Macy's Route into Nursing

Nursing courses are taught in the beautiful West Downs Centre

 

Macy, what was your journey into Higher Education? 

I have always had an interest in healthcare. I volunteered with St John Ambulance from the ages of 11 to 18 where I learnt basic life support and communication skills, nothing like Nursing, but it was very beneficial to me when choosing my A levels then coming into my degree. I did Psychology, Medical Science and Health and Social Care at A level and then I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to study Paramedic Science or Nursing. I weighed up the pros and cons and I decided I wanted to go with children’s Nursing. I looked around at universities and not many universities offered Child Nursing - there were a lot of Adult Nursing courses but not so many courses for Child Nursing.  

I applied during Covid and I was offered an in-person interview for Winchester whereas an online interview for other universities. I think coming into the university and actually meeting people was very helpful in choosing my first choice because there were no in-person open days at that time because of Covid. Coming on campus for my interview was definitely the reason I chose Winchester, as I was meeting like-minded people and other applicants on the day. We had a group interview and then we had an individual chat which was quite informal. I think the group interview helped a lot as I was able to meet people with the same ambitions and when I joined in September, there were familiar faces that I'd already met.   

Do you have a highlight so far of your time at Winchester? 

My highlight would be a clinical skills session which was in first year where we had to act as a nurse in an emergency situation. One of our lecturers came in and pretended to be in a real-life scenario in anaphylaxis. They were breathless and we had to act so quickly. Having limited experience at that point everyone kind of stepped back, but from my previous experience with St John’s I was able to realise what was going on, search for an EpiPen and give a fake administration of that EpiPen. I basically took charge of the whole scenario. My lecturer, the Clinical Skills Lead, has brought this session up ever since. That way of learning is really what puts you in the position to be a better nurse because you need to think on your feet. 

 

Macy features on the cover of our 2026 undergraduate prospectus

 

Did you have a favourite placement? 

I particularly loved two of my placements, for different reasons. My most recent placement was paediatric cardiology at Southampton General Hospital. That was amazing - the team was so supportive. I enjoyed it from a third-year perspective because I was given a lot of responsibility which really helped develop my leadership and management skills. Had I been put there in first year, it would have been a whole different story because it’s very complex. I was able to take my own experiences on board and help teach the first years who were also on placement which made it a really positive experience for me. 

My neonatal placement was also amazing. I did it at the hospital in Winchester. I loved the team and I feel like I really woke up feeling excited to go in, building a rapport with families, learning things as you go along and then teaching that to parents. I have been offered a graduate job in neonatal care at a hospital in Oxford. I think I was the first person in my cohort to be offered a job, so near the beginning of my third year. 

 

Nursing students learn in this facility set up like a hospital ward 

 

What advice would you give someone considering studying Nursing? 

First of all, I would say to try and get a job as a Healthcare Assistant, work in and around a hospital or within healthcare, because coming in without any hospital experience can be quite scary on your first placement. That would be my biggest tip – get that experience where you can, even if it is voluntary, as it’s so beneficial in the long term. You’ll appreciate it when you go into practice – you’ll also then be familiar with some abbreviations and some common medical terminology already.  

 

 

With many thanks to Macy for her time telling us about her experience of Nursing at Winchester. Macy also featured in the University of Winchester's brand film - you can watch the story unfold here.  

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