Case Studies of Current Students
- Kieron Lamorte, Adult Nursing"I always wanted to be a nurse since a young age so starting at Cardiff University got the ball rolling for me. I came straight from school after studying my A-levels, alongside which I worked as a healthcare assistant part-time. I am now in the third year completing the last part of the training. I have thoroughly enjoyed the clinical practice involved in the nurse training and the majority of the time very rewarding because of the experiences I have encountered over the last three years.
The theoretical side to the nursing course is beneficial in order to learn how to link policies that are created by the government and relevant agencies to current practice. I have found the theoretical part challenging at times however see the benefit it has with my practice.
Even-though as student nurses we are working full-time my social life was still a great experience especially in Cardiff city centre. I found that the union and healthcare societies provide a great number of events in which I attended.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of studying in Cardiff and look forward to my future as a nurse.
I plan to work as a surgical nurse, hoping to specialise in the future as a pain team nurse.
I would suggest that if you are going to study a nursing degree at Cardiff University that you don’t have a part time job that is not flexible with its hours. The reason for this is because during clinical practice you will have to work shifts that change every week.
Another bit of advice would be to enjoy your training as much as possible!"
"Between finishing my A-levels at college and coming to Cardiff University, I worked as a community care assistance, although I already knew I wanted to become a nurse, this job opened up my eyes on how intense caring is. I’m in my first year and loving the course (both clinical and theoretical aspects). The experience I gained as a care assistant was worthwhile and has definitely helped me with the clinical aspects of the course; however many of my friends had little experience before joining the course and even I will admit that some of them are better at the course than I am: Cardiff University is a well established university and therefore provides a stable learning environment as well as boasting a good social aspect to the course (Student Union and Cardiff’s night life!). I would definitely recommend coming to study at Cardiff University."
- Chris Mitchell, Adult Nursing
"Studying Midwifery at Cardiff is challenging and very different from anything I’ve done before but I am enjoying it. I particularly look forward to clinical placements which are a chance to learn the hands-on parts of the job and put into practice the theory we learn in lectures. I also enjoy the variety of outside speakers we have as they are often nurses or midwives working in a specialist field who have clinical experience and knowledge to share. Away from midwifery, I have been involved in a number of societies which are a great way to meet people and find time to socialise and keep up with hobbies.
At the end of my third year I will stay in Cardiff and I hope to find work as a midwife in one of the local health boards in the area. In the long term I would like to work as a community midwife as I enjoy having continuity with women and getting to know them through their pregnancies.
I would suggest that anyone wanting to study midwifery should do all they can to find out about what the job involves as this is important knowledge to demonstrate when being interviewed. Work experience can be difficult to get but there are numerous books and websites with valuable information and even finding a midwife to ask a few questions can be very useful."
- Kath Fischer, Midwifery