Open Day

23 Nov 24

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Nursing. A Job. For Life.

It takes strength, pragmatism and character to be a nurse. If you have it, we’ll have you.

Why choose ARU as the place to start your journey?

Student Nursing Times Awards 2023 logo

Well, we're the largest provider in England for nursing, midwifery, and health & social care*, and have been shortlisted for the Nursing Times Pre-reg Provider of the Year award 2023.

We offer Adult, Child and Mental Health nursing degrees so you can specialise, and follow the path that's right for you. We also offer dual registration four-year degrees, in Adult and Mental Health Nursing and Child and Mental Health Nursing as well as the newest role to join the nursing team Nursing Associate.

As a student here you'll benefit from outstanding nursing facilities, supportive staff and a great range of placement opportunities. Come and explore at our next Open Day, and see how we prepare our students for rewarding and fulfilling careers.


*Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), 2018/19 student enrolment data.

A job. For life

Follow our lead

Inspired teaching

What makes a great nurse?

Facilities



Our Cambridge, Chelmsford and Peterborough campuses all offer dedicated skill laboratories in which you can use state of the art equipment to hone your professional skills.

From mannequins, to beds and medicine cabinets, our facilities are built to replicate a busy nursing wards and give our students the practice they need to be confident before they go to their placements. We have large nursing wards on all three campuses with additional child nursing specific labs in Cambridge and Chelmsford. 

Placement



Our practice partners

We take the practice experience of our students very seriously. This is evidenced by the outstanding grading we received in the ‘fitness to practice’ category in our latest NMC inspection. This success based on strong partnerships with healthcare providers through the East of England. Find out more about our partners below, or visit our nursing placement pages to learn more about our mentors, shifts and placement locations.

Hospital placements

Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust
Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust (MEHT)
North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust
Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Community placements

Anglia Community Enterprise (ACE)
Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS trust
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT)
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
NELFT NHS Foundation Trust
Provide

 

We also work with Cambridge Independent Services and the Essex Independent Sector.

Student blogs

We are proud of our outstanding students and we like to think that they are best placed to tell you what it's like to be a nursing student here at ARU. From descriptions of varied nursing placements to tips on how to prepare for the course, we have a large range of student blogs which aim to give you some insight on what our nursing courses are really like. 

Read our students' blogs.

Why choose us?

Shortlisted for Student Nursing Times Award in 2020, 2021 and 2023

  • We are hugely proud to have been shortlisted for Student Nursing Times Pre-Reg Provider of the Year in 2020, 2021 and 2023. This is thanks to the commitment and professionalism of our experienced academics and tutors who ensure our students receive the best nursing education possible, alongside our Practice Partners.
  • 96% of our Adult Nursing graduates are employed six months after completing their degree*
  • We work with a vast number of NHS Trusts and partners to ensure you have the best possible placement experience, and are fully prepared to register as a nurse when you graduate.

*Unistats

Our recent awards and nominations:

  • Shortlisted, Nursing Provider of the Year (Pre-reg), Student Nursing Times Award 2020 and 2021
  • Lyndsay Khan MSc named Mental Health Student of the Year 2020, British Journal of Nursing for her work with military veterans.
  • Tracey Torrie, Winner of the Queen’s Nursing Institute Dora Roylance Memorial Prize 2020. Tracey assisted parents and children who were suffering from stress and anxiety due to the pressures of lockdown.
  • Patrick Onyema, Trainee Nursing Associate, Winner of the Gold Prize for Apprentice of the Year, Our Health Heroes Awards 2019.
  • MyKnowledgeMap, creators of Myprogress, Winner, Best Transformational Project, E-Assessment Awards 2019. MyKnowledgeMap worked closely with ARU to digitally transform our approach to practice-based assessment for our 2,000 pre-registration student nurses and 5,000 practice supervisors across the region.
  • Mervyn King, third year student, Winner, Trainee of the Year, EPUT Quality Awards 2019.
  • Rahit Sagoo, Senior Lecturer in Nursing, Shortlisted, Community and General Practice Nurse Award, RCNi Awards 2019.