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Coventry University apprenticeship offers a design for life
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Formerly an interior designer, Hayley Scutts tells us what inspired her to undertake a Nursing Associates apprenticeship.
To see Hayley Scutts in action, you’d think she had always wanted to be a nurse. But it was only as recently as 2020 that Hayley finally qualified as a Nursing Associate, with Coventry University’s Nursing Associate Apprenticeship.
After years of pain, the knowledge of an experienced nurse helped Hayley gain a diagnosis that would change her life in 2014:
I know how important nursing is as a nurse gave me my life back. I kept seeing a banner outside the hospital that said ‘we need nurses’ and every time I passed, the message hit a little bit deeper.
She was inspired to leave her interior design role and pursue a career in the NHS, but due to her personal and financial circumstances, she was unable to complete a traditional three-year nursing degree.
Nursing needs are met
The introduction of the Nursing Associates paid apprenticeship gave her a second chance to pursue her dream by studying at Coventry University and working at South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust.
When the Nursing Associates apprenticeship course came out it was a godsend. It gave me the opportunity to work, earn a wage, learn and get a nursing qualification.
Hayley qualified as a Nursing Associate in April 2020
Two years into the role, Hayley has gone from qualifying and helping to train staff and students on the job, to now also being an assistant lecturer for the course.
Helping hands for the health service
With strict lockdown measures already feeling like a thing of the past but the threat from COVID-19 and the potential for new variants of concern, Hayley urges people to consider a career in nursing:
Since I started my journey the message that we need more nurses has not changed. We need more passionate, caring people to join the profession.
The paid apprenticeship course is open to staff with experience or interest in working in healthcare, currently employed in health and social care organisations in England.
Discover more Health and Science apprenticeships at Coventry University.
Find out more about the Nursing Associate Foundation Degree with Coventry University.
