Student nurses at NTU Mansfield share their experiences of entering higher education later in life

It’s ideal for anyone who is wanting to enter higher education later in life, and allows students to study towards employment-related qualifications while balancing work or childcare.

The new NTU site sits next door to West Nottinghamshire College, and offers a range of foundation degrees in areas including business, construction, sports science and healthcare - you can even train to be an ambulance technician.

Working with West Notts College, people are now able to start from scratch with no formal qualifications, complete tailored access programmes to get them onto their desired course and complete the two-year foundation degree.

From there, they can either enter the workplace or complete a third year via NTU and achieve a full bachelor’s degree.

Perhaps by far the most popular courses are the nursing programmes in adult and mental health.

The joy, I am told, aside from offering improved employment for residents, is that the majority of students are already invested in Mansfield and Ashfield, so nurses are more likely to go and work at King's Mill Hospital, and other local health providers - rather than moving away to study and - more than likely - taking a job in their new city.

Still in its first year, your Chad spoke to two student nurses and asked them to share their experiences.

Here’s what they had to say . . .

Katy Potter - 35-year-old mum-of three from Sutton.

“I’ve lived in Sutton all of my life and I left school with some quite poor GCSEs and I really didn’t know what I wanted to do.

“I always wanted to be a nurse but I wasn’t confident about my abilities. It’s not that sort of area where I’m from - people just don’t do things like that.

“I had my daughter 13 years ago, and now I’m a mother of three.

“But over the years, nursing remained something I really wanted to do and I enrolled in an Access to Higher Education course at West Notts College.

“When it came to choosing university, the location was a real factor - I was offered a place at NTU to study nursing at their Clifton Campus, and at the time, I wasn’t even aware that the Mansfield site was opening.

“It’s perfect for me - I can do the school run and then go to uni’. They also appreciate that you haven’t come from a conventional background for higher education, and at times you might need a bit of extra help and that really helps with my confidence as well.

“Now I drive past with my kids and they always say, ‘that’s where mummy goes’.

“I worked at King’s Mill Hospital as a healthcare support worker. I think when I qualify in two-and-a half years, I’d like to work in palliative care - working through Covid, I have seen a lot of death and the impact it has on families.

“I want to be able to help people through those final days and weeks and months - plus I really can’t do blood.”

Amy Stevens - 33-year-old mother-of-two from Kirkby

I first started training as a nurse 10 years ago at the former satellite site at King's Mill Hospital but I left my studies because I became pregnant with my first child.

“I fell into motherhood and concentrated on raising him, and then I had his sister, but then I realised that I needed something else.

“I actually hadn’t applied to NTU because I didn’t expect them to be open - I’d accepted a place at the University of Lincoln but I really didn’t fancy it - it’s more than an hour away, and thankfully I was accepted at Mansfield.

“I really just want to give something back. With the Mansfield Campus now being open, you’ve got that support but you’re also studying with people who are more your age and we’re all here for the same reason - we all want to be nurses.

“It’s not been easy - I had to go back and do my GCSE maths. Then I had to do my access course and I’m still fighting. The support you get here is incredible - the staff here are amazing.

“It’s not an easy course - there’s the academic work, but there’s also the 600+ placement hours you need to complete - but it’s my children that push me on to do it . . . I want them to be proud of me.

“If you don’t get it right the first time, you can try again.

“I want to work in cardiology - I love hearts.”

To explore the nursing programmes, and other courses on offer at NTU Mansfield, go to https://www.ntu.ac.uk/study-and-courses/academic-schools/ntu-in-mansfield

A message from Jon Ball, your Chad Editor: Support your Chad by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Click here to subscribe.