thinking of dropping out of uni

[roxie_09]

I am currently studying mental health nursing at uni, aswell as studying I work as a part time nursing assistant in a mental health hospital. I really enjoy working as an NA and considering dropping out as I prefer the hands on 'nursey' bits rather than the culture of qualified nursing these days, which is spent infront of the computer and form filling etc. It's a big decision that I don't want to take lightly. I just don't want to waste another year if it's not what I want to do :(. Can anyone give me any advice on making the best decision for me? x

[bednobs]

how far through your course are you? You say another year - does that mean you are 2/3rds through. If so i would advise you stick at it. Having a qualification will not prevent you working as a care assisstant if that's what you want. Or you could become a nurse and be in a much better position to change the culture you don't like

[roxie_09]

Thanks bednobs, yes I am currently half way through my second year ( as I started in March). I would love to make nursing what it used to be and what it should be again, but with the law and society how it is at the moment everything is more concentrated on documentation and paperwork, which I don't think I would be able to make much of a difference with, if that makes sense x

[boxtops]

Roxie, stick it out. By 2012 the new nurses qualifying will all be degree nurses, and you won't get a look in unless you complete your degree, you will be stuck as a care assistant - which you might enjoy now, but if you have been funded once to take the pre-reg programme and dropped out, you might find it more difficult to get funding/sponsorship if you change your mind in future and want to go into nursing.
IMO, funding in the future is very unclear at the moment (I am sure that it will be there, but all the changes in the NHS at the moment mean that Health Education England will be taking over English Uni funding for health programmes in a couple of years' time, and the pathways for getting that funding are not known at the moment.
The majority of the form-filling is all in the interests of patient safety and clinical governance - you won't lose your hands-on opportunities but you will be an informed and reasoning nurse when you get your degree, with the opportunity for autonomous leadership with your nursing role.
I went to a seminar a few weeks' back about the shape of the nursing workforce once all-degree nursing comes in in 2012, and the nurses emerging will be a very different breed from the diploma nurses. Your earning power will be greater too, with the degree.
You really need to look at this from every angle - including considering the uni fees which have been paid for you if you drop out, and what opportunities for the future you will lose personally if you don't become a registered nurse.
Good luck with the decision making, I am glad you are not taking this lightly - it's about your future!

[abstibus]

Roxie
Stay with the degree course. You may change your mind later about what you want to do and which level you want to work at. With a degree, you'll have more control over your future.
As bednobs says, you can still work at the 'nursey' level, but do you really want to be doing this in 25 years time?

[Old_Geezer]

It's a personal decision, but I'd suggest thinking carefully about slinging away the existing investment you've made. If you have confidence in getting the qualification at the end then investing a further year or so to get something to fall back on, isn't to be sneezed at. And in the meanwhile you could plan your next move. However if you are really unhappy with it and can not see yourself getting the qualification, then maybe opting out is best.

If you really can't decide one method for finding out what you want to do is to toss a coin. Then see if you want to accept the coin's decision, or want to try best of three. Sometimes it is difficult to know what you really want, because you don't want to admit it to yourself, and this sort of thing can help.

[bednobs]

you CAN make a difference in how you nurse people. Is there something that's making you want to keave? Are you passing the modules ok? Are you struggling financially?
Uni is not for everyone having said that

[roxie_09]

Thanks both, I understand what you mean, that by sticking it out (I have no issues with the academic side, touchwood so far) it leaves more doors open for me in the future, whether or not qualified nursing is what I want to do. I appreciate the advice given :) thanks x

[bednobs]

also, i used to work as a nurse, but don't anymore. However i would not have been able to get the job i'm currently doing without "a degree" (didn't matter it was in nursing)

[LoftyLottie]

I think you have to really consider whether nursing is for you or whether there is a more hands on profession that will suit you better in the caring sector. Uni. is not for everyone as Bednobs says and it is not the only way to get on in life. Unfortunately, there is a degree culture now, but a degree isn't always an indication of your abilities. If you truly want to be a nurse, then stick with the degree but if you are hesitant about your career then you might be better to seek an alternative.

[roxie_09]

Bednobs, have just seen your latest answer, at the moment I'm not struggling with anything, touchwood, it is mainly me thinking whether or not I want to be a qualified nurse. I know that it is essential for documentation to be done etc, but I feel that this is what nursing is about now rather than patient focussed, and from what I have experienced it is the NA's that have the hands on roles with the clients x

[LoftyLottie]

Someone close to me dropped out of Uni. at the stage you are at now, basically because he was disallusioned with the whole degree thing and the course was completely unstimulating. He has fared very well without the degree. I would never encourage anyone to stay at uni if they really were unhappy.

[carolegif]

This feeling is normal halfway through a degree. I felt the same many years ago, but then told myself that I had done so much work already it would be a waste. Stick it out, you won't regret it.

[LoftyLottie]

I must admit that my recent experiences in hospitals have emphasised what you are saying. Nurses are not the hands on carers any more they are more administrators and often are keener on progressing up the career ladder then their interaction with patients.

[roxie_09]

Thanks Lofty, at the moment I'm not unhappy with the actual course, I am wondering whether it is for me or not. I understand the pro's of staying in uni and gaining my degree, I just hope that I could make a difference in the way in which qualified nurses undertake their nursing roles x

[roxie_09]

Exactly Loffty, and that's not what I want to do, I went into nursing to be a nurse and care for people, not sit at a computer (which sadly is what has to be done legally) my opinion is if that's what I wanted to do I would have worked in an office. x

[LoftyLottie]

Well, there is no harm then in staying and getting your degree and perhaps people like you can work to get the system changed.

There are still nurses who are lovely and make a point of spending time with patients and being caring as well as doing admin stuff. You will probably be this lovely sort of nurse - the sort that we really need. Unfortunately, so many I have come across in recent years seem to put the admin first and the patients second.

Good luck whatever you choose, and I hope if I go into hospital it will have lots of nurses like you.

[askyourgran]

Roxie I think it would be a shame to pass up on the rest of your Uni course now. My friend's daughter is doing well at university, but she can't afford to stay on at Uni another year because her mum and dad have split up. She hopes she can go back to her studies later. The decision is ultimately yours you must do what you feel happy about.

[roxie_09]

Aww thanks Lofty. Yes I understand exactly what you mean, and I have seen the same. I know there are many people on my course that want to make a difference in the way that nursing is carried out, so hopefully in a few years time we can make a difference. A-Y-G, I really feel for your friends daughter, I know I am lucky and my course is funded, I would never be able to afford to go to uni if it wasn't, it's such a sad situation x

[LoftyLottie]

Sometimes I think it would be so much better to go into the workplace on a junior level in your chosen environment before going to Uni and getting some real experience before commiting to a degree course. It would give students a good look at the working world and give them a better idea of what they really want to do.

Perhaps this would mean less drop outs are more Uni places available for those that really want them.

This is not aimed at you in any way Roxie.
OK, so some might decide not to go to Uni. at all, but those that are really committed to a career would be more motivated to get a degree.

Does a degree qualification really make for a better nurse?

[roxie_09]

No lofty, I completely agree with you, at 18 after school, it's as though you're supposed to know exactly where you want to go with your life, although some people may know exactly what they want to do, others may be undecided. I had to wait until I was in uni to get any experience of mental health nursing, as without this I was classed as having no experience and unable to get a job in this field (hope that makes sense). If I'd had the experience before going to uni then I may have had second thoughts about going,allowing my place to be offered to someone that knew exactly what they wanted x
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