nvq's

[hellywellywo]

I am 29 and my husband is leaving the army in exactly one years time.  I am able to take the opportunity for me train in nursing.  I do not have the required GCSE's so I have to gain NVQ 1,2 & 3.

I know that one way is to study in a college, but another way is to work in a hospital as an auxillary nurse/healthcare assistant and study the NVQ's as you go along.  So I suppose that my question is how do I go about getting this?  I would be ever so grateful for any help and advice you all can give me.

[woofgang]

phone your local hospitals and ask for information on vacancies. Some of them now post them on their websites or have pamphlets. Some use the local papers. From this you can get an idea of what is around. Then you can maker contact with the people advertising and ask about nvq and inservice training. Done this way, each nvq will take around a year, however lots of places now have "grow your own" schemes where they plan to fill their own vacancies from within by developing the staff they need. Its going to depend a bit on where you live and what employment is like there. Best of luck!!

[Peahead66]

Most jobs in care offer you the opportunity to take your NVQs while you are working with them whether it be a hospital or a care home. Either go to college or gain employment in a hospital or care home and do it that way (in which case they will pay the fees).

[doc_steve]

You have said that you do not have the required GCSE's and as a result you have decided to do an NVQ.

Would it be worth while enquiring at your local college if your able eligible to do GCSE's with them. I have a friend and he needed GCSE's so he went along to the local college and studied with them 3 evenings a week for 7 months and as a result got 3 GCSE's, so as an adult the pace of work is faster than young people at school studting and shouldnt take you long to complete at all.

[Lindylou]

Do you have a Tiertary (spelling!?) College in your area?  We have one (in South Wales) who offer an  'Access to Nursing' course.  This is for people who want to enter the nursing profession but who do not have the necessary GCSE's / NVQ's etc.

[LizzyBennet]

It will take you a long time to reach your goal via this route, and you will face plenty of obstacles, such as staff shortages or manic wards where staff just do not have the time to assist you as quickly as you would like.  The best way would really be an Access Course, it takes a year but proves you can study at a higher level and you don't need any qualifications to get on to the course.  All the access crowd in my college last year were accepted onto Nurse Training Courses.  Try and do some voluntary work as well to help your application. Good Luck!

[Flanders]

An Access course would indeed be your best bet.  However, it will be equally vital to gain relevant experience while studying.  Universities will want to see evidence of your interest in caring for other people and they will also expect you to understand how the NHS works and what a nurse's job involves.  It can be quite difficult to be accepted to work in a hospital...even in a voluntary capacity, but you can approach care homes, hospices etc. Although there aren't enough nurses in this country, it is still very hard to get into a nursing course (degree and diploma alike) so the more you prepare yourself the better!  Good luck.