As far as I know all nurses are now required to got to uni, sorry.
I had a bad time the first time I went and dropped out; but a good time the second time. Just because it's been bad once doesn't mean it always will be. Do you mind if I ask what happened?
It doesn't matter where you come from; it matters where you go.
No-one gets remembered for the things they didn't do.
We won't all be here this time next year,
so while you can take a picture of us.
We're definitely going to hell,
but we'll have all the best stories to tell.
to be a CPN you'd have to go to uni but possibly there are other options (like doing somthing else in mental health that didn't require uni). But also I had an awful time at uni and dropped out but when I went back second time it was much better.
You can only become a cpn if you first qualify as a mental health nurse.
The NMC (nursing and midwifery counsel) require all qualified nurses to have attended a university course.
Unfortunatly this has to be done at Uni And cannot be achieved through the open Uni. Sorry.
Is there anything that would help you be able to cope with Uni next time ? X
The average,
well-adjusted adult
gets up at 7.30am feeling just plain terrible.
Call me Kate.
I have dyslexia so please excuse my poor spelling and sometimes poor understanding.
I think it might have been that I was doing the wrong course and I just didnt like the university I was at. So perhaps when I'm better and stable I will think about university again.
Just bummed out that theres no other way to become a CPN without going to uni :(. Might have a look if theres anything else I can do in the mental health field without going to uni. I dont mind doing a diploma or something like that if thats another way in? x
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Unfortunatly this has to be done at Uni And cannot be achieved through the open Uni. Sorry.
I think you can do it through the OU but you need to already be working in healthcare and be sponsored by your employer, so may be more tricky to get into.
tinkles, I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience with uni, but as others have said it wouldn't necessarily be the same second time round. If you choose a university and a course that are right for you, and you're well enough at the time, there's no reason it couldn't be a positive experience. But yep, having a look into other options is a good idea - even some voluntary work would be a good thing to start with, if you feel able to do that.
"I know you're sad, so I won't tell you to have a good day. Instead, I advise you to simply have a day.
Stay alive, feed yourself well, wear comfortable clothes, and don't give up on yourself just yet.
It'll get better. Until then, have a day."
What about becoming a health care assistant? You would primarily be based on the wards but I often couldnt tell who was a nurse and who was a hca. You would also then have more insight into what the role involved so may mean that your second attempt at uni is more succesful.
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What about becoming a health care assistant? You would primarily be based on the wards but I often couldnt tell who was a nurse and who was a hca. You would also then have more insight into what the role involved so may mean that your second attempt at uni is more succesful.
Definitely worth doing. I'm on a slightly different course, but I wish I'd worked as a health care assistant in the area before uni, really helped the ones who did. Also on psych wards often it seems the hca's give more support than the nurses, so might help you assess why you want to be a con
Healthcare assistant. There's two weeks initial training then training as-you-go.
They tend to do a lot of stuff nurses used to - taking care of feeding, washing patients, and building up to canualas, blood tests, ECGs and stuff. It's not as well paid, you work your way up, but it's still pretty good.
Also:
Quote:
I think it might have been that I was doing the wrong course and I just didnt like the university I was at. So perhaps when I'm better and stable I will think about university again.
This was what happened in my case. I ended up being incredibly ill, failing one of my modules (despite being a straight A student) and generally doing very bad stuff. I didn't like the course, I didn't like the uni, I didn't like the people, and I missed the twin. I took a little over a year out, and by the end of it I was almost like a different person. Uni's are radically different, and just because one sucks, doesn't mean they all do. It might be worth looking into one that has a good welfare system; mine does (though they don't do nursing).
It doesn't matter where you come from; it matters where you go.
No-one gets remembered for the things they didn't do.
We won't all be here this time next year,
so while you can take a picture of us.
We're definitely going to hell,
but we'll have all the best stories to tell.
You could do a open Uni degree in something related to mental health and then train to be a counsellor. You would not have the power of a cpn but it is good pay and you would be helping people with MH problems.
You could also work for a mental health charity if you had a degree/qualification relating to mental health.
Even if you did the degree in the link you would still have to visit the Uni for exams and some lectures. Also you would not be able to apply for the post/funning till you had worked in the nhs for a few years (at least 2) an you would have to be the best member of staff as the funding is open to every hca.
A hca in a mental health ward is the same as a support worker on the ward.
But if you were a hca you would still need to go to Uni to be a cpn. I also think that you have to work as a general mental health nurse before you could apply for a CPN job because CPNs are usually more highly qualified than newly qualified nurses.
I'm just about to start a degree in mental health nursing and I am currently a hca so you can PM me if you need to x
Last edited by Ballerina123 : 17-07-2012 at 08:57 PM.
The average,
well-adjusted adult
gets up at 7.30am feeling just plain terrible.
Call me Kate.
I have dyslexia so please excuse my poor spelling and sometimes poor understanding.
As everyone has said, you wouldn't be able to become a CPN without going to university & then probably some time on the ward getting experience.
However, I don't think this neccesarily has to stop you. I appreciate that you had a bad experience in the past at university but it could be turned in to a positive if you were to go back and the experience was different?
It's not something that is neccesarily right for you now but when you do go in to do mental health nursing, you might feel more able to do it? Perhaps you could explore now what you would need to do in order for you to feel able to go back to university?
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