Nursing: the doors are open wide in Britain

Nursing remains as popular a career option as ever. This year, some 4,000 students competed for just 1,000 training places. If you have your heart set on nursing but feel you may not make the grade here at home, you'd be wise to look across the water.

Statistics from Britain's Central Council of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) show that one in four new nurses in Britain now comes from overseas and 8 per cent of them are Irish.

In England, the number of nurses in training has dropped by 15 per cent over the past four years. Despite this, the British Government has promised to produce an extra 15,000 trained nurses and to increase training places by 6,000 over the next three years. It's reasonable to assume, then, that this will mean more places for Irish students.

The downside of all this good news is that the nursing bursaries, which have been traditionally paid to student nurses, may be withdrawn from overseas trainees. These bursaries currently stand at £5,374 in London and £4,572 in the rest of the country. Last year it was decided that bursaries would be abolished for overseas students.

However, thanks to pressure from the universities, the bursaries will remain in place until September next year, according to Vanessa Winters, student recruitment officer at South Bank University, London. After that, though, nobody can say for certain what will happen. It may be possible to argue that under EU regulations EU students should remain eligible for the bursaries. In any event, nursing courses are exempt from the £1,000 third-level tuition fees which were introduced this year in Britain. Entry into the nursing profession in Britain is now via a third-level qualification only. You can opt for either a three-year DipHE (nursing Diploma Higher Education) programme or a three-year bachelor of science in nursing studies course. Although entry qualifications for the two programmes may differ, starting grades and salaries in the profession are exactly the same, says Winters.

South Bank University offers up to 90 places at its Essex/East London campus and up to 50 places at the campus in South London. If you're interested in taking up nursing early in 1999, you should note that South Bank's intakes in January and April have yet to be filled. To gain admission to the South Bank's diploma programme, students need a minimum of five passes at grade C at Leaving Cert ordinary level or five passes at higher level grade D. Entry requirements for the BSc nursing programme include five passes at C or above at higher level.

Referring to the two courses, Winters notes: "We want to keep nursing open to people who have a range of skills. It's not just about academic achievement. Personal qualities are important." Often such attributes at revealed at interview.

"We look for people who have a caring and sympathetic manner, who can empathise with sick people and who can demonstrate a background in or an understanding of nursing. We're looking for people who are committed and are willing to put their careers above financial gain."

Winters advises students to check that they have EU accreditation, which enables graduates to practise anywhere in the EU. Some courses, she warns, may not have this accreditation. Applications for nursing in Britain are through UCAS or NMAS - the Nursing and Midwifery Admissions Service. At South Bank, the degree and diploma courses are similar. Students spend their first 18 months on common foundation programmes (CFP) designed to provide an overview of nursing. Included in the programme are five placements in different areas of study - mother and baby, child nursing, general adult nursing, mental health and learning disabilities. In between placements students study biology, anatomy, physiology, natural sciences, research techniques, law and ethics and gender/cultural studies. "By the end of the first 18 months, students should have a good grasp of nursing backed up with extensive academic knowledge," Vanessa Winters explains.

In the second half of the programme, students choose an area in which to specialise - adult, mental health or children's nursing. Their time is split equally between clinical placements and academic work. Students, too, are involved in individual research projects and small group presentations. South Bank University has long enjoyed close Irish links and boasts two Irish societies. "Our largest training hospital, Whitts Cross in East London, is known as little Ireland. There are a large number of Irish nurses working there and a lot of Irish students," Winters comments.

On graduation, students have no difficulty getting jobs, South Bank's student recruitment officer says. One of the attractions of the profession, she observes, is the fact that nurses can work and continue to develop professionally by taking programmes in specific areas of nursing - coronary care for example. In Britain, annual starting salaries for newly qualified nurses range from £11,500 to £13,000. The profession has developed enormously in recent years. Senior nurse managers are earning as much as £50,000 annually, she says.

Despite the uncertainty about the bursaries, anyone interested in doing nursing in Britain next year is advised to put in an application. If you find you can't afford to go, you can always withdraw. However, in the event of a retention of the bursaries for overseas students, at least you'll be in with a chance.

If you're interested in nursing and are attending the Higher Options Conference at the RDS this week, you'll be able to talk to a number of British colleges offering nursing programmes. They include South Bank University, University of Abertay, Anglia Polytechnic, University of Wales, De Montfort University, University of Glasgow, King's College London, University of Manchester, Middlesex University, Queen Margaret College Edinburgh, Robert Gordon University and Thames Valley University. From Northern Ireland, there's the University of Ulster.