Nursing education in the UK is bad

I came to the University of Manchester expecting to spend most of my time actually learning the subject I’d chosen.

I thought we’d be building a solid understanding of nursing, learning the theory properly, and gaining the knowledge we’d need to leave university feeling confident and ready to look after patients. After all, that’s what we’re here for.

Instead, it feels like so much of our time is spent doing activities and assignments that don’t actually teach us how to be nurses. I get that communication, professionalism and reflection are important, but it honestly feels like they’ve become more important than actually learning the science and theory behind nursing. Surely understanding diseases, treatments and patient care should come first.

I even spoke to one of the lecturers because I genuinely wanted to understand why the course is taught this way. I wasn’t trying to argue or complain I just wanted an honest answer. Instead, I left feeling like my question had been dodged. Some of the responses came across as dismissive and almost sarcastic rather than actually addressing what I was asking, which was really disappointing.

Another thing that really frustrates me is the amount of pointless group work. I understand there’s a time and place for it, but not every lecture needs to turn into hours of discussing things in small groups. Most people walk away without remembering any of it. I often leave after five or six hours feeling like I’ve barely learned anything new.

The same goes for a lot of the assignments. So many of them feel completely pointless. They don’t teach us how to assess patients, recognise deterioration, understand conditions, or make clinical decisions. Instead, we’re writing letters to MPs, producing bibliographies and completing assignments that have very little to do with the knowledge we’ll actually need on a hospital ward. I came here to learn how to look after patients, not spend hours doing coursework that has little relevance to real nursing.
I’d much rather spend that time learning pharmacology, understanding diseases, practising clinical reasoning, working through patient cases and actually learning the theory behind what we’re doing. Those are the things that will make us safe and competent nurses not another reflective assignment.

University is a huge investment of time, money and effort, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect to leave with a strong understanding of nursing. At the moment, it feels like the priority is passing assignments rather than making sure students actually know the content.

I’m also really concerned about how much the course relies on coursework. Whether people want to admit it or not, AI is now a huge part of how students complete assignments. It’s so easy to use AI to generate ideas, improve writing and structure work that you can get good marks without properly learning the material. That isn’t preparing anyone for real practice.

I honestly think there should be a balance of coursework and exams. If you know you’ll have to sit an exam without AI or Google, you’re actually forced to revise, understand the content and remember it. That’s how people learn.
I’ve also spoken to nursing students studying abroad, and their courses seem far more focused on knowledge. They study subjects like pharmacology, diseases and how to look after patients with those diseases. They have to pass multiple exams before they qualify. They actually have to prove they know the material. Here in the UK, it feels like becoming a nurse is more about passing assignments and completing placement hours. A lot of the coursework we do feels completely disconnected from what we’ll actually need when we’re caring for patients.

You constantly hear newly qualified nurses saying they don’t feel prepared when they graduate, and honestly, I can understand why. I’m in my second year now, and I don’t feel like I’m building the depth of knowledge I expected to be.

I’m exhausted. I’m tired of getting up early to sit in lectures for five or six hours and walking out feeling like I’ve learned almost nothing that’s actually relevant to nursing. It’s been four years since I finished college, and I genuinely feel like I know less than I did then.

That isn’t what I thought university would be, and it definitely isn’t how I imagined training to become a nurse.