“It really has been life-changing”: meet the students striving for success through GCU’s brand-new degree programme

An innovative course at GCU is helping healthcare workers take the next step in their career.

The brand-new hybrid ‘Earn as You Learn’ programme is allowing individuals from across Scotland the chance to become fully qualified learning disability nurses with The Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Students get the chance to tune into lectures from their home or work, allowing them to learn the practical and professional skills needed to help them progress in the future. As well as online learning, students have the chance to take part in placements across a variety of settings from March this year.

Suzanne Simpson, Rachael Ward and John McLaren didn’t ever think the opportunity to study at university would be feasible for them but now find themselves submitting assessments and taking their knowledge to new levels.

We caught up with them to find out more:

Tell me a bit about where you currently work?

Suzanne: “I work with people who have learning disabilities and have done for most of my career. At the moment I work with the NHS in a housing support team with two adults who have learning disabilities. It’s 24-hour support in their own home and my role involves managing the service and supporting the staff members, but also providing direct support as well.”

John: “I work for the East Renfrewshire Learning Disability Team and we’re based at Barrhead Health Centre.  I’m from Dumbarton originally and now stay in Renfrew, so it’s an ideal location for me. I initially got into nursing because I wanted to give something back to society and felt nursing was the best way to do it. I wanted a challenge and felt doing this as a career path was the best route for me."

Rachael: “I work with NHS Lanarkshire in an acute psychiatric ward for people under the age of 65. I’m slightly different to John and Suzanne because their work focuses more on learning disabilities and my work focuses more on mental health and working on a ward, but obviously there’s a massive cross-over there."

Why did the 'Earn as You Learn' programme appeal to you?

Rachael: “It appealed to me because it was obviously a good form of continuous development, but it’s also one of the only courses for people like us employed by the NHS. Going to university wouldn’t be viable for me if I had to leave my full-time job, so having this unique opportunity to continue working and complete the course is just brilliant. There are obviously other routes like Open University but the chances of being accepted onto that are really slim.

“I had got to that point in my career where I wanted to progress and the natural next step for me was to become a registered nurse because there are just a lot more roles available to me.”

John: “I was brought up to basically go out and get a job once you left school – college and university wasn’t really an option for me. I got into my current role and enjoyed it but there was just something missing in my life. I wanted to progress but didn’t want to leave my job due to the financial implications. I had applied for the Open University course during covid but I was unsuccessful, which was really disappointing.

“I then heard about this and felt it was an amazing opportunity. I knew that even if I could get an interview then it would still be a good opportunity for feedback. I initially enquired about it and then got the chance to have a face-to-face interview with Mark Gallagher (Senior Lecturer). It really fitted with everything I was looking for because I could stay in my own job until I finish the degree. To have the chance to be a qualified learning disability nurse is just massive for me.”

Suzanne: “It’s always been something I’ve been interested in but learning disability nursing isn’t offered as a degree in Inverness so I would have to move away and do it somewhere else, which just isn’t possible. It’s a fantastic opportunity overall because it allows me to develop and become registered.

“Studying at GCU wasn’t ever something I’d considered as a possibility but getting this opportunity really is the best thing ever. We’ve been to Glasgow a couple of times now and the lecturers are great at sharing their personal experiences. Inverness is very different to Glasgow and it’s really interesting to see what else is out there.”

What's your experience been like so far on the programme?

John: “I was very nervous before I started because I’ve been out of education for a long time and I’m not very confident around articulating my thoughts. I was worried about how I would be able to do an essay and reference properly, but Mark really put my mind at ease when I spoke to him.

“I used the Learning Development Centre at GCU because I’ve got a form of dyslexia. It was discussed at interview and Mark introduced me to the team. They’ve really helped me to put a plan together for tackling my coursework – it’s been absolutely amazing. I honestly can’t fault anyone at GCU, everyone has been incredible.”

Suzanne: “I was expecting to come in and for everything to be very fast paced, but they’ve actually allowed us to go back to basics. There’s been a lot of help around referencing, how to write essays and also our values as nurses – that has really made a difference in the early part of our university experience.

“Technology at times can be a bit of an issue but that’s just part and parcel of it. Everything is definitely improving as the course goes on – the lecturers do everything they can to make it work for us."

Rachael: “My experience has been really positive – the lecturers have been amazing. I’m used to working on a ward so I had a good idea around the basics but going to classes has really made me think about what I’m doing when I work, why I’m doing it and also giving me the confidence to ask someone in a higher position why they’re asking me to do something.

“I do think it can be challenging still maintaining full-time employment and doing the course. I change between doing days and nights, so that can be quite hard. As Suzanne mentioned, there can be technical issues but our lecturers make sure we don’t miss anything and it is improving all the time. Everyone is in this unique situation where it’s the first time the course is happening, so we’re all in it together.”

How will this degree change your career?

Rachael: “Becoming a registered learning disability nurse is such an amazing qualification. This will give me the chance to go into more specialist learning disability roles within the local area and also just gives me so many options for the future as well.”

Suzanne: “I can definitely remain in my current role but I think at some point I would like to continue working with the NHS in the local community as a learning disability nurse. The good thing about the qualification is that it also gives me the opportunity to go into mental health focused roles as well. It opens so many doors.”

John: “For me, it means that I can choose where I want to work – it gives me so many options. My placements, which start in March, are going to let me experience different teams and different environments, so I’m going to get a broad insight. I like working in the community but I might try something else and find a new route. I honestly can’t wait to get started.”

Would you encourage other people in a similar position to consider this as an option to help develop their career?

Suzanne: “Absolutely. We actually have another staff member within our workplace who is completing the course through the Open University but it’s slightly different and I think our option is definitely a better one because there is more direct teaching rather than it being self-taught. The fact you can continue to work in your full-time role in your own local area just makes it so much easier – it’s such a great opportunity.”

Rachael: “I would recommend it to anyone, especially those with bigger financial commitments like a house and maybe a young family. I think it’s a course than you can work around your own life as well – I really don’t think I could ever have gone back to university without it. It really has been life-changing.”

John: “I would 100% recommend it. There’s definitely a lack of experienced males out there working within the healthcare sector that maybe don’t want to leave their job because of family or money, but this is a perfect opportunity for guys like me to progress their careers. Hopefully word will quickly spread and the programme can continue to help more people develop in future.”

Interested in the Learning Disability Nursing Hybrid ‘Earn as You Learn’ programme? Contact studentenquiries@gcu.ac.uk