My Experience Taking A Nursing Degree Top Up Online Course

"After an intense search I stumbled on a nursing degree top up program for nurses who had UK nursing diplomas, and overseas nurses who required a top-up to meet UK standards"

Eva took a Nursing Studies (Top Up ) BSc Honors online. This is her experience. If you’re an overseas nurse or you have a UK nursing diploma that requires a top-up, you should read this.

Topics Covered In This Article

Who Should Take A Top-Up Nursing Degree BSc Course?

Finding The Right Course Takes Research

What Are The Requirements For This Degree Course?

How Long Does The Degree Take And What Do You Learn?

What Did I Think Of This Degree Program?

My Tips For Taking A Nursing Degree Online

Who Should Take A Top-Up Nursing Degree BSc Course?

The Nursing Studies (Top Up ) BSc Honors is for UK nurses who already have a diploma and are wanting to top up to a Degree (Honors), and also nurses who trained overseas and require to upgrade their qualifications to UK standards.

Why Did I Take The Course?

Nursing is a very varied profession with lots of options for career development. Going back to university to further one's education isn't always a requirement as there's a lot of pathways within nursing that one can follow and not only get training on the job but also utilise experiences gained in previous roles.

However, I came to the decision that I was going to study further, for quite a few reasons.

First of all am quite academic, I thrive when in class and I absolutely love studying theories and being knowledgeable.

Second, I find it's a lot easier to integrate into the UK healthcare industry and pursue more opportunities when you have a UK degree.

Finally, and much more specifically, one of my biggest goals is to eventually get a master’s in Advanced Nurse Practice - and I wouldn't qualify for that program with my current qualifications that I had acquired in Botswana.

Finding The Right Course Takes Research

So, unsurprisingly I relocated with huge expectations of going to university and having a huge selection of health degrees to choose from.

A part of this worked out as I had imagined, in that; there is definitely an array of exciting health degrees in the UK… some of which I admittedly had never heard of before!

But most of it was also unexpected and disappointing.

As you can imagine, university education is quite expensive, requires a lot of time, effort and dedication.

I needed a program which would allow me to work enough hours to support myself financially whilst furthering my education and online learning seemed the best solution.

After an intense search and talking to a few friends I stumbled on a tweet about University of Derby Online offering a nursing degree top up program for nurses who had UK nursing diplomas and overseas nurses who required a top-up to meet UK standards.

This program was also tailored for the less financially privileged.

I went on to do a bit more research on this program and also compared it with other programs offered in other institutions before finally deciding to settle for it.

What Are The Requirements For This Degree Course?

Having done my initial nursing training overseas I was required to send transcripts of all my previous training, training qualifications, my personal statement, professional references and a reference confirming that I was currently working in the health care sector.

I was also required to submit valid IELTS results because I am still considered an overseas student.

When I started this course, they had different fees for locals to overseas students, but this has since changed.

How Long Does The Degree Take And What Do You Learn?

This degree takes one to two years and is accredited by the RCN.

Another plus to it is that it also constitutes CPD hours for NMC revalidation. This course is done primarily online and there are online lectures and webinars put up on the portal for a number of weeks.

The webinars are actually quite interactive and offer students a chance to interact with their lectures as well as amongst themselves.Depending on your prior qualifications you may be required to complete a Certificate of Credits in Health and Social Care for the first trimester.

Then go onto the top up degree after passing this module.

There are both core and optional modules covering various aspects of nursing including:

● Advanced concepts in Palliative Care

● Asthma: Basic Mechanisms and Clinical Management

● Care of the surgical Patient

● Educating in health and social care

● Evidence Based Practice

● Partnerships in dementia care

● Public Health

● UK and International perspectives

● Relationships informed by cognitive behavioral therapy

● Social consequences of Dementia care

● Therapeutics and diagnostics reasoning

● Ethical and legal issues in Healthcare Policy and Practice

Assessment methods used for this course include writing essays, research reports, online presentation, compiling research reports, group work, practical reports and compiling portfolios.

What Did I Think Of This Degree Program?

Although this is a great program it was quite intense for me when I first started as I had never done a full-on online program before and frankly, I’m not in the least bit tech savvy.

It can be very demoralizing the first few weeks as it takes some time to get used to the online portal, however there are tutors available to assist with this.

It's also quite challenging allocating time for study as a mature student who has a full-time job.

The course recommends 20 to 40 hours of study per week depending on the amount of credits each module has. For most of us this constitutes the entirety of our off days!

It is quite obviously demanding because nurses don’t have a routine work schedule (some do but not a lot) and we work both daytime and nighttime shifts not forgetting having to fit in our social lives as well.

My Tips For Taking A Nursing Degree Online

I’ve found it helpful to plan ahead and include some time off to rest in between, just to avoid getting overwhelmed and prevent chaos.

I calendar out everything on both my fridge calendar and my notebook planner because I am into visuals. 

I also try to start my assignments earlier on and just keep adding on and editing overtime, also gives me time to evaluate my work prior to submission.

I must add, in as much as higher education has become a lot more advanced; there are more resources available now to support university students e.g. apps that correct your grammar, assist with citations and fish out plagiarized statements in students’ work.

Surrounding myself with supportive friends and connecting with other motivated students also go a long way.

University tutors are also quite helpful and supportive.