As students up and down the country wait in anticipation for their GCSE and A-level results, Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Student, Jo shares her story of continuing education beyond school, and how different learning opportunities have helped to shape her career journey so far.
“I left school in 2003 with average GCSEs and decided college was not for me. I didn’t have a career plan or any idea of what I wanted to do, so a job earning money seemed the most logical decision. I worked in retail for most of my twenties, had my first child in 2013 and decided the job I had would not fit with family life so applied for a part-time Healthcare Assistant at the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton,” said Jo.
Following a couple of roles at University Hospital Southampton, Jo joined Solent NHS Trust in 2021 as an associate practitioner in the health visiting service.
“I undertook the pre-registration apprenticeship in Paediatric Nursing with Winchester University which I completed in summer 2025. I was offered to apply for the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing postgraduate degree, which I started in October 2025.”
A Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) Level 7 qualification allows registered nurses and midwives to train as health visitors, school nurses, or occupational health nurses. The 12-to-18-month programme splits time evenly between academic study and supervised clinical practice.
“Traditional university wouldn’t have been an option for me as I had two children, a house and responsibilities which would have made it difficult to leave my job. I had undertaken an apprenticeship before and felt it was a good way for me to learn and work at the same time.”
The course is due to finish in October 2026, and Jo is excited to be qualifying as a health visitor and specialist public health nurse.
“To anyone considering an apprenticeship, I would say do it. I can’t deny it has been hard work and there have been times I have doubted myself but with a supportive network around me, I have been able to achieve so much more that I thought possible. I am so grateful that I have been able to do it this way and keep my home life relatively the same, I have been able to earn a wage, obtain a degree and now a postgraduate qualification at master's level which I never would have thought possible.”