The University of Plymouth is extending its offer eastwards by opening a new school of nursing in Exeter. Details of the site are currently being finalised, and the school is welcoming applications for BSc Adult Nursing for September 2017. 

Plymouth has run an adult nursing programme for more than 20 years, and students in Exeter are expected to commence their studies in September 2017. 

The plans will not see an increase in student intake, but they were made in direct response to student feedback. The University has longstanding relationships with all the NHS trusts and numerous private and third sector care providers based throughout Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, and the Exeter school is designed to improve student experience by decreasing travel time between homes, lectures and to and from clinical placements.

The school will be the University’s third nursing teaching site, with the main Plymouth campus and the Knowledge Spa in Truro already running the course. 

Professor Trish Livsey, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Human Sciences at the University of Plymouth, explains how the new school will benefit people based in the region as well as those travelling from further afield.

“The University of Plymouth is proud of its longstanding, successful history of nursing education, accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council,” she said. “Working in partnership with healthcare providers over the past 20 years, the University has helped to develop a workforce of healthcare professionals across the region and beyond.“Our Exeter School builds on this success and will give even more students access to our first rate teaching, as well as providing those students local to Exeter with the added advantage of reduced travelling times. We look forward to welcoming our first cohort of students to our Exeter school of Nursing in September.”

Sharon Chilcott, third-year nursing student at the University of Plymouth, who lives in Okehampton, said: 

“Commuting to Plymouth can take up to two hours from where I live, and with a young baby to look after, commuting to Exeter is much more doable as I can get there in 20 minutes. The time not spent commuting is then used to study and an added benefit is not having to get up so early. Getting a baby ready and then getting down to Plymouth for 9am often involves a 5am start, so getting extra sleep will always result in better work produced. Well done to Plymouth for arranging this and hopefully it will continue to benefit students in future years.”