Qualifying as a nurse
Nursing education is changing. The Department of Health has decided that from 2013 all new nurses in England must be educated to degree level. This is to ensure that all nurses can meet the increasingly complex needs of health service users more safely and effectively.
Our School of Nursing is adapting its courses accordingly, and from autumn 2011 onwards all students starting their studies with us will need to enter at degree level (BSc, 3 years).
Applicants with an existing health or science related degree will be able to enter their nursing studies at postgraduate diploma level (PgDip, 2 years). There is likely to be an opportunity to top-up to masters level once you have qualified.
In the BSc degree you will choose one of four fields:
In the postgraduate diploma you will choose one of two fields:
From September 2012 child and learning disability fields will also be available.
Course content
The course comprises 50% clinical learning and 50% academic learning. You will cover a wide range of subjects central to the theory and practice of nursing. These include professional issues, applied social sciences (eg. sociology and psychology), applied biological sciences (eg. physiology and microbiology), health promotion and teaching, communication, IT and research skills. Degree students will write a research dissertation in their third year.
Clinical skills
You will develop your practical skills in our well-equipped clinical laboratories. You will also take part in simulated learning events with medical students and paramedic students in areas such as trauma and emergency care and mental health nursing, with real people taking the role of service users.
- Find out more by watching a video with Sue Rush, Principal Lecturer, describing how nursing students are taught clinical skills at the School of Nursing.
Practice placements
Practice placements enable you to gain hands on experience of working with real service users under supervision and provide opportunities for multidisciplinary working with colleagues from other health professions and social care services. Placements are offered at a number of leading, specialist clinical sites.
Learning methods
Our blended learning approach combines lectures, seminar presentations by students and practical experience. We use elearning materials to support theory and practice and our web-based learning management system provides access to a host of information and materials to assist with your studies.
Assessment
Assessment methods include essays, examinations, placements and presentations. All modules are individually assessed to provide you with continuous feedback on your progress and to enable you to move on to the next phase of the programme. We're also members of the International Nursing Assessment Consortium, through which we contribute to developing international standards in assessing nursing competence.
- Find out more about our nursing courses
