Widening Access to Pre-Registration Nurse Education: Investigating Students’ Decisions to Articulate into Second Year of Nursing Programmes

Introduction<br/>Widening access and diversity of nurse education can increase the number of nurses in Scotland and is a priority for the Scottish Government (SG). Colleges across Scotland provide the HNC (Higher National Certificate) Healthcare Practice (HNC HP) that can be used to create accessible and sustainable widening access routes into nursing. The HNC HP is available to a wide range of students and successful completion enables the student to commence year one or ‘articulate’ into year two of a pre-registration nursing degree programme. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) commissioned an evaluation to investigate factors influencing HNC HP students’ decisions to articulate into year two of a pre-registration nurse degree programme.<br/>Methods:<br/>A Scotland-wide mixed methods evaluation was completed in 2024. The evaluation involved a preliminary desk-based review of existing data, an online survey of students, and semi-structured interviews with students and strategic practice education leads from NHS Boards and education providers. <br/>Results: <br/>The survey achieved 48 responses and 22 interviews were completed. Articulation is seen as an important pathway into nurse education. Students highly valued the HNC HP but acknowledge it can be intense and stressful. The inconsistent approach taken by some Higher Education Institutions to articulation can lead to perception of unfairness. Barriers to articulation include a lack of information about articulation, availability of funding, inconsistent approaches to recruitment, and the timeframes involved with enrolment. <br/>Conclusion: <br/>The evaluation was submitted to NES with recommendations for the Scottish Government, education providers (Colleges/Universities), and NES. Recommendations include raising awareness of the articulation pathway into nursing, increasing consistency across Scotland, and providing additional funding for extra places and support for travel and childcare. It was also acknowledged that additional support is needed to support students successfully through the articulation process and completion of their pre-registration nursing degree.<br/>