So you want to be a nurse?
You will need to choose your specialist branch of nursing after you have completed your first year's Common Foundation Programme. There are four main branches of nursing:
- Adult nursing
- Children's nursing
- Mental Health nursing
- Learning Disability nursing
If you wish to become a midwife (this profession is equally open to men and women) you will need to either:
First qualify as a Registered Nurse in Adult Nursing then take a further 78-week programme in midwifery, or;
Take a three-year specialist diploma or degree in midwifery, without a nursing qualification.
You may hear of a 'new model' of nurse training being undertaken in some colleges and universities for nurse training. This model will gradually be adopted across the UK and, in summary, will allow you to:
- step on and step off your training at given points . This means that if you have successfully completed the first year of your programme, you can come back in later years and start off from the point you left. This may be helpful to students who need time off for family or financial reasons.
- claim and gain credits towards a qualification based on prior learning, for example if you have an NVQ 3 in health or social care or previous health work experience.
