Deanna graduates from the Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship


After three years of hard work, balancing university, work, and home life, Fitzwilliam’s Outpatient Nurse Deanna Walton graduates from the Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship (RNDA) at Buckinghamshire New University.

This work-based BSc [Hons] Nursing with NMC Registration Apprenticeship has enabled Deanna to achieve an academic qualification, BSc (Hons), and eligibility to register her nursing qualification with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the professional body that regulates nurses and midwives.

Deanna has worked at Fitzwilliam Hospital for five and a half years. She is compassionate, kind, and caring and started out as a Healthcare Assistant (HCA) in the Outpatient department. Deanna has since become a Nurse with the support and training of Ramsay Health Care UK and the Fitzwilliam team. She enjoys assisting with minor procedures and is particularly interested in the plastic surgery field.

Deanna says: “With the support and guidance of Fitzwilliam’s Management, Apprenticeship, and Outpatient teams, I decided to pursue the RNDA and become a nurse. This was my dream since joining the healthcare field. I feel very grateful to have been given this opportunity to develop my clinical knowledge and skills to support my further career progression.  I would like to thank the Ramsay Apprenticeship team and Heads of Department at the Fitzwilliam hospital for their continued help, assistance, and direction throughout the course.”

The apprenticeship programme is a great opportunity for those working within Ramsay. Those doing an apprenticeship continue earning to remove financial pressures. It offers practical work experience within many different settings and integrates academic learning.

This three-year RNDA course includes block weeks at university, placement blocks in different settings to meet the course criteria, and working a minimum of 30 hours per week on your host ward when not attending university or a placement. Study days are allocated to offer quality study time to complete the theory learning.

Deanna continues: “It wasn’t easy balancing university, work, and home life but with determination and dedication, anything is possible.”

Ramsay supports staff who show motivation, dedication, commitment, and a willingness to learn through degree apprenticeships. The RNDA allows care staff to upskill whilst already understanding the Ramsay way of working. This high-quality training helps to ensure patients continue to receive the very best care delivered by staff who are qualified from the latest training and who are interested in always fulfilling and progressing their knowledge.