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Children's nurse apprenticeships

Healthcare

Children's nurse apprenticeships - where to start

You can get into this job through

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship


    • University

    You can do a degree in children's nursing approved by the Nursing & Midwifery Council. Some degree courses let you study another area of nursing alongside children's nursing. You may be able to join a nursing degree on the second year of a course if you already have a degree in: 

    • a health-related subject 
    • psychology 
    • life sciences 
    • social work 
    Full-time courses usually take 3 years. You'll usually need 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science and 2 or 3 A-Levels, including a science. 

    Apprenticeship
    You may be able to do a degree apprenticeship in nursing if you work in a healthcare setting like a hospital. The apprenticeship takes around 4 years and is a mix of academic study and on-the-job training. You must be supported by your employer to take this route. You'll usually need 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A-Levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship.

    Volunteering

    You may find it helpful to get some paid or voluntary experience in healthcare, or working with children and young people, before you apply for nurse training. 


    Children's nurse apprenticeships - what it takes

    Skills and knowledge

    You'll need: 

    • knowledge of psychology 
    • customer service skills 
    • knowledge of medicine 
    • excellent verbal communication skills 
    • the ability to use your initiative 
    • leadership skills 
    • the ability to work well with others
    • the ability to understand people’s reactions 
    • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
    Restrictions and Requirements
    You'll need to pass enhanced background checks

    Children's nurse apprenticeships - what you'll do

    Day-to-day tasks

    You may: 

    • work with doctors to assess the needs of children who are ill, injured or have disabilities 
    • decide what level of nursing care is required 
    • carry out a range of clinical procedures like using medical equipment, dressing wounds, giving injections and medication 
    • monitor and interpret a child's behaviour to recognise if their health has become worse
    • support parents and carers to help them cope with having an ill child in hospital 
    • advise parents and carers on how to care for their child on returning home
    Working environment
    You could work in an NHS or private hospital, at a hospice, at a children's care home, at a GP practice or at a health centre. Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding. You may need to wear a uniform.

    Career path and progression - Children's nurse apprenticeships

    With experience you could move into a specialised area like: 

    • burns and plastics
    • child protection 
    • cancer care 
    • neonatal nursing 
    • intensive care 
    You could also become a sister, ward manager or team leader. In these roles you'd have responsibility for running a ward or a team of nurses in the community. Other management roles you could work towards include matron or director of nursing. You could train as a health visitor, neonatal or school nurse, or practice nurse in a doctor's surgery. You could also become self-employed or work overseas. With further study and experience, you could move into a nurse consultant position. In this job you'd work with patients to carry out research. You'd also develop and deliver training.

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    Considering an Apprenticeship?

    There are lots of benefits to apprenticeships, here are our top 5:

    • Paid Training
      Not only will your organisation (or the Government) pay for all of your training, but you’ll be paid to do it. That means you could actually get paid to get your degree and have no debt!
    • Range of career opportunities
      There are over 625 different apprenticeships to choose from, in a range of industries. Whether you’re interested in law, marketing, construction or engineering, you’ll find something up your street!
    • Earn & learn
      As an apprentice, the minimum you’ll earn is £6.20 an hour, but we’ve seen apprentices earn a starting salary of up to £30,000 a year! You could also get other employee benefits like gym memberships, paid holiday and sick pay.
    • Great career prospects
      Employers think apprentices are 15% more employable than those with other qualifications. In fact, many large employers train their graduates and apprentices together!
    • Learn on the job
      There’s only so much you can learn when you just do a qualification. As an apprentice, you’ll also get to learn on the job - whether that’s designing amazing graphics, chopping vegetables or building engines!

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