How to decide which Nursing Universities and Courses are best

If you’re researching Nursing Universities and wondering how to decide which one is for you, these simple tips will help you reach your decision.

Topics covered in this video

0.00 Introduction

0.37 Where will your placements take place

01.54 Get feedback from students who attended different Universities

02.56 Attend Open Days

03.43 Ensure you have enough support

04.32 Research the University

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0.00 Introduction

Hi everyone, and welcome back.

If you don't know who I am my name is Clare Carmichael and I'm a final year Adult Nursing student at Birmingham City University.

So today's video is going to be all about trying to choose your University, which is actually a tough video to do because I can't tell you which University to choose!

You have to make that decision yourself, but hopefully I can give you some tips. But it might help you decide which University is best for you.

0.37 Make sure you can travel to where your placements will take place

So first priority for me is placements, whichever University you choose you're going to need to know where your placements are going to be based, how you're going to get there (if you can get there!), how long it's going to take you.

So look at the local area around the University.

This is a University that's maybe an hour away from you and you're planning to commute… just bear in mind how you're going to get there for 7 a.m. starts, if you're out on placement, or if you're on a night shift and coming back from a night shift.

That is the main thing and the main concern I think. Also, if you are moving towns, maybe for your University look at the placements there the hospital's there.

If you're going to live in Halls or out of Halls just work around your placements and University and the location of those.

Just it's going to help you decide better than anything else and that's the most important thing - getting to University and making sure you can get to University placement because it is a requirement and in each University they have their own requirements for placements and where they send you and it will be a wide area.

It won't just be a selective hospital that you go to there will be a whole wide area. So just bear that in mind when looking at your University.

01.54 Get feedback from students who attended different Universities

Second tip would be if you go onto Facebook groups for Nursing, Twitter, all of those places and get feedback from students that have been to different Universities.

Please just ask the question. Have you been to this University? Have you been to that University? And gauge what their opinions are of the University, how much help they get, what the timetable is like so that you can gauge a sort of response on each different University to make a choice.

And that will help you make the decision as well.

So this is good for if you are planning to move to University, if you're planning to move to a different city or town for University.

But it's also good for people that just are trying to decide between Universities in one town as well. Like West Midlands. We've got Wolverhampton, we’ve got Aston, and we’ve got Birmingham City and University of Birmingham. We've got quite a lot!

So you're going to probably be tearing your hair out trying to decide which one. But if you just have a look around, ask students. It's going to help you make a decision as well.

02.56 Attend Open Days

My third tip would be go to the Open Days.

This will really, really help you decide because you can meet students, meet the lecturers.

You'll see what the University’s like, you'll get a feel for it.

You'll see what the atmosphere is. Like what the buzz is like also look at the University’s social media as well for the open days.

Keep an eye on the social media because they'll be tweeting, they'll be Facebooking and they'll be doing live feeds and things like that.

So you can sort of gauge how they are with social media use, and how student friendly they are.

Things like that just make a massive difference I think.

And that's going to be one of your biggest deciders I think - going to open days and see how you feel on the day.

03.43 Ensure you have enough support

Tip number four would be all about support. So ring each University or have a look online (sometimes they put the information online) at what sort of services they do for your mental health, for counseling services, for any extra support if you've got disabilities or health issues, anything like that.

Because Nursing - it can be tough. It's not an easy ride. And sometimes you do need help, you do need support, and you want to make sure that you're going to be supported as a student at the University.

So it's not about them choosing you as a student. It's about you choosing them as a University.

You are paying for this course and you want to make sure that everything is put into place to help you through that course and make sure your mental health and well-being is supported as well as your academic side.

04.32 Research the University

My final tip is Google the University.

Have a look at the Pass rates as well and employability rates. Usually they post these online. I know my University post like 98% employment eligibility after people have graduated and things like that.

They always put the stats so you can see them in the public and people that do well with things like that. They usually make them public.

So have a look, but most of all you have to like the University.

You have to like the people you're going to be spending the next three years with, you're going to have to feel comfortable.

You're going to have to make sure it's accessible, good support network - all of that before anything else.

So just make sure this University is right for you. Don't go by what your parents are telling you.

Don't go by what your friends are saying. Do your own work. Do your own investigations. And whichever one is right for you, just go for that because at the end of the day, this is your life your decision.

You're amazing journey into Nursing and you want it to be perfect.

So that's it for me for this time. I shall see you again soon and have an amazing day.

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