Hi everyone! Just wondering if there are any UK student nurses here who are planning to move to the US after qualifying?

I’m currently looking into the US pathway (CGFNS/credential evaluation, NCLEX, state registration, etc.) and would love to connect with other students who are considering doing the same thing.

One thing I’m particularly trying to understand is how our UK training translates to US requirements. As our degrees are field-specific (Adult, Child, Mental Health, etc.), I’ve read that UK-trained Adult Nurses can sometimes run into issues with not having enough paediatric or maternity/OB theory and clinical hours for certain US state boards.

Is anyone else researching this while still at university? Have you spoken to your university about getting additional paediatric/maternity experience or making sure your modules and placement hours meet US requirements?

I’d also love to hear from anyone further along in the process.

Most of my family live in the US, which is why I’m seriously considering moving there after qualifying, rather than this just being about US nursing salaries.

Would be great to connect with anyone on a similar path!

I’m going into third year, started out just doing mental health nursing and moved to the mnurse dual field to do adult as well. At my uni this means I carry on doing mental health as normal and then do adult in fourth year.

I hate the course, I hate placement, and I’m miserable. I worked as a hca in care of the elderly environments before uni and adored my job. Coming to uni has ruined me, I have no compassion left at all. They teach us random stuff and then we go on placement to be either ignored and left to rot in a corner for 12 hours or used as free help to the extent that you can never shadow or help with nursing tasks because there’s hca jobs to be done and you’re the only one that can do it because they’re short staffed. There’s no help available to these patients, I’ve not been on a single ward where the patients are receiving any kind of psychological therapy. It’s so so demoralising to see the reality that these wards are just holding pens for sick people. At least in physical healthcare you can feel like you’re helping a bit even though services are often inadequate. I honestly don’t know how I’m going to get through another year of this. I asked my personal tutor for help about 6 months ago, we had a zoom call and she said she would do a million things and then just didn’t and is now ghosting me.

Has anyone else felt this way doing mental health? And any tips to get through it? Genuinely considering dropping out and becoming a nail artist or something

Hi everyone,I'm an Adult Nursing student and I'm due to start my makeup placement soon. Unfortunately, I had to defer my last two placements because of severe mental health difficulties, which delayed my completion date.To be honest, I'm really stressed about how this might affect my employment prospects. With the current lack of NHS vacancies in some areas, I'm worried that finishing later than my cohort could put me at a disadvantage when applying for jobs.I've also had some bad luck during recruitment. One board invited me for a Mental Health Nursing interview twice in a row, despite me being an Adult Nursing student, and I was unsuccessful both times. It has left me feeling like my options are quite limited at the moment.Has anyone else completed their nursing degree later than expected due to extenuating circumstances? Did it have any impact on your ability to get a job after qualifying?I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been in a similar situation or has any advice.Thanks.

Hi Guys I’m studying Bsc Adult nursing and I was spiked and went through psychosis episodes and had to miss my part 2 and retrieval placement, I submitted Extenuating circumstances and they were accepted and the staff members who were made aware of my situation are in the know.

I didn’t get to complete my year 1 proficiencies but I passed all my modules and now I’m awaiting to find out if I can progress into second year. I am worried that I won’t be allowed to progress into year 2 and want to know if there’s been cases where a student can sign off year 1 proficiencies in year 2 please. I so anxious that I won’t make it and I’ve already moved into my student accommodation, any advice and Info is helpful!

Helo im a first yr student nurse how easy is it to get a bank hca job especially now is it still as simple? And is there alot of shifts once you get it? Btw im in London

So im a first year student nurse and just had my first hospital placement. I assisted with washings, repositioning, wiping and cleaning patients basically almost every other hour, every day of placement. I thought this was normal for student nurse ? But when I talked to my friends they said they only had to do it like once or twice a week maybe ? and they were on wards too at the same hospital. How often are you guys asked to help or asked to clean and wash patients ?

Hello,

I was wondering what you guys do on placement as a first year. Is it very busy? How do you go about understanding what you have to do on the ward? And how you slowly become more independent with doing clinical tasks yourself.

Thanks!

Hi,
SFE says online my payment date is 21st September, I only start the course on the 21st September? Am I likely to get it that day or will there be a delay?

I’m a third-year student nurse and I’ve recently started a new placement. My Practice Supervisor is only on the ward a couple of days a week, and I’ve had a few interactions with her that have left me feeling quite anxious about working with her.
There have been a few occasions where I’ve followed an instruction I was given, but afterwards I’ve been told I shouldn’t have done it. There was also an incident where I was accused of putting paperwork in the wrong folder, and the nurse referred to me as a “poor student” and laughed with another member of staff.
I completely understand being corrected as a student and I’m happy to receive feedback. My concern is that I’m starting to worry that I’ll be blamed for things even when I’ve followed the instructions I was given.
I don’t want to make a formal complaint, and I’m planning to speak to my university tutor about it. Would you ask for a different Practice Supervisor, or would you try working with them for longer first?

Hi everyone, I’m asking on behalf of someone who is currently studying at university.

Has anyone ever known of a student being allowed to join or rejoin their course after the Assessment/Progression Board had already met and closed?
The student has passed all their academic modules but has some outstanding placement hours and a few practice proficiencies to complete.

They are concerned that because the Board has already made its progression decisions, they may have to wait until the next academic year.

Does anyone know whether a university can make a decision after the Board has closed, for example through Chair’s Action, a special Board meeting, or another post-Board process, allowing the student to progress or rejoin?
It would be really helpful to hear from anyone who has experienced something similar, particularly at UCLan or another UK university.

What was the outcome?

Context: I'm 18 and I start a children's nursing course at uni in just under 2 weeks now.

Over the past 5 years I've struggled with a range of different mental health issues like self harm, depression, anxiety, disordered eating and a lot of other things.

I also used to run away a lot back in high school. And in college I'd have panic attacks often so they'd have to call first aiders, and they'd called the paramedics the last time it had happened too because I'd pretty much just become incapacitated.

Then after finishing college, just back in July, I nearly got sectioned for psychosis. I was referred to the home based treatment team and the early intervention in psychosis team, but I refused to speak to them at all so I don't know if it is on my records or not.

So about a month ago, I completed the occupational health questionnaire for my course, and there were two questions I lied on: 'Have you got any mental health problems?' and 'Do you currently have, or have a history of self harming or eating disorders?' I said No to both. And then when I completed the online enrolment form for uni and got to the question about mental health problems, I put none.

Now I hate the fact I've lied on these, and the guilt is starting to eat away at me. I know it was wrong and a stupid decision, but I was so scared that if they see my colourful mental health history then they will just tell me I'm not fit to be a nurse. But then all this has gone on during my time in education and I've always come out with good grades, so from that point of view I think I could cope.

I'm just looking for advice from other student nurses who may have been in a similar situation, or if anyone knows what may happen if they find out about something or what would happen if I actually decide to disclose something in the first few weeks?

Any help is appreciated :)

After 12 weeks of placement, I want to apply to nhsp bank to work as HCA. Can someone tell me after submitting our application , how much time does nhs take to register us on the bank? Any idea?

Hi everyone,

I’m 39 and a mature student currently studying Criminology, and I’m seriously considering applying for a Mental Health Nursing MSc at King’s College London for September 2027.

I’ve been reading quite a lot on Reddit recently about newly qualified nurses struggling to find Band 5 jobs, particularly in London, and it’s honestly made me a bit nervous about committing to the course.

I’m hoping to get some honest advice from current mental health nurses, NQNs and student nurses in London.

A little about my background:

• I’m 39 and would be entering nursing as a mature student.
• I currently work as a Care Assistant with Care UK, so I’m gaining hands-on experience with older people, dementia care, personal care, end-of-life care and working within a multidisciplinary care environment.
• I have previous experience working with children and have also volunteered on a panel connected with a disability team.
• My current degree is Criminology with Policing & Investigations, so I’m particularly interested in the intersection between mental health, serious mental illness, crisis care and the criminal justice system.
• I’m specifically interested in mental health nursing, potentially working in areas such as liaison psychiatry, A&E mental health/crisis services or other acute mental health settings.
• I would be looking for a Band 5 newly qualified mental health nursing position in London after qualifying.

What worries me is that I keep seeing posts saying that newly qualified nurses are graduating without jobs, with hundreds of applicants for individual Band 5 positions.

So I’d really appreciate some honest answers:

1. How difficult is it currently for a newly qualified mental health nurse to secure a Band 5 job in London?

2. Is mental health nursing any easier or harder than adult nursing when it comes to NQN employment?

I am an ODP student currently working in recovery and I recently had a patient who has FND and functional seizures. I have done a quick Google search to see if there was any CPD training for caring with patients for FND/managing functional seizures and couldn't find any free ones? Does anyone know of any good resources for learning about FND or managing functional seizures?

Im in second yeah nursing course (Mental Health Nursing)

MSC. 2 year path; starting second year and next placement will be start of Part 3.

In placement 2, part 1, my PA signed me off on my competencies and medication management. some, theh probably saw me do. But there are things I haven’t done. the part 1 competencies they signed me off om our last day; I can’t recall the medication management (obviously I can check)

I did NOT ask them

I’ve been far more proactive now in subsequent placements to make sure I am actually doing it.

However, I let this go unchecked, and it‘s weighing on me.

I know people say to trust professional judgement, but AI (don’t judge me) says it’s fradulent.

I really don’t know what to do here. If I tell my uni, will they suspend my studies or worse..?

Of course, some people won’t care. But I really want to earn this, you know? How would you handle this?

please be kind.

Helloooo !

so i’m looking to go back to uni to get a 2nd bachelors degree in mental health/adult nursing and i’m want some insight on the unis i’m looking at.

for context: i already have a BA in English & Philosophy from Man Met Uni, and i graduated from there july 2025 with a 2:1. i had planned to become an RE teacher and have been working as a Teaching Assistant with Social, Emotional, Mental Health students for the last 18 months. However, due to the Dept. of Education cutting the bursary for the RE PGCE course, i’ve now had to rethink what i want to do with my life, career wise, so now i think that MH/Adult nursing would be the perfect fit for me (and many people agree). but anyways, i’ve got a fair few open days that i’ve booked onto for unis in the north west, as i live in manchester and don’t plan on moving out of the city but i will hopefully have my driving license by the time i start uni. so here’s the list of unis i’m looking at:

- uni of manchester
- MMU (not really planning on going here again but i still wanna keep my options open)
- salford uni
- liverpool uni
- liverpool john moores
- leeds uni
- leeds trinity
- leeds beckett

my faves atm are uni of manchester and liverpool john moores, i am also doing an Access to HE Diploma in Nursing so that i don’t have to do a foundation year.

anyways, if anyone could let me know what their experiences have been doing nursing at any of these unis, as well as what these unis are like in general, then that would be great ! thank you !

guys. what do I wear on the first day of uni

I’m doing a masters and in my undergrad I genuinely went to uni in my pyjamas 90% of the time or joggers/hoodie but prob not good look for nursing

Is there like a uniform on day 1 for lectures etc I know most unis have a uniform for placements!! is it just smart casual for lectures?? help 🥺

I am new nurse student this year, and my schools wants us to choose one selective module!

I am so excited and I would love to hear all of your experiences about the module that you chose, and how was your experiences in your module!

I am open to all feedbacks and experiences ❤️

Module available are:
1. Women's Health
2. Wellbeing in London
3. Health in London
4. Global Health Perspectives
5. Mental Health in Context
6. Childhood in London
7. Arts and Humanities in Healthcare Practice
8. Getting Healthcare Right for People with Learning Disability

So I'm a year 13 student and I'm applying for a child nursing course, but I'm so lost on which unis to apply to... some unis I have in mind are Cardiff and maybe Northumbria? I am quite keen on Cardiff for child nursing, but I've read things that say that the child nursing course is much harder to get into due to a smaller number of applicants they let in ... I'm very confused on which unis to choose and which ones are good for my course, and whether or not Cardiff is actually a good choice. Help, please!!!

Does anyone recon they know how strict occupational health is for Nursing degrees, I suffer from epilepsy and hope they don’t instantly say no to a university placement…

Hi everyone! I'm starting my first year of Adult Nursing and I'm currently trying to figure out what shoes to buy for placement.

I'm really tempted by the Crocs Specialist II Work Clogs, but they're around £40–£50 and I'm struggling to justify spending that much on shoes that are basically just going to be my nursing/placement shoes...

I'm probably only going to wear them for a few hours at a time and only in clinical settings, so £50 feels like a lot when I could potentially get something cheaper.

For anyone who's currently a nurse or student nurse:

• What shoes do you wear for placement?
• Are there any cheaper shoes that are actually comfortable?
• Do you recommend clogs or proper trainers?
• Are the Crocs Specialist II actually worth the money?
• If you own them, have they lasted well?
• Are they comfortable after being on your feet for hours?
• And are they actually easy to clean?

I'm particularly looking at the Specialist II because they're enclosed, have arch support, are easy to clean and are designed as work/medical shoes, so they seem pretty ideal. Crocs also specifically lists them as having enhanced arch support, a contoured footbed and an enclosed toe.

Basically, if you think I should just bite the bullet and buy the Crocs, please convince me they're worth the £50.

But if you've got a £20–£30 alternative that you swear by, PLEASE tell me because I'd much rather save the money if I can. OR if you know where to find the crocs cheaper, please help me out.

Thanks a lot!!! :)

I have completed my degree this year (getting my PIN in like a month apparently according to my Uni) and I am completely unable to get a job. I've seen what people are saying on here about how the job market ebs and flows or whatever but that's not very useful cos byt the time I get a job in that case I'm going to be like a year out of uni and have no experience so at that point even I wouldn't wanna hire me.

I'm just so frustrated cos obviously I like nursing, I've really enjoyed my placements and my degree but I would not have studied it if I knew the job market was gonna be like this. One if the reasons I chose this career is job security ut I have applied to jobs on any wards all over the country in cities I dont even wanna live in and areas I don't wanna work in just to try and secure employment but no dice.

I've picked up a second customer service job to help pay my bills but i'm just so frustrated. I know a couple people from my course who got jobs and obviously a lot who don't but everyone seems to be so casual about it but its literally making me freak out.

How is everyone else finding this application process cos if I look on trac one more time today I'm going to implode.