It’s that time of year when teenagers all over the UK are frantically filling in their UCAS forms. The mid-January deadline for university deadlines is fast approaching. Students are filling in their predicted grades, writing a killer personal statement and persuading their tutors to give them a great reference. Depending on the type of course, there might be another hurdle to cross. If you’re applying for health or social care courses, you might come across the phrase “fitness to train”. It’s an important concept, which you really should understand before submitting your UCAS form.
What does Fitness to Train mean?
Each university has a different way of referring to the concept of fitness to train. You might see other phrases which mean the same thing, such as fitness to practise, or mention of students needing to
apply for a DBS check. It’s important to remember that this doesn’t apply to every student or every course. Checks only apply to people who are thinking of enrolling on a course involving children or vulnerable adults. So if you want to train to be a social worker, teacher, nurse or doctor, you will have to apply for checks first.
The Checking Process
Again, the checking process will depend on the university and the type of course you are applying for. Normally, universities don’t start checking students until they have accepted a firm offer of a place on the course. It would be a waste of time checking every applicant, knowing that many won’t get the grades, or will decide to go to another college. The university will deal with hundreds of these checks each year and should have clear guidelines. These will be detailed on the course website, or call the course administrator for more help.
DBS Checks
The DBS part of the process is designed to stop people with an extensive criminal past getting a place on a courses involving vulnerable people. Each application is considered on its merits. If you have committed minor crimes in the distant past then this probably won’t go against you. It’s always best to be honest with the course admissions officer though as your DBS check will show what’s held on the police computer about you. when your certificate arrives in the post, you’ll have to show it to the university admissions team. If you’re from outside the UK, there will be a separate process for getting your disclosure checks done.
Health Checks
Many colleges and universities also ask their prospective students to have a medical. This is usually the case for courses such as nursing, medicine or physiotherapy which need a fair degree of physical fitness. Most universities send out a medical questionnaire. Students should be honest and open with their replies. Having health difficulties – whether mental or physical – won’t automatically rule you out. If you do have health problems, the university might want to contact your GP to get more details about it. This is so they can work out what adjustments they can make for you to help you through your course.
