Jenny Welsh

Since childhood, Jenny Welsh had always wanted to become a nurse. “It was always in my plan,” she says. 

She initially decided to study classical music at university, but explains: “I think when you’re 18 it’s so difficult to plan too far into the future and make all these big decisions and long-term plans… I think nursing was still always at the back of my mind.”

By the time Jenny started on her journey to becoming a nurse, she had moved to the remote Shetland isles and had started a young family.

It was while working as a healthcare assistant in her local maternity ward she learnt about the Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Adult Nursing degree offered by the OU and decided to return to studying.

“I am settled in Shetland with my young family – uprooting them to study at a university on the mainland in order to retrain would have been a huge decision to make,” she says.

“The OU allowed me to keep my family where we live, continue working part-time and do all my study from home.”

She was fortunate to have her studies funded by NHS Shetland and was able to continue working as a healthcare assistant between placements.

Commitment and perseverance

Starting her course when her daughter was just 18 months old, Jenny found that balancing her studies with work and looking after her children was “definitely a challenge at times… but with commitment and perseverance, it is absolutely possible!”

“I am a complete perfectionist and wanted to give my all to everything, which probably wasn’t always realistic,” she explains.

“I just had to remind myself of my goal of qualifying, and see my study as a short-term means to pursue the career I had always wanted.

“I wrote most of my essays late at night after the children were asleep, so I could maximise the time I had with them. It was exhausting, especially sometimes after a 12-hour shift at the hospital, but I did get used to it!”

She hopes that: “By seeing me studying to achieve my goals, my children will know that if they work hard they can succeed in whatever they set their minds to. It is all for them.”

Support for studies

I think there’s a misconception that studying remotely means you’re always working on your own, but it was always possible to ask module tutors for support by email or phone.”

During the four years of her nursing studies, Jenny felt well supported by the OU and particularly found the StudentHome part of the website “very accessible, even for those who might be less confident in their IT skills”.

“I think there’s a misconception that studying remotely means you’re always working on your own, but it was always possible to ask module tutors for support by email or phone,” she suggests.

“If you needed extra guidance outwith the mandatory tutorials, this was very much available. Our local OU practice tutor was also on hand, particularly in the earlier stages of the course while we were finding our feet.”

She also feels very fortunate to have met three other student nurses from her local area studying with the OU at the same time.

“We didn’t know each other prior to starting our degree, but we have become really close friends,” she says. 

“We have provided each other with so much emotional support over the four years and always been there to encourage and motivate each other.

“We’ve all had moments of finding the work-life balance difficult, or struggling with a particular module or essay topic, but you never felt that you were in it alone.”

New staff nurse job

Completing my degree through the OU is one of the best decisions I have ever made.”

After gaining a First class Honours degree, Jenny has now successfully become an Accident and Emergency staff nurse and loves her new job.

“Completing my degree through the OU is one of the best decisions I have ever made,” she says. She is also considering studying again with the OU for a Masters.

“The OU does offer a great deal of flexibility, with the option to complete your degree over a longer time period if you are struggling,” she adds.

“There is always support available online. Even without being in a traditional university setting, you know there is a team of people on hand to advise if you need them.”