大象传媒

Meet Jake. He's a mental health nurse who responds to calls that have been made to 999. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.

There's a lot of job satisfaction with being a mental health nurse. You get to be there for someone who hasn't necessarily had someone there.
  • Jake identifies 999 calls that have come in that trigger mental health concerns. He calls patients back to make sure they get access to the right services
  • Calls are very varied and can include patients experiencing low mood, anxiety or psychosis
  • Jake studied ICT at college, worked in a pub for a while and then went to university to do Mental Health Nursing
  • He was inspired to do this career by seeing loved ones with mental health difficulties and wanting to know how to help others in similar situations.
This is a decorative purple line to separate and organise content on the page.

What to expect if you want to be a nurse

  • Nurse average salary: NHS bands 5-6. Read more about . Salaries will differ in private healthcare.
  • Nurse typical working hours: 37 to 42 hours per week

What qualifications do you need to be a nurse?

You can get into this role via a university course. You can do a degree in adult nursing approved by the Nursing & Midwifery Council. Some degree courses let you study another area of nursing alongside adult nursing. You may be able to join the second year of a nursing degree if you already have a degree in:

  • a health-related subject
  • psychology
  • life sciences
  • social work

Full-time courses usually take 3 years. You may be able to do a degree apprenticeship in nursing if you work in a healthcare setting like a hospital. The apprenticeship takes around 4 years and is a mix of academic study and on-the-job training.

Sources: LMI for All, National Careers Service, NHS Health Careers

This information is a guide and is constantly changing. Please check the website for the latest information and all the qualifications needed.

Find out more

For more information about careers in nursing, you can check out:

  • The
  • The

For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: , , and .

This is a decorative purple line to separate and organise content on the page.
Image representing Science
Image caption,
Work experience can help you make informed decisions about your future career.


Find work experience placements with Workfinder.

Tips and advice
Help with interviews, writing a CV and all things work experience related.

Image representing Science
Image caption,
Work experience can help you make informed decisions about your future career.
This is a decorative purple line to separate and organise content on the page.

How to become a nurse. collection

A collection of nurse job profiles and information about what the role entails.

How to become a nurse

Job inspiration: Careers in healthcare and frontline services. collection

Hear from people working across the healthcare sector and in frontline services, including some roles you may not know existed!

Job inspiration: Careers in healthcare and frontline services