r/StudentNurseUK

Hi,

I am going to University of Derby this September to do Adult Nursing, I live in Leeds and was wondering if it would be possible for me to commute rather than staying in an accommodation. I will be based at the Derby campus on Kedleston Road.

The train from Leeds to Derby is 1hr which I don’t mind, the whole reason why I’d prefer to commute is I would like to save some money here and there to do my driving lessons, and save up for a car etc for second year. I can’t really do that if i have an accom as I’ll be using most of it to pay it off, then having to budget for food, essentials etc.

I also have a job at primark doing 4 hour shifts which I wouldn’t mind keeping and changing my hours e.g. working weekends or 2 days throughout the week if I can, if I move to Derby most likely I won’t be wanting to travel back for 4 hour shifts. Would this all be doable or am I living in delulu land?

Thankssss

i’ll be doing student nurse placements next year when i’m in uni however i am doing children’s nursing and feel it would be beneficial to cover some scars i have on my arms which are extremely deep and very obvious. i understand it’s meant to be bare below the elbow, am i allowed 3/4 length sleeves? does it depends where my placement is and what my uni recommends? thankyou!!

Third year student nurse here looking for advice. Approaching my managing placement and trying to juggle working hours alongside childcare. The ward I will be working on doesn’t offer the typical 12 hour shifts that I would need to get way with doing 3 shifts a week they are basically 9.5 hour shifts which means I’ll have to do 4 days. I’ve never worked nights because it’s never really come up that I have needed to. My question is how are working nights really?? Any tips on working 2 nights and possibly 2 days? Any advice welcomed

Finding it hard to stay awake

I’m now 32 years old, and was considering doing a BSc in nursing, however I’ve been out of education a while now. Did anyone else do it, and how did you find it?

One thing I’m not going to enjoy is signing up to brand a new student loan.. lol. Especially at it means repaying until I retire this time.

Hello, I am currently preparing for an interview to get a place to study General Nursing in September. (in Ireland, asking here because everyone is so friendly here and there's no subreddit closer to me that I know of)

I feel fairly confident for said interview except for if they ask me why I want to pursue this career 😅 I mean, I know my why, but I fear it's not "enough".

I eventually want to be a midwife, but there is no direct route near and i can't travel (kids), but I don't mind doing this loooong route as I am interested in general nursing too...

So, I'm curious, how would you answer, "why nursing?"

My why (not formatted, just word soup) : I am in my element in a learning environment. I want to give people a positive experience and make them feel supported during their vulnerable moments. I want to help people feel empowered. I want to advocate for people who can't do so for themselves. I like to problem solve and i like to be observant.

Edit to add: I've always been like the above, but I really wanted to start pursuing this after the birth of my daughter. Literally hours after the birth this itch started. I just want to support people. But this why I fear it's not enough I guess.

Hello I’m currently a S6 student wanting to go into nursing issue is I’ve not got any higher science apart from a N5 in Chemistry this year I’m doing Advanced higher English, Higher maths, Higher French and Higher art could I still get into university if I’ve got no science subject for nursing?

I'm a mental health nurse in an area with no students, and I really miss the education / sharing information aspects of supporting students. I also know when I was doing my degree, we barely covered a lot of very relevant clinical concepts, like assessing psychosis, interventions for difficulties associated with autism, psychopharmacology, etc.

I've been considering making and delivering some webinars on these types of subjects for student mental health nurses (and students in other fields, and NQNs - whoever's interested), and I wanted to get an idea of whether people would be interested, essentially. (Everything would be free obviously! I hate when important information gets locked behind a paywall.)

Would anyone be interested? Any specific subjects or topics (even if it's very specific, or very vague - you don't know what you don't know!). In my job, I assess / work with a large volume of different patients, so I'm lucky to have quite a wide range of experience (and any actual training I deliver would be evidence-based with sources ofc). Let me know!

hey, im going off here in September but had to choose it through clearing - so how is it? what are the placements like? is it really remote or can i use public transport? i dont have a driving license

whats the teaching like???

Hi all,

I will be coming in as a mature student (30). I have an interview at Edge Hill next week for the 7 week Fastrack course which will lead on to the Mental Health Nursing degree in Jan. Does anyone have any tips for me? It’s been a while since I’ve been interviewed and I really want this.

Also are there any RMNs that can tell me what a career path would look like after qualifying, I am interested in potentially going into CAMHS, Perinatal mental health or forensics route eventually but not entirely sure yet.

Hello. Looking for a house as a FTB with my partner. Partner works full time for the NHS and I am a student nurse at university. Looking to buy a house within the <£150k range, or up to 200k but I’m not sure if we could.
Partner has a good credit score of “very good” and I have a “low credit score”.
Partner had an appointment with a mortgage advisor, who said he could get an offer of £135k with a £7,500 deposit with Coventry building society. This is just with his details.
If I joined too and wanted to be on the mortgage with him, would it bring the offer down as I have a low score and am a student? Although I am a student, I could still save around £4/5k to contribute to a deposit, even if it is in his name.
Is it better for him to do it alone? Would the offer also increase over a few months if we were able to save around £10k? We would ideally like a £140k-150k house.

Thanks in advance, I am new to this so I feel pretty uneducated so my apologies if I get anything incorrect. X

hey, im going off here in September but had to choose it through clearing - so how is it? what are the placements like? is it really remote or can i use public transport? i dont have a driving license

whats the teaching like???

Can i get full tuition and maintenance when i already have these? i’ve applied for mental health nursing and still waiting for a decision about my eligibility.

I’m 44 and just about to start Y3 of adult nursing. I will stay to the end and get my degree but I’m not sure if I actually want to be a nurse at the end of it. I work alongside uni in primary care. The management are awful. So many nurses I speak to on placements etc are unhappy. There is so much red tape, constant learning, paying for your pin is a joke, paying for parking is a joke….. I enjoy working with people, caring and helping people, but I’m just not sure I want to be a nurse. I get a lot of complaints from patients and other nurses about how empathetic and kind I am with patients which is very sweet. I’m (loosely) considering social work but I’m not sure if that may be very emotionally difficult. Has anyone completed the degree and got a different job? If so what did you go into? Or an alternative nursing job?

i want to do mental health nursing at manchester but literally all the nurses ik say its a bad idea and that its horrible. friends that are doctors say its really bad too and now idk. because i was going to do optometry otherwise, simply cuz its a safe, good job.

King’s College London MSc Mental Health Nursing – Functional Skills Maths question

Hi everyone 😊

I’m hoping to apply for the King’s College London MSc Nursing with Registration as a Mental Health Nurse (Graduate Entry) for September 2027. I am a mature student.

I’m currently in my final year of a Criminology & Policing Investigation degree and I’m working as a Care Assistant

King’s says they accept Functional Skills Level 2 Maths at Pass as equivalent to GCSE Maths, but I’m currently studying towards my Level 2 and I’m trying to establish whether I need to have already passed it when I submit my UCAS application, or whether I can apply with it pending and achieve the qualification before starting the course in September 2027.

Has anyone applied to King’s Mental Health Nursing with Functional Skills Maths Level 2 still in progress?

If so:

• Did King’s allow you to apply with it pending?
• Was it made a condition of your offer?
• When did you have to have passed it by?
• Did anyone get their offer before they had completed the qualification?

I’m particularly interested in experiences from people who applied to the graduate-entry MSc at King’s, rather than the undergraduate nursing courses.

Thank you! ❤️

I'm just venting here

So im a first year , just started my 2nd placement.

My first placement was at GP surgery so I didn't learn a whole lot. My current placement is a hospital ward so when i came in, I didn't even know how to do basic tasks like observations and charting, blood sugars and documenting that, helping with the medication rounds etc. I knew nothing. I have some course mates of mine on the same placement but their first placement was at a hospital so they already knew how to do all

of these .

I'm being compared to them by some nurses, they'll say things like wow your friends know how to do this tho?. And I can tell literally everyone is just so constantly annoyed at me because they have to teach me all the basic stuff and I can't just automatically do it for them.

I had my first ever night shift and apparently as soon as i left the room one of the nurses went " that's what happens when you put a first year student on a night shift 🙄🙄" All because she had to give me instructions on what to do, on my first night shift ever.

I just feel so unwanted and dumb. Like my university did not teach us any of this, I didn't learn any of this at my first placement and everyone is so fucking annoyed that they have to teach me.

I’m a Mental Health Nurse (2 years qualified) and I’m starting an online MSc Psychology with Counselling this October. My long‑term goal is to apply for Trainee PWP roles in 2027 once I’m fully recovered and back to work.

I’m currently long‑term sick, so I’m planning ahead realistically while studying online.

I’d love advice on:

Best way to make myself competitive for PWP roles

How much clinical experience vs academic background matters

Tips from anyone who applied while managing health issues

What to focus on during the MSc to strengthen my application

My plan:

Focus on my online MSc and build a foundation in CBT + low‑intensity work

Once medically cleared, look for flexible mental health roles

Apply for Band 4 Trainee PWP posts in London in 2027

Use my nursing background + MSc + lived experience to strengthen my application

Any advice from PWPs, trainees, or NHS staff would be really appreciated.

A few months ago, I was in tears about my first few shifts as a student nurse. It was a horrible experience for me personally as the staff were not accommodating at all, plus my uni offered almost no help - since then, I have interrupted my first year and thought that I had definite plans of dropping out (it’s been 6 months out of education)

However, during the months I’ve been on my interruption, I couldn’t help but keep thinking: What if I just pushed through? .. and since then I’ve been upset thinking about the loss of my future as a nurse.. but still SO terrified of going back!! I know so many people that have dropped out and warned me to never go back if I even have the slightest doubt about pursuing nursing

I want to help people, I enjoy helping people. But I’m not sure if I have the resilience to become a nurse, it’s an environment I seem to struggle in. I really enjoy the lectures and practicals I have had, I miss learning all about nursing. My uni was excellent with the teachings, just not much with support.

So i’m stuck on whether to go back and try again (I’d be thrown right into placements as soon as my interruption ends). Is there anything I should account for? Questions I should ask myself?