Nursing takes a great deal of commitment, not least because it’s a long and challenging process to gain your qualification.
The reason for this is simple: hospitals want the very best people caring for their patients. It is partly for this reason that there are significantly more nursing school applicants than there are places available.
While nursing remains one of the most competitive degree choices in the UK, the national demand for qualified healthcare professionals is higher than ever. Securing a degree place requires an application that ranks among the top candidates, but the effort is well worth it. Registered nursing graduates continue to enjoy exceptional job security, alongside clear opportunities for career progression within the NHS and private healthcare sectors.
However, before you can start eyeing up employment opportunities, you need to complete your qualifications. You will need to complete a nursing degree from an accredited university.
Requirements are set deliberately high. So, if you don’t have the relevant qualifications, you’ll need to gain strong grades in A Levels or an Access to Higher Education Diploma (Nursing) first.
Qualifications, while important, are just part of your application to nursing school. Your grades will be very similar to the other applicant. The nursing schools are looking for more than academic acumen – they are looking for the right people.
Nursing isn’t for everyone so the schools need to be confident that anyone they accept will make an excellent nurse in the future.
Here are a few ways you can communicate your enthusiasm for your future career as a nurse.
Get your Personal Application Statements Right
Whatever nursing route you choose, your UCAS application responses must be spot on. The personal statement process is designed to let you directly address your future educators and demonstrate why nursing is the right career path for you.
You should mention your motivations for becoming a nurse and the interest you have in your chosen branch of nursing. Structure your answers to directly showcase your core motivation, your relevant academic preparation, and any real-world insights you have gained into healthcare.
Your personal statement must include any practical experience you may have had. If you haven’t got any that’s directly related, talk about how other work experience has provided you with other useful transferable skills. Highlight any research or learning you have completed also. This will demonstrate your active interest in medicine and healthcare.
It’s very important that you’re genuine and honest in your personal statement. Admissions officers and heads of school are looking for authenticity. Plus, UCAS keeps a copy of every personal statement ever submitted. They compare every application against that archive to make sure nothing has been copied.
Also bear in mind that the university isn’t looking for someone who could qualify tomorrow. An enthusiasm for nursing and a desire to care for others will count in your favour.
Relevant Experience and Skills
If you do have some practical experience, outline what you did and why it was of benefit. Include what you learned and important lessons from mistakes made. Ultimately, what you’re trying to achieve is to demonstrate how your experiences will make you a better nurse.
Where possible, provide practical examples. Anecdotal evidence will help give the skills you’ve gained some context and help to highlight how you coped in high-pressure situations. It’s also worth mentioning how these experiences influenced your decision to become a nurse.
Other skills you should include in your personal statement include:
Organisation
Strong organisational skills within a high-pressure environment are all but essential within medicine. Your future career will require you to be calm, collected and in a position to think and act clearly.
Provide examples of how your organisational skills have helped you perform your job well and/or helped others succeed.
This doesn’t have to be care related. Hitting tight deadlines, coordinating a team or managing a large workload are all valid examples of your organisational skills.
Communication
Within a hospital setting, good communication is vital. The ability to make yourself understand or relaying information quickly and accurately detailing key information can save lives.
As a nurse, you will be required to advocate on behalf of the patient and their family to attending doctors and surgeons. You will need to relay clear information on the condition of the patient and put forward any observations you have made.
You will also need to talk to family members about the condition of their loved one. That can include breaking bad news. So you need to have a strong resolve on top of the ability to communicate and comfort people.
Use examples to demonstrate your communication skills. Instances where you have diffused a difficult situation or supported someone experiencing a difficult time would be useful.
Advocacy
Advocacy is an essential part of a nurse’s role. You will have to advocate on behalf of the patients when discussing care with the attending doctor or surgeon.
It is a fundamental principle in the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code, so demonstrating your understanding of person-centred care and advocacy will quickly grab the university's attention.
Include any examples of advocacy that you have. They don’t have to be professional, they just need to demonstrate your ability to accurately and faithfully speak and act on behalf of someone else.
That could be caring for a family member, being a member of the PTA or sitting on a student council.
Starting your Nursing Career
As places are limited, admissions officers and heads of school are especially interested in those who have an idea of where they want their careers to go. A strong desire to be a nurse will get you only so far, especially if it’s between you and someone who has their career planned out.
In your personal statement, you should touch on how you see your career progressing beyond your initial employment.
If you’re not sure yet, be honest about it. Instead, touch on the specialist areas you’re looking forward to working in.
Either way, the objective here is to talk about your career beyond your training and demonstrate an understanding of the roles nurses have.
Whatever areas you touch on, do your best to provide an example of why you find that area of medicine interesting or important.
Don’t get too hung up on finding your path, your lecturers aren’t going to hold you to it. What you’re trying to achieve is demonstrating your commitment to the profession and your career.
Starting your Studies
Nurses are the backbone of our health service. They provide essential care and comfort to patients and support doctors and surgeons in treatments.
They also carry out a multitude of tasks that help doctors do their jobs. They are, without question essential to our society.
If you want to be a nurse but lack the relevant qualifications to enrol on a nursing degree course, we can help. learndirect is the leading UK online learning provider.
Our Access to Higher Education Diploma (Nursing) is fully online and recognised by UK universities, allowing you to earn your entry requirements on your own schedule.
To take the first step toward your new healthcare career, download our free Access to HE Diploma (Nursing) brochure today and discover how you can qualify for university without stepping back into a traditional classroom.
