Choosing a Course

The downside to this "NHS boom" is the pressure it puts on university departments. Students over the next few years may pay the price in crowded lecture theatres and inadequate supervision. Don't be afraid to ask awkward questions about how well-staffed and equipped the department is. It will he particularly important to find out about likely changes to staff:student ratios. If student numbers are increasing, where are the new staff coming from?

Nurses do most of their training on placements in hospitals, so it will be crucial to ask where the placements will be. Does the hospital have a good reputation and is it near enough to make the travel manageable? You may want to have a quick look around the university's hospital "partners" as well as the university itself.

You should also enquire whether the university is good at teaching the type of nursing you want to specialise in, such as children's nursing or mental health. You may think that you haven't yet decided what areas you want to aim for, but you will have an idea of where you see yourself working in five years' time, so try to analyse how that reveals your preferences, while hearing in mind that the reality of your little dream may persuade you to change your mind.

Check the way students are assessed. Students preferring continuous assessment to an exam-based system could choose universities taking that approach, and vice versa.

And check out the students already on the course. Although many 18-yearolds enter the profession, student nurses are, on average, aged 27 and many institutions prefer candidates to have a bit of life behind them. So if you're 24 and in an office, there's no need to think that the chance has passed you by. Conversely, if you're a bit younger than that, you may wonder if you're going to fit in.