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Partnership offers new route into a nursing careers

06/03/2023
This article is more than one year old.

An innovative new hands-on nursing degree is being launched at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with The Open University (OU) designed to make it easier for people in Oxfordshire and nearby to start a career in nursing.

Two recruitment open days are being staged on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 March at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, aiming to attract potential new nurses who live within an hour’s travel of Oxford.

Catchment areas stretch from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and South Warwickshire for the BSc nursing degree that blends theory modules with practical modules.

It will be a first for the Trust and the new programme will sit under the umbrella of a new Nursing Academy to deliver the three-year nursing degree, which begins in October.

The programme's theory section is delivered by The Open University, the UK's largest university, which has 50 years' experience in supported distance learning and currently more than 208,000 students.

Nursing students will learn through a combination of distance learning and face-to-face online tutor support.

It follows a tried-and-tested nursing degree curriculum devised by the OU and successfully delivered elsewhere in NHS Trusts across the UK.

There's also plenty of time to meet other students during the practical modules, which are undertaken by the Trust at its hospitals in Banbury and Oxford, working alongside registered nurses and other healthcare professionals.

Sam Foster, Chief Nursing Officer at OUH, said: "By recruiting students locally the Trust aims to grow its own workforce from a nearby population.

"The three-year course means students will study full-time and once they obtain their degree and registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council the Trust aims to employ them in a suitable role.

"It is also open to current employees of the Trust such as healthcare support workers and healthcare assistants if they meet the relevant criteria."

Students pay fees on a module-by-module basis and there is a wide range of flexible payment and funding options available.

They may also be eligible to receive an NHS Training Grant of £5,000 per academic year. See the NHS careers website for more information.

Dr Rebecca Garcia, Associate Head of School Nursing and Health Professions at OU, said: "We are ideally placed to work with the Trust as a distance learning provider and we are excited to be working with its team on this next cohort.

"The OU has educated more than 2,500 nurses and our delivery model allows us to reach individuals in society who might not normally consider a career in nursing."

The open days are being staged from 10am-3pm on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 March. For more information visit the degree's FAQs page.