Jennifer Woolf
"The academic staff are great – there’s always someone willing to help you when you need it."
Course
Nursing Studies (Registered Nurse Adult Nursing) PGDip"I chose Surrey because I’ve lived in Guildford since coming to the University for my first degree in sociology. I like the area and I already knew my way around the campus. Surrey also had great standings in the league tables.
I came to an Applicant Day before starting the course. It was great to meet other people who were applying for the course and meet some current students. The whole application process was quick and easy to follow.
I chose the programme because my previous degree covered some of the same material as the first-year modules. My previous degree and work experience have set me up brilliantly to move into nursing - feel that I can get more out of the postgraduate course, having had some life experience.
This course is very intense and can be challenging in both an academic and time management way, but I really enjoy the mix between academic and practical work. The course is split so that approximately half the time is spent in lectures and writing assignments, while half is in practice. Information provided in lectures provides a good foundation for what you encounter when you’re out in practice.
The academic staff are great – there’s always someone willing to help you when you need it.
There’s a great mix of skills and backgrounds among staff too, so there’s a specialist available in lots of different areas of nursing.
When I told one of the lecturers that I was struggling at the beginning of the course, she arranged extra help sessions for me and that really boosted my confidence.
Students have access to a mock-ward with lifelike dummies as patients. It’s great to practice basic skills on fake people first! You can programme them to respond to different stimuli, take their blood pressure and listen to their breathing.
I’ve been on placements in two hospital wards (respiratory and endocrinology), A&E and community nursing in the last year. This year I’m going to spend a three-month placement in a prison, I can’t wait!
A big achievement for me this year has been gaining the courage to get stuck in – it can be daunting at first to be in a new place, surrounded by new people and procedures. Saying yes to everything means I’ve been able to do so much; give injections, catheterise, give ward handovers, take part in CPR, dress wounds and burns and so much more. Once you’ve done everything for the first time you become more confident and you want to get involved even more.
When I graduate, I plan to get a job in Guildford or the surrounding areas. I think practice nursing is where I’m headed, but with every placement I learn a little bit more about myself and about what it’s like to nurse different types of patients in different areas. I’m halfway through my course so you never know what might happen in the second half."
Discover more about our health sciences, nursing and midwifery programmes, including our PGDip Nursing Studies (Adult Nursing).
