Budding nurses are being encouraged to apply now for a degree course starting in September.

Twenty places - 14 specialising in nursing adults and six in mental health - are available on the course, which leads to registration as a nurse.

The three year full-time programme is affiliated with the University of Chester. There are no course fees and each student receives a £5,000 annual bursary.

Adult programme leader Catherine Black and mental health programme leader Mark Haith both stressed that the assessment process is values based.

Mark said: ’We can educate you about healthcare but we can’t make you into the right human being.’

The ’six Cs’ of nursing are caring, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment.

People from all walks of life and backgrounds are encouraged to apply, whether finishing A-levels, changing career or returning to work after a break.

And the qualification will enable them to work in a huge variety of settings to suit their interests, including the hospitals, Hospice, nursing homes, prison, practice nursing, community nursing and district nursing.

We spoke to three current students, who all praised the small class sizes and level of support available to them.

Grace O’Hagan, aged 21, is in her final year of the adult nursing course.

She explained: ’Most of my family are in the health service so that was a real motivation for me.

’And at school I had done subjects like health and social care, and biology, looking at how people work and stuff.

’Nursing seemed like a really good option for me.’

The former Castle Rushen High School student, of Port Erin, said the course had been an ’amazing’ experience.

’I have never regretted my decision,’ she said.

’Every day is different.’

Grace’s placements have ranged from a nursing home, where she learned basics of personal care, to three weeks spent on a cardiac unit at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield.

’It was really busy, she said.

’We were having to take in a lot of overflow from the medical admissions because there wasn’t space.

’I saw how they have to prioritise patients a lot more in the UK.’

It also gave her chance to see her first open heart surgery.

Grace’s aim for when she becomes a registered nurse is to get a job at Noble’s.

Dan Hounslea, aged 26, said his degree in psychology and criminology and the time he spent as a volunteer with the Samaritans had led him to pursue nursing.

He is now in his second year of the mental health nursing degree.

’Through the Samaritans, I had spoken to people with mental health issues and I enjoyed it.

’It’s a bit of a cliché to say that I like helping people.

’I’m interested in how the mind works, how people act and behave, and essentially, what makes people tick.

’That interests me greatly because it’s unpredictable.’

His placements have included Grianagh Court, which helps people with acute mental illness, and Thie Meanagh EMI (elderly mentally infirm) unit.

Dan, who lives in Douglas, said: ’There’s a lot of people with a lot of knowledge and it’s great to be able to tap into that.’

Emily Hignett, aged 20, is in the same cohort of mental health nursing degree students as Dan.

’I came straight from the school and my A levels were totally unrelated,’ she explained.

’Mental health issues interest me and I know people who have been affected by them.’

She saw an advert about nursing recruitment, and having decided that she would rather stay in the island than go away to uni, decided to apply.

’Ever since then I haven’t looked back,’ she said.

Emily, a former Ramsey Grammar School student, said that subjects they covered were hard and heavy but there was a strong network of support in place, from fellow students and staff.

Emily, who lives in Sulby, has enjoyed building up relationships with nursing staff on her placements, and said the connections were invaluable.

She has spent time in areas including the adult acute mental health ward, rehabilitation and an EMI unit.

The deadline to apply is February 3. Applicants can apply online at www.gov.im/nursetraining