Chief Nurse champions different nursing routes
To mark National Careers Week this week, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust is raising awareness of the different routes into nursing.
National Careers Week runs from March 2 until March 7, and this year aims to encourage young people and school leavers to look at alternative routes into their chosen career.
As part of the week, CWPT wants to encourage more young people to consider an alternative route into nursing, such as an apprenticeship.
Mel Coombes, Chief Nurse and Chief Operating Officer at CWPT, said: “The ethos behind National Careers Week is to celebrate careers guidance and to provide support for young people leaving education.
“We would encourage young people with a desire to care for others, particularly those who would prefer the less traditional university route, to look at the alternative ways into nursing.
“Joining our nursing family at CWPT provides a unique opportunity to undertake a diverse range of nursing roles in areas such in mental health, learning disability and autism, and end-of-life palliative care so we look forward to welcoming future nurses into our Trust whichever route they choose to take.
In order to attract a diverse workforce, in recent years the NHS has been providing alternative routes into nursing. The traditional route is via university but prospective nurses can also take the nursing degree apprenticeship route or become a nursing associate then ‘top up’ their training to become qualified nurses.
This year is also a special year for nurses the World Health Organisation has dedicated 2020 as the first ever global Year of the Nurse and Midwife to mark 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing
Nurses and midwives make up the largest numbers of the NHS workforce, and they touch the lives of many and play a vital role in providing health services, caring for others, giving health advice and meeting everyday essential health needs. They are often the first and only point of care in their communities and are highly skilled, multi-faceted professionals from a host of backgrounds representing diverse communities.
To find out about the different routes into nursing, please visit the Health Careers website. If you are a trained nurse looking to join a Trust with a wide variety of opportunities, please visit www.covwarkpt.nhs.uk and go to the ‘work for us’ section to see the latest vacancies.