Adult learners prepare for placements at York District Hospital

York College students studying for a BSc extended degree in evidence-based nursing practice have spent a week at the University of York Clinical Simulation Unit, preparing for work placements at York District Hospital.

Says Liz Jacques, nursing tutor at York College: “The students take on a four-week work placement in a variety of wards at York District Hospital in March. It is hugely beneficial for them to use the excellent resources available at the University’s Clinical Simulation Unit where they get to grips with using medical equipment and routine procedures. The students don’t have the usual formal qualifications required to apply for a degree course, but instead they are studying for an extended degree. This means they study for a foundation year at York College, followed by three years at the University of York, in the Department of Health Sciences.”

Evidence based nursing practice student Nicola Messam says: “The job that I was doing before, although reasonably well paid, wasn’t value-added. I didn’t feel that I was either helping or indeed hindering anyone. Initially I liked the idea of caring for people, but now I really appreciate the aspect of helping people to recover from illness and I know that I can communicate with people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Nursing hasn’t been a lifelong dream, in fact I feel that if I’d started at the age of eighteen I would have been hopeless at it. I have slowly realised that this is where I want to be and that life experience is a great help.

I am a working Mum and I realise that this is never going to be easy, but I feel that given my educational background (I’ve been out of education for over 12 years), this course has been an ideal bridge from GCSE to university level academic standards.
This course provides the support that I feel I need, and makes the whole journey towards a degree in nursing much easier and more accessible.”

Press Release: 29/01/09