Clare Turnbull, PgDip Adult Nursing
A PgDip in Adult Nursing means that Clare will be a nurse in just two years; and with varied placements backed up by applied learning, she'll be ready for itClare's first degree was in Cell Biology, but after working for a cancer charity she realised that she wanted to provide even more hands-on care. She decided that the accelerated PgDip at LSBU was the best way to get her on to the career path she wanted, quickly.
Application process
Before starting Clare was worried that her lack of clinical experience would be an issue, but after reassurance from the Course Director that it wouldn't count against her she has found that her confidence has come on in leaps and bounds.
"The application process was really good. LSBU was well organised on the assessment days and they were easy to access, and my interview was fine. I was really nervous but the panel was nice."
Highly relevant
Clare is finding the course both vocational and stimulating: "It's everything I wanted it to be," she said, "and you can really see the relevance of everything they teach you. The lecturers really know their stuff and it's good they've been nurses before. They're very approachable face-to-face and have always replied to any emails pretty much straight away."
Hands-on
Clare was attracted by the high-quality placements offered at LSBU. They have lived up to her expectations – Clare's first placement has been at University College London Hospital (UCLH). On the first day she was shown around and assigned her mentor, and since then it's been very hands-on.
I like that you can see the impact even a small action can have on a patient's wellbeing. Even though I'm not yet qualified, I can still help in small ways and just by talking to patients. I'm looking forward to offering the whole package in the future to make an even bigger difference.
Clare Turnbull
Working at UCLH has so far been Clare's highlight, and she's looking forward to the varied other placements to come over the next year or so.
Future plans
"I'm interested in working with patients with long-term conditions when I graduate," she explained.
"I find the complex psychological aspects that go along with these conditions interesting and it's an area I could see myself working, especially as on my placement so far I've been working with these types of patients.
"Getting a good qualification from a respected nursing university is always going to mean having good options when it comes to future job opportunities, and being in such a big hospital means I can ask around for work and experience on wards that I'm interested in working on - there's so much I can do."