found in myself, and recognised in others, a real belief that we can manage and contain the chaos of our clients.

I’m extremely proud that everything in my work is underpinned by nursing theory. I think my future will certainly involve higher education, possibly with a view to becoming a nurse consultant. I’m reluctant to leave clinical work in a territory that I am passionate about, and would like to continue to be very involved in how services in this area are delivered.