• Question: What's the best university for nursing and why

    Asked by Cate on 24 Mar 2023.
    • Photo: Rachel Drury

      Rachel Drury answered on 24 Mar 2023:

      I went to Leeds University, it was such a great city and experience for me. The 2 main hospitals are fantastic and leading in many fields such as surgery.
      Since moving to Leicestershire, I occasionally lecture at De Montfort University and this too seems fantastic, the nurses all report a great experience.

    • Photo: Sarah Chalmers-Page

      Sarah Chalmers-Page answered on 27 Mar 2023:

      There won’t be one “best” university out of all of them. You need to look at the academic side, of course, and googling nursing courses will give you the academic rankings of each university. There are websites you can find that rate lecture quality, teaching methods and things like if the lecturers are asked to contribute to national decisions or do interesting research.

      But you also need to think what’s best *for you*. Many of the top ranked universities for nursing are in Scotland – which for some people is fantastic, but for others is simply too far from home. You need to think about where you want to live, whether that’s a quiet campus or a busy city. Think about how you will get to placements – will you need to drive for them in one university, or will they all be on safe bus routes in another?

      And think about yourself as a whole human being. If there are two universities with broadly similar reputations and entrance requirements, think about what else matters to you. Do you want to live somewhere with access to a good music scene, or somewhere you can get out to the countryside easily? Did you do a sport in school that you really don’t want to have to completely give up if you can help it? If you are nervous about leaving home (some people are, some are not), is there a city where you already have a couple of friends or an aunt or uncle who might take you to lunch if you need them to? Of course you wouldn’t choose a university on those things alone, but it is OK to think about those sorts of issues when you are choosing somewhere to live for the next few years.

    • Photo: Laurence Quirk

      Laurence Quirk answered on 30 Mar 2023:

      We work with nurses that have graduated from different universities and I think they would all tell you what was good and bad about them.

      If you are are considering nursing, consider attending an open day or any webinars they offer as you can often see what the facilities are like for learning and living and get the chance to talk to the staff and students. Many people say when they talk to students part way through a course it helps them think get a feeling about the kind of university they want to study at. Also, ‘best’ might not always be about ranking, it might be about the feel and the culture of the university.

      If you have a particular interest in nursing such as adults, children, learning disabilities or mental health then you might want to look at where those subjects are taught to narrow your choices.

      Nurses working in general practice (your family doctor) do a little more training on top of their degree as they see patients of all ages and get involved in supporting patients with long terms conditions such as diabetes or asthma.

    • Photo: Kate Knowles

      Kate Knowles answered on 31 Mar 2023:

      This varies year on year but check out the national ratings for a) the universities generally because you want a good uni experience b) nursing course ratings. Then check out which hospitals and other clinical placements you would get – they need to be good hospitals so that you get excellent experiences and training. If you can’t drive then be careful of applying to courses where you may get remote placements.

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