‘Nurses are future of our health service’ says Open University in Wales

Ahead of international nurses’ day 2025, we spoke to two graduates of the OU in Wales’ degree programme in nursing. 

Josh is a nursing graduate from south Wales:

“Growing up, I always knew I wanted to do a job that helped others. And that's my passion. I enjoy helping others and that's what makes me happy,” he said.

“When I got into the role at 18 years old, straight from school, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I worked for my local health board as a healthcare support worker alongside studying and that enabled me to be able to get a degree while I was still earning a living wage.”

Since 2018, the OU has delivered a fully-funded nursing degree to students across Wales. It has partnerships with each health board and six independent organisations. The programme allows healthcare assistants to study flexibly for a nursing degree while continuing to work in their local hospital or care home. 

The course covers all four fields of nursing: adult; mental health; learning disability; and child and young person.

Katie is also from south Wales.

“Throughout my time as a student, I grew a passion for adult mental health nursing, wanting to show that patients can live a normal life within society,” she said.

“I could not have done my nursing degree without The Open University. It allowed me to work, earn a wage and study. It gave me the confidence to progress within the health board and get me to where I am now.”

Dr Linda Walker heads up the OU in Wales nursing degree programme.

“Josh and Katie have benefitted from being able to study for a nursing degree while they earn a salary and get hands on experience as healthcare assistants,” she said. 

“It’s great to see that their careers are progressing, and that they’re encouraging others to think about a degree with the OU.

“This year, the theme of international nurses’ day is our nurses, our future. This gives us a chance to celebrate the fantastic contribution that nursing graduates are making to our workforce. It is vital for the future of the health service in Wales that the next generation of nurses are encouraged to reach their potential, just like Josh and Katie have.”

Interested in becoming a nurse?

To become a nurse, you will need a degree. To study with the OU in Wales, you’ll need to be working as a healthcare assistant either with a health board or a recognised independent provider. Studying with us means that you can learn flexibly and balance work with study. 

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Help deciding if nursing is the right career for you            

This free OpenLearn course, So you want to be a nurse? A brief introduction to nursing, provides an overview of what nursing entails. Focusing on nursing in the UK specifically, but also looking at its place globally, you will learn about the four fields of nursing in the UK, what nurse training involves, as well as what makes a great nurse.

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