This year’s Nursing Fair, held on 31st January 2017, welcomed a wide range of NHS Trusts, hospitals and hospices, charities such as Young Epilepsy and Great Ormond Street Hospital, private organisation such as BUPA and Virgin Care, as well as organisations such as the Royal Navy and Army Medical Services to the University of Surrey campus.
170 final year nursing students at the University had the unique opportunity to meet 32 different nursing and health related organisations to discuss potential career paths. The event was a great success, particularly as it gave professional preparation students a better understanding of the vast range of career opportunities available to them.
For those students who already had a clear idea of the career they wanted to pursue, they were able to meet a wide range of organisations in one place and get some great advice about how to get into their chosen field. For nursing student Tracey Cross, the event proved to be an invaluable opportunity to target the organisations she wanted to meet: “I came focused on looking for community and hospice organisations and found them all in the same place. I found what I wanted and felt confident that there would be a job for me at the end of my course. It was fantastic!”
The Nursing Fair proved to be equally valuable for those students that weren’t yet clear on the path they wished to take after University. Organisations like Hampshire Hospitals recommended a rotation scheme where students could work in many different areas of nursing. We spoke to nursing student Lucy Carlton: “I didn’t know about the oncology rotation offered by the Royal Free, Royal Surrey, Basingstoke and Portsmouth. I really liked their honesty about the rotation and encouraged me to come and look. I have arranged to visit them now next week.”
The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences were also on hand to support professional preparation students with advice and guidance for how to make the most of the Nursing Fair, as well as hear student’s feedback about how the Careers Fair had impacted their career choice. Jackie McBride, Head of Programmes, said: “The Nursing Fair is an invaluable opportunity to get students thinking about the opportunities available to them. Even if they have a very clear idea of where they wish to work after University, the Careers Fair allowed them to truly consider all of their options.”
Feedback from the exhibitors was extremely positive about the quality and calibre of students that they met. Victoria Cooper from Western Sussex Hospitals said:
“It was really interesting to meet students from the different nursing branches and to discuss their career aspirations and the opportunities that we have to offer them at Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, from the beginning of their careers to continuing professional development opportunities. I look forward to visiting you all at the University of Surrey again soon.”
Sarah Jackson from NHS Guildford and Waverley referenced the challenges facing the nursing sector, saying: “Thank you for letting Guildford & Waverley have the chance to showcase our career opportunities. At the moment primary care is facing a huge crisis due to the shortage of professionals and the rate of retirement, therefore it’s a great way to address succession planning and promote primary care as a future career option. It was also a fantastic opportunity to network with other colleagues and share best practice. I would strongly recommended your careers fair to other providers and health care professionals.”
Thank you to all of our exhibitors that attended the Fair. Our exhibitors were:
- Army Medical Services
- BUPA
- CSH Surrey
- East Surrey Hospital
- Elysium Healthcare
- Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Great Ormond Street Hospital
- Guildford and Waverley CCG
- Guys & St Thomas Hospital & Evelina Children’s Hospital
- Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
- Living Ambitions
- NHS Professionals
- Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
- Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
- Pulse Nursing
- Royal Navy
- Royal College of Nursing
- Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
- Royal Surrey County Hospital
- Solent NHS Trust
- Southern Health
- St Georges NHS Trust
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Thames Hospice
- The Children’s Trust
- Virgin Care
- Wessex CEPN’s
- Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Woking & Sam Beare Hospices
- Young Epilepsy
