Being unable to work because of Covid-19, Emma decided that it was time to change up her career path. From working as a beauty and aesthetics practitioner to now training to become a nurse on our Access to Healthcare course, read on to find out about Emma’s journey and why retraining at the age of 43 is the best thing she ever did.

What made you want to study the Access to Healthcare Professional Diploma course?

I currently work as a beauty and aesthetics practitioner, but was unfortunately unable to work because of the pandemic, which is what pushed me to change my career path.

I then started looking at the options available to me. Since I was small, I have always wanted to be a nurse, but I left school with no GCSEs, and I had children from a young age so always thought that studying to become a nurse was far too complicated and out of my reach. However, I called MK College and a lovely lady gave me some advice, leading me to apply for this course. So, I did, and here I am currently studying the course with the hopes to go to university in 2022!

What do you enjoy the most about your course?

My tutor, Tina! She is so incredibly helpful. She guides me and gives me the confidence boost that I sometimes need. The structure of teaching in general is also great, and I have really liked all the teachers that have taught my class so far.

I’m also really enjoying the different subjects that I am studying within the Access to Healthcare course, it’s all so interesting. I don’t even mind the maths section – and that was the one subject I was dreading!

Why did you decide to undertake your studies at MK College?

I chose to study at MK College because not only is it close by to me, but I have studied at the college before, and it has all the qualities that you would want from a college. Also, the lady that gave me advice in the first place advised that it was a great course.

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of studying an adult or professional course at MK College?

Go for it! You’re never too old to learn! And don’t let the grades you received at school when you were younger stop you.

You may even surprise yourself – I have learnt that if you push yourself, you can achieve so much more than you had ever thought possible.

Discover the range of adult & professional courses that we have to offer at MK College here, from Distance Learning courses to Hybrid Courses, and from Microsoft Accredited courses to Access to HE courses.

Ashleigh Rudd has been on a work placement at MK Hospital for around six months. Currently studying Level 3 Health and Social Care, she is just about to complete 500 hours of valuable work experience.

Having worked on a variety of wards, Ashleigh has been shadowing nurses and health care assistants, and has learnt to perform a variety of tasks on real patients.

Ashleigh’s Story

“I’ve always wanted to work with children, and I can’t think of anything better or more rewarding to do as a job than helping poorly children get better. I thought about going to Sixth Form but I knew that having to take different A-Levels wouldn’t offer me what I wanted”, explained Ashleigh.

Health and Social Care students are required to complete their hours at a variety of work placements. In addition to MK Hospital, students have worked at MK Snap, YMCA, dementia-specific care homes and many more local establishments. This offers students the chance to find out what life working in the industry is really like, and to help them decide which path they want to go down.

On a typical day at the hospital, Ashleigh is paired with a Health Care Assistant that she shadows throughout the day, helping with things like taking and reporting observations of blood pressure, oxygen levels and general health, making beds, assisting with serving meals, interacting with patients, and much more.

What have you learnt?

“I’ve learnt how to deal with a wide variety of patients from watching how the nurses and staff interact. Everyone is different, and you have to learn how to read people’s body language and facial expressions to find out how they’re really feeling and how you should approach the situation. People can sometimes become aggressive or violent, which I found intimidating at first I’ve learnt how to deal with different situations appropriately”.

“Ashleigh has matured massively, she has come out the other side a different person. Not only has she grown in confidence in her skills, but in herself and her people skills. Six months ago she was shy and timid, but now she’s able to interact and work alongside senior nurses and managers with confidence in her ability”, commented Claire Jelley from the Private Education Department at MK Hospital.

Students on placements at MK Hospital have also worked alongside staff on the Surgical and Paediatric wards, giving them the best chance to scope out where they might like to work in the future.

Ashleigh has been offered a place to study Child Nursing at three different universities and is currently deciding which one to take up.

Interested in Health and Social Care? We have Advanced and Intermediate courses available, as well as other related subject areas. Take a look at our course finder for more information.