MY FIRST DAY… IN 9 YEARS – Training to be a Nurse

Backpack, check. Pencil case, check. Textbooks, check. Notepad, check. Lunch and snacks, check. No this isn’t my check list for sending the little one off to their first day of nursery or school, it’s for me starting my first day at University of Worcester to study Adult Nursing as a mature student. Mature student… I sound so old and compared to some of the fresh-faced students just out of college or sixth form, I certainly feel it. Yet my excitement for the course and learning something new, as well as my enthusiasm to succeed is equal to all my new classmates and colleagues.

I think going back to education for anyone who has been out of the game for a while can be daunting and somewhat overwhelming. Like I said, it had been 9 years since my last “first day” in education and a variety of questions ran through my head: What if I am the oldest in the group? Am I clever enough to do this? What happens if I mess up? Can I do this? But as soon as I entered the lecture theatre for my first lesson, I knew that I was really worrying about nothing.

You may worry that you can’t learn anymore, you’ve lost the knack for studying and writing assignments, but you never lost it you just need to dust it off and practice. During the first few weeks of the course, our lectures and tutors went through assignment writing, referencing, studying and practicing. They ensured everyone was starting at the same place and progressed at the same level. No student was left behind. If you were struggling at any point with the work or keeping up, your peers and tutors are always there to help, assist, explain and encourage you back where you need to be.

Being anxious about being the oldest was silly of me, as age is but a number, but I couldn’t help it. However, as soon as I met my cohort and saw the variety of ages, ethnicities, backgrounds and experiences the anxiety soon wore off. We’re a wonderful group of individuals, illustrating that if you know what you want to do straight out of school you should go for it, but some of us took different paths and are now able to put all of that experience into a new role where we can excel. Within the first month, I had found my squad of friends, ages ranging from 18-31 with a whole host of life experiences and they support me in everything from: where to find timetables to Harvard referencing, as well as personal support and friendship. 

Before I had even applied, I had a meeting with the finance team at the University to see what my options were finically and know I was going to be supported throughout my studies. With student finance, the bursary and part time work, I was still going to be able to financially support myself and my family. I then applied through UCAS, and with the help of my employer, the university and the Careers team at my local college, I was able to write a great personal statement and get a fantastic reference too (even if I do say so myself). I am not going to explain how to write a personal statement, there’s approximately a million of those blogs already. But I will give 3 pieces of advice: 1, your first draft will suck but persevere and you will get it. 2, get someone to double check it and then someone else to double, triple check it before sending. And 3, never undersell yourself! As a mature learner, you have so much experience and knowledge so tell the university why you deserve that place on the course (and trust me you do) and what an amazing candidate you are.

From here, I had my interview day which was really eye-opening and made the whole thing seem real. I was about to give up my full-time job and change my entire life to do this course, and the interview day, meeting new students, current students, lecturers and service users made me realise I was 100% making the right choice for me. Don’t get me wrong, was I incredibly awkward? Yes. Did I do a weird snorty laugh at the end of the interview? Definitely. But it made me realise I can do this, and I have every right to be here as much as anyone else. If you have an interview day, it might sound intimidating, but the process is very simple. You go to the uni, get a lot of information and learn everything you need to know before starting your course, you do some group activities (one of mine included blindfolding a partner and leading them around the university corridors or helping them into gowns… my partner got stuck in hers because I was having a mare… to her, I am forever sorry for that) and then have your 1 to 1 interview. I can’t stress this enough, if you have a 1 to 1 interview as part of an interview day or by itself, make sure you know your personal statement, they will talk to you about it! Don’t put in quotes and gloats about a variety of random things that you aren’t then able to talk about or explain – they’ll know!

After all this, I was accepted with an unconditional offer and here I am! And you know what, I got through all those jitters and doubts on the first day, the second day and all the days after that. It sounds cliché, like Diana Ross once sang, you just have to believe in yourself and you’ll have brains, courage and heart which is all needed in the making of a great student and your success. My first year gave me new confidence and whoever said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks hasn’t met this mutt! I have learnt so much, overcome challenges, excelled on placement and am now a 2^nd year student.

Now, I don’t know if you’ve heard of this thing called Coronavirus… maybe… just a little? I’m not making light of this pandemic and the way the university dealt with it was great. Our lectures immediately went online, we still have plenty of work to do and assignments to prep. Our second placement did get cancelled but we have a way of making that up now in second year. So we’ll call this a mild inconvenience as we face an unprecedented viral outbreak, I think that’s fair. The University is doing everything it can to keep things moving along so teachers can still teach, students can still learn all whilst keeping everyone safe. Obviously no one knows what the future holds; I’m no mystic Meg I am afraid, but what I can say with some amount of confidence is that everyone who has gotten through this pandemic thus far has learnt something about themselves. Whether that’s you have a great mental resilience, you found a new hobby you enjoy, you learnt how to budget a little better if things got financially tight, you helped your neighbours or family or strangers during this time, you decided to seize the day or yolo or whatever you want call it. Use that momentum, those skills and that dedication to do whatever it is you want to do at university and as a future career. It is never too late. If you don’t go for it, you’ll never get to say you did.

Good luck everyone, take care, be safe and hopefully I will see you all soon!

Ellis, 2nd Year Nursing Student