Getting into Nursing and Midwifery has never been harder
24 Jan 12
“I have attended open days and spoken to admissions tutors… but
would have loved to have had some written advice on what
universities are looking for.”
- Vanessa Flewit, Applied to Worcester Nursing School 2012 intake.
The number of applications for places on Nursing degrees is at an
all time high and for the second year running Nursing is the most
popular university course in the UK. According to UCAS the number
of applicants was up almost 50% from last year, and the number
of undergraduate places on offer has shrunk.
The competition for places on degree courses is ferocious, the
Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery at King’s
College London had 5,679 applicants for its 461 places. In order to
find a job in nursing or midwifery you have to have an edge over
the competition and you have to be very well prepared.
“I moved into higher education in 2001 and was quickly struck by the lack of realism displayed by
midwifery candidates at interview. Understanding full well the demands of practice and the skills
required of midwifery students as they negotiate these demands, led me to develop an initiative that
would give candidates seeking a midwifery career a ‘taste’ of midwifery.”
- Sarah Snow
Sarah Snow was well aware of the lack of information available to help the many people who are eager
to enter this profession. Her own experience as a practising nurse and midwife, and as an admissions
tutor has taught her that it is not just unsuccessful applicants who are unprepared, large numbers of
undergraduates drop out each year as they realise that they are not able to do such a demanding job.
“The aim of any selection day is to select those who show most potential for being caring,
compassionate and communicative practitioners, as well as those who are most likely to positively
respond to the intense challenges of nursing and midwifery courses, complete them, and take their
skills out into practice.”
- Sarah Snow
Sarah knows from her own experience what skills and traits students will need to demonstrate at the
application stage, through selection days and interview, to preparation for the course itself. She has
put that knowledge into Get into Nursing & Midwifery (ISBN: 978-0-273-74609-6, pb, Jan 2012,
£11.99), the essential guide to improving your chances of entering these rewarding professions.
“My greeting to candidates at selection days always focuses on their successful journey to that precise
point in time. They don’t know, for example that they have managed to obtain a place at a university
where the ratio of midwifery places to applicants may be as high as 16:1. So, just to arrive is an
achievement.”
- Sarah Snow
Sarah Snow is a midwifery lecturer and admissions tutor at the University of Worcester. Her
career as a nurse and midwife spans 27 years, the last decade of which has been within
higher education, teaching across a range of pre and post registration midwifery and sexual
health courses.
 |
Get into Nursing & Midwifery |
|
| Author | Sarah Snow |
|
| Pub Date | 5 Jan 2012 |
|
| Price | £11.99 | |
| Publisher | Pearson Education | |
| ISBN10 | 027374609X | |
| ISBN13 | 9780273746096 | |
Find out more or purchase Get into Nursing & Midwifery at Pearson Books. |
||
For further information please contact:
Paul Kirkham,
t: 01279 623 311
e: paul.kirkham@pearson.com
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All information and prices correct at time of writing.
