General Nursing Course

bloodmager

I am planning to switch my course to general Nursing...but is the course hard? It seems there are soo many essays to write, but I love to do clinical placements in the course.

The exam is in the form of domains of compentence(DoCAT)....What is that?

The final year course ( semester 1 ) looks terribly hard, consisting of essays and projects... But I really want to become a nurse in hospital.

Could someone give me feedback about the course?

Thanks.

IM0

If thats what you want to be (nurse) then its the course for you regardless of difficulty if you're already in college and switching then Im sure you have what it takes to get the qualifications you need.

Things are always easier if you enjoy them, and it sounds like you enjoy the idea of being a nurse.

bloodmager

umm..that's what I think as well. The main reason is that because English is not my first language and I am afraid of not getting a good grade on my essays since most module exams are based on essay...

Also, I want to know what is DoCAT?

leesmom

im doing midwifery, for this semester most of my exams are mcqs with a few assignments too.
docat as far as im aware is to do with your skills on clinical placement in the hospital, people dont tend to fail it.
yes the course is tough, i obviously cant speak for nursing but then again for a lot of my modules im in with general nurses. its only the second week but already i have a serious amount of work to do.
there are foreigners in nursing so i wouldnt worry about that as regards language etc

katem

DOCATs are given out by the college before you start your placement, it gives you a list of tasks that have to be completed on your placement like help someone wash, make beds, hand washing. it also has catagories like communication, team work, attitude to learning there is 5 catagories all together -you have to get them signed off by one of the nurses that you are working with on the ward. Once you attend your placement and make an effort you should have no problem with the DOCAT's they are just a way of assesing that you are making progress in the hospitals.

There is a lot of people in the course who wouldn't have english as the first language and they seem to manage easily enough.

It is easy to get help with anything you have trouble with, over all there is a few mcq's, a workbook, and essay's are usually not to long and they cover the topics in lectures which make it easier. Some of the course have workshops where you get marks for attendance. they also cover writing skills in 1st yr to help you with the essays.

bloodmager

I wish to say thanks to all of you for the advice given. I believe I will have much more confident and gain a deep insight into the course.

Please share your experience and feelings toward the course, I would like to hear more from you.:)