To NVQ or not to NVQ?

[Dopey]

So I've been having some trouble making some career/life choices, but I'm slowly making my way towards a decision. Well I think the decision has been made in my sub-conscious, but I just need to build the confidence to make the commitment to this decision. The decision - do my nursing degree. I know I need to talk to my ward manager asap about options. I've checked and I can still apply for the 2 year course up until June. The course, applying, the job...don't really have any question concerning that. Although any advice is always welcome

The purpose of this post though is to see if anyone has done/currently doing/about to start/ considered doing an NVQ in health and social care?? I said on interview that I would be prepared to do it, and think I'd actually enjoy it. But if I apply to nursing and am successful I would be starting in sept, only giving me 8 or so months to complete an NVQ. Is it worth it? Sure I can't lose anything by doing it, but would it be better to concentrate on working and saving, then giving myself the extra stress of a course I possibly dont even need?

This is all stuff I am going to talk to my ward manager when I get back to work, but I have 2 weeks off now and I want to feel a little less overwhelmed by the choices and decisions when I talk to her. I know I'm rambling about all this, but I am getting overwhelmed and anxious about all these decisions, that I know I'm pressurising myself to make. I guess I am just looking for a bit of reassurance and advice.

[Choose]

I don't have any experience when it comes to this but do you have any resources available to you with anecdotes from people in the field already, and what their work experience was like with or without NVQ? As you said, you can't lose anything by doing it but that stress may not be worth it.

[Nostalgia]

I've done a NVQ2 and NVQ3 in childcare . I had a year to do the NVQ2 which I did complete on time and then the NVQ3 took a year and a half and I got that completed on time too. If you put the work in and do work at home as-well as at college and on breaks at work and take the coursework to work with you - within reason you should be able to complete it on time. The way I see it is, the more certificates and qualifications you have the more likely you are to get the job over someone who has less qualifications than you.

To an employer the more certificates and qualifications you have always looks good because it shows how hard working you are ect and that you've put the effort in to get the qualifications ect.

[Dopey]

OK, so I would have to put hours in at college as well? Sort of figured I could just get some books and crack on with it...well obviously not that simply, but just didn't really consider having to have some classroom time. That isn't a problem in itself, but maybe I could gain more spending that time on the wards learning from the nurses? Most the nurses are good at taking the time to talk me through certain procedures and aspects of their jobs that I'm not really involved in, like the drug rounds and paperwork. And the longer I'm working on the ward the more training I'll get and I'll be able to do more (cannulas and bloods etc). I've only spoken to one HCA who has actually done the NVQ. She only did it so she could apply for a band 3 position (meaning better pay), but I would say there are definitely band 2 HCAs that more more experienced and better at the job. So I certainly don't 'need' to do a NVQ. Just feel I should.

I'm rambling again. Really need to talk to my ward manager about this don't I?

Banshee-Screamer - how was the course broken down? How much 'classroom time', exam vs coursework ratio, time spent learning on the job etc? And if they allow a year, and the college course side of it is structured around that year, how possible do you reckon it would be to actually complete it in half that time?