This weeks blog was going to be based around our return to University after a lovely month off over Christmas, however, with all of the conditional/unconditional offers that people have been receiving, I thought it may be useful to follow on from my preparation blog with a question I've seen pop up quite a few times: Is the first year of nursing easier or harder than the Access course?
The following information and feelings about it are, of course, individual to me and I'm sure there will be students that disagree or have different thoughts about this topic, but this is what I've found so far.
During the Access to HE course there were originally 30-ish students in my class, by the end there were approximately 11 of us which to be honest was great because we got a lot of focused teaching and had the opportunity to ask questions, have in depth discussions, and really get to know one another. This year at University, my cohort started with 148 students, then a few more joined, I'm sure some have left over the Christmas period but the group is HUGE! Each time I go to a lecture, I could swear there are people there that I've never seen before. Because of the shear size of the group, you can ask questions but the conversation is quickly moved onto something else. There isn't any chance we would be able to have in-depth or meaningful conversations as the group is just too big. You don't get a lot of time with the lecturers either, unless you can quickly grab them on a break, but even then, you've got to be quick as there will be 15 other people with the same idea. The crazy thing is, as big as our cohort is, the Uni are considering INCREASING next years cohort..madness.
As far as the actual workload is concerned, I would say that yes, the course is easier..look at it this way, during Access I had 17 assignments, 2 of those were double credits, therefore required double the amount of work, 2 tests, 2 presentations and a group health promotion project. This year, I have 6 modules, 2 of those are exams, 1 is a group presentation (6 members, not 148, God forbid) and 3 are assignments and of course completion of our PAD. So, in that way, yes..easier..HOWEVER, I personally have found it SO much harder. The reasons for this are as follows: as I stated above, not having much time for asking questions or having time to speak one-to-one with a tutor, also the learning isn't structured, and by that I mean that a lot of the work is self-taught and if you have other commitments once you leave that building, its really difficult. I'm a single parent to a 2 year old, I finish Uni and fetch her from nursery, then I have the motherly duties, cooking tea, putting her to bed, cleaning up, and by the time I sit down to do any work, I'm either physically or mentally exhausted, or both. On my days off, its impossible to work as the little one constantly wants my attention..and why shouldn't she..I'm her mom and she wants to play and spend time with me, so the only chance I get to work is either of an evening, or during Uni. Some of the girls on my course also work alongside Uni, and I honestly don't know how they have time to do anything.
Once you go out onto placement, it becomes even harder, childcare is harder, (as far as I'm aware no nursery opens at 6am and closes at 8pm) so then it falls to relatives to pitch in which can make you feel like a burden sometimes, and at the end of a 12.5 hour shift, the last thing you want to do is sit down and open a textbook.
On the plus side, the modules are really interesting, especially in the skills labs, and the excitement when you first get your uniform is ridiculous. You feel like a little kid at Christmas, its great!
As I have experienced both the Access course at college and now the degree at University, I thought a little insight may be helpful, but as I said, it is just my experience and I'm aware that everyone works in different ways. For anyone that is due to start, I would recommend that you get all of your childcare in place ASAP so that you don't find yourself stuck and having to miss lectures or placements. I would also suggest upping your organisational game! I sort of run on an organised chaos basis with most things in my life, but this year has really forced me to be self-disciplined. I hope I've not put anyone off! I find that if I remind myself why I wanted to be a nurse, it helps to keep me focused even when I'm stressing about assignments.
If anyone has other views or experiences, please feel free to share them in the comment section :) It would be great to see how other people have found it.
The following information and feelings about it are, of course, individual to me and I'm sure there will be students that disagree or have different thoughts about this topic, but this is what I've found so far.
During the Access to HE course there were originally 30-ish students in my class, by the end there were approximately 11 of us which to be honest was great because we got a lot of focused teaching and had the opportunity to ask questions, have in depth discussions, and really get to know one another. This year at University, my cohort started with 148 students, then a few more joined, I'm sure some have left over the Christmas period but the group is HUGE! Each time I go to a lecture, I could swear there are people there that I've never seen before. Because of the shear size of the group, you can ask questions but the conversation is quickly moved onto something else. There isn't any chance we would be able to have in-depth or meaningful conversations as the group is just too big. You don't get a lot of time with the lecturers either, unless you can quickly grab them on a break, but even then, you've got to be quick as there will be 15 other people with the same idea. The crazy thing is, as big as our cohort is, the Uni are considering INCREASING next years cohort..madness.
As far as the actual workload is concerned, I would say that yes, the course is easier..look at it this way, during Access I had 17 assignments, 2 of those were double credits, therefore required double the amount of work, 2 tests, 2 presentations and a group health promotion project. This year, I have 6 modules, 2 of those are exams, 1 is a group presentation (6 members, not 148, God forbid) and 3 are assignments and of course completion of our PAD. So, in that way, yes..easier..HOWEVER, I personally have found it SO much harder. The reasons for this are as follows: as I stated above, not having much time for asking questions or having time to speak one-to-one with a tutor, also the learning isn't structured, and by that I mean that a lot of the work is self-taught and if you have other commitments once you leave that building, its really difficult. I'm a single parent to a 2 year old, I finish Uni and fetch her from nursery, then I have the motherly duties, cooking tea, putting her to bed, cleaning up, and by the time I sit down to do any work, I'm either physically or mentally exhausted, or both. On my days off, its impossible to work as the little one constantly wants my attention..and why shouldn't she..I'm her mom and she wants to play and spend time with me, so the only chance I get to work is either of an evening, or during Uni. Some of the girls on my course also work alongside Uni, and I honestly don't know how they have time to do anything.
Once you go out onto placement, it becomes even harder, childcare is harder, (as far as I'm aware no nursery opens at 6am and closes at 8pm) so then it falls to relatives to pitch in which can make you feel like a burden sometimes, and at the end of a 12.5 hour shift, the last thing you want to do is sit down and open a textbook.
On the plus side, the modules are really interesting, especially in the skills labs, and the excitement when you first get your uniform is ridiculous. You feel like a little kid at Christmas, its great!
As I have experienced both the Access course at college and now the degree at University, I thought a little insight may be helpful, but as I said, it is just my experience and I'm aware that everyone works in different ways. For anyone that is due to start, I would recommend that you get all of your childcare in place ASAP so that you don't find yourself stuck and having to miss lectures or placements. I would also suggest upping your organisational game! I sort of run on an organised chaos basis with most things in my life, but this year has really forced me to be self-disciplined. I hope I've not put anyone off! I find that if I remind myself why I wanted to be a nurse, it helps to keep me focused even when I'm stressing about assignments.
If anyone has other views or experiences, please feel free to share them in the comment section :) It would be great to see how other people have found it.
If you'd like tips on equipment for your first year, take a look at my post from a couple of weeks ago! 😄
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