< Info : Case Studies : Fiona

Fiona - Access to Nursing - Degree in Nursing - Community Nurse

"I was a full-time mum with a part-time clerical job but I had always wanted to become a nurse. When my youngest child started school, I enrolled on a series of community learning programmes. Those courses gave me the confidence to approach my local college about doing my Highers as entry qualifications for a degree in nursing at university. The college student adviser suggested I apply for the SWAP Access to Nursing instead and I was accepted onto the programme.

I felt a bit apprehensive at first, not knowing if I could juggle full-time education and a family. However, studying full-time involved 18 hours of class time per week only, Mondays to Thursdays. The course was really well organised, most of the time running at child-friendly hours, which made it easy to drop off my children at school in the morning and to pick them up after my classes. One day per week I had classes the whole day, though. So, I arranged for the children to go to the After School Club and the college actually paid those childcare costs for me out of the college childcare fund.

The Access Programme covered some of subjects that I would be undertaking at university and helped me find out that Nursing was definitely for me. On that course, I also made new friends who went on to do their Nursing degree at the same university and whose support was invaluable. We all successfully graduated 2 years ago and immediately found employment. One works as a practice nurse, while others work in hospitals, nursing homes, health centres or voluntary agencies. Some of my friends have also gone on to qualify as midwives.

As for me, I now work as a community nurse and love every minute of it. Not only did the SWAP programme give me excellent preparation to do a degree but it allowed me to fulfil my dream."