UDNURSAD - BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult)

The BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult) course is designed to be fully inclusive, engaging with the sociocultural diversity of our students and ensuring that all aspects of teaching, learning and assessment allows for the promotion of different learning styles and an understanding of the multi-disciplinary areas of adult nursing. Embedding the Education for Social Justice Framework (ESJF), the course uses a spiral curriculum to introduce and assess the seven platforms of nursing care (NMC 2018) across the programme (Being an accountable professional; Promoting health and preventing ill-health; Assessing needs and planning care; Providing and evaluating care; Leading and managing nursing care and working in teams; Improving safety and quality of care; and Coordinating care).

These platforms are routinely revisited throughout the course to advance content and add complexity to learning. NMC standards and proficiencies for pre-registration nursing programmes and the blend of behaviours, knowledge, skills, and values used by nurses in their work form the basis of programme content. As a result, the content of the course, teaching approaches and assessment tasks is focused on intentionally creating awareness and critically reflecting on learners’ values, knowledge base and skills, to ensure that they can enter the nursing profession with the requisite skills to be safe and effective in their practise.

The curriculum is designed to highlight our unique selling point of creating placements close to home in primary, community and social care settings. Students are allocated placements according to their termtime postcode to achieve local placements within our catchment area of placement providers and will experience a range of nursing settings and disciplines. The lecture programme provides the underpinning theoretical foundation in nursing subject areas. Thinking skills are developed through complementary activities including scheduled reflection on practice, practical classes, case studies, workshops, seminars, tutorials, assignments, and practice-based learning. Biosciences laboratory practicals are conducted in the Science Centre using the Super Lab facility. Simulation of practice will take place in our Simulation and Skills Suite, which provides facilities replicating, ward, critical care, home care, primary care clinic, telehealth, and committee room areas where students can develop and practice skills safely before implementing them in a practice setting. Investment in state-of-the-art immersive virtual reality simulation facilities to add further realism to simulations, and to allow students to experience and practice in high-risk situations without risk to actual patients. Our values-based approach addresses the challenges faced by our students in London, supporting them to succeed through equipping them with the skills and abilities to fight health inequalities faced by the diverse populations they will go onto serve.

The teaching team comprises university staff as well as experts from the nursing profession and other allied health professionals, drawing upon the wider expertise of the school. Learners are expected to complement formal teaching with self-directed reading, learning and completion of specified assignments. Learners are encouraged to use all open spaces of study available to them within North campus. Learners will also be given opportunities to use appropriate resources and technology available both within and outside the institution (e.g., literature databases, specific software, internet applications).

The course will also promote the learner’s self-management and a reflective approach to their learning with a view to future continued professional development (CPD). Teaching and learning are integrated with assessment and with the University’s learning and teaching strategy. Delivery is through a combination of lectures, blended learning, practical sessions, seminars, tutorials, case studies and workshops allowing learners to be actively involved in the learning process and develop their own learning style. Learning support is available for students in the form of an Academic Mentor, as well as Personal Academic Tutor and individual module leaders.

The course aims to produce graduate nurses who reflect the philosophy and values underpinning the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) requirements for registration, and the values of London Metropolitan University. It provides a sound knowledge base and a high standard of cognitive, practical and transferable skills, enabling students to feel a sense of belonging at London Met and to encourage student engagement with learning and the opportunities offered by the University. The course gives students opportunities to share experiences, encourages reflection on individual values and understand their response to the World, preparing them for the dynamic healthcare environment of the 2020s and beyond.
Our locally focused approach prepares students for the evolving nursing and wider healthcare landscape. Students are encouraged as critical thinkers, gaining core clinical skills and proficiencies in the person-centred care of people of all ages in local primary, community, and social care settings, as well as in-hospital nursing care. The course allows students to develop skills in communication and interpersonal skills when working with people in distress, in teams and across professions. Students will develop a reasoned comprehension of professional values and reflect on continuous professional growth as a registered Nurse (Adult) in order to become leaders of the future in this profession.

Upon graduation, students will be eligible for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a Registered Nurse (RN).

The NMC Standards Framework for Nursing Education (2018) dictates seven platforms of learning that underpin nursing preparation courses. These are reflected in the course outcomes below.

On completion of this course learners will be able to:

1. Identify relevant biological, social and psychological sciences underpinning patient, client and service user care; these will include relevant disease pathology and treatment; health promotion and social care needs.
2. Demonstrate all proficiencies required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for delivery of safe and effective care.
3. Assess, plan, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of care and health promotion across a range of patients, service users and clients in primary, community, social and hospital nursing and health care settings.
4. Appraise nursing research, audit and quality standards, formulating this into evidence-based and person-centred nursing care and improving the quality and safety of care.
5. Critically reflect on practice, developing strategies to cope with the physical and mental demands of nursing practice, promoting resilient practice in others
6. Lead care, coordinate teams and work as team members in providing care across a range of health care settings.
7. Demonstrate professional values and accountability in registered practice according to the NMC Code.
8. Demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity and will function as inclusive, collaborative and socially responsible practitioners/professionals in their discipline.

No Nursing QAA subject benchmark

Module and course learning outcomes will be assessed with a variety of authentic assessment types such as practice-based assessment of skills, essays exploring biopsychosocial case studies, evidence-based problem-solving, complex case study essay, professional development, reflective accounts, applying theory to practice, inter-professional group presentation, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), and research projects. The mathematical elements of the course, designed to prepare students in pharmacological aspects of the course will be assessed in each part, and assessed in both practice placements and theoretical modules. These assessments are selected to direct students learning towards the achievement of core proficiencies, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and abilities.

There is a progressive development of practice proficiencies and performance as a student nurse across the three years of the course. These proficiencies are NMC required elements and laid out in the pan London Electronic Practice Assessment Document (ePAD). Part one of the course introduces core nursing assessment and care strategies which progress to more complex skills across parts two and three as students gain exposure to more complex clinical presentations and fast changing circumstances. Students are assessed in their demonstration of professional values, proficiency development, knowledge and communication skills through several prescribed assessment tasks by their practice assessor who records outcomes in the student’s ePAD. These increase in levels of complexity, knowledge and professional skills required in each subsequent part of the course. Simulation will be used formatively for skill rehearsal and preparation for practice, but also for summative skill assessment in the form of Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE).

In line with the inclusive assessment principle of the ESJF, all assessments are scaffolded with briefing, question and answer sessions, and early formative opportunities will be used to provide feedback prior to summative assessments. These approaches will ensure that both academic staff and students have a shared understanding of the aims, rationale, marking criteria and feedback cycle for each assessment. Furthermore, assessments will be scheduled in a way that enables students to receive appropriate and timely feedback which prepares them for the next related assessment.

In addition, the assessment strategy has considered the volume of assessments, which is fixed at two per module and limit the use of unseen written examinations to one in part one (first year) and one in part two (second year).

There will be no condonement in assessments, requiring that all components of assessment must be passed.

Students must achieve a total of 4600 hours during this course, of which 2300 hours must be practice placement experience. Students will have supernumerary status whilst in any form of practice placement, which may take place in a variety of health care settings with a focus on local, primary, community and social nursing care. Students can expect placements in care homes, home settings, occupational health departments, GP surgeries, and telehealth as well as acute placements within local NHS Trusts.

A maximum of 450 hours (out of 2300) is allocated across the three years of the course for simulated practice placements within the university setting, using our Simulation and Skills Centre facilities as well as in-house health care clinic provision.

Accurate recording of practice hours is made through the student ePAD.

The BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult) complies with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2018) Standards for Nursing and Midwifery Education; Future Nurse: Standards of Proficiency for Registered Nurses, and Standards for Student Supervision and Assessment (All included in this submission).
Mapping of module content against the standards for Education and Training is included in the appendices.
The pan London ePAD has been pre-approved by the NMC as compliant with the Future Nurse: Standards of Proficiency for Registered Nurses and do not need to be reassessed.
There is no condonement in assessments across theory and practice, requiring all assessments to be passed.

The course is not provided for part time study.

All modules are core and compulsory for learners to qualify for an award of BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult) and will be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Students who pass all modules except the 30-credit dissertation module (i.e., achieving 90 credits in part three of the course rather than 120) will be eligible for the BSc (Ord) Nursing (Adult) award, and will be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

There is no professional NMC award eligibility for students who achieve fewer than 330 credits.

Reflective learning and developing skills in reflective practice are essential to help student nurses develop critical and analytic approaches to their learning, skill development and in the further development of nursing practice after qualification. The development of skills in reflective learning and practice are embedded within each module and practice placement element.

Students will be first introduced to the concept of reflective practice as a professional requirement in the module ‘Foundations of Professional Practice’ and this theme will continue through the provision of timetabled and structured reflection sessions in the simulated placement which occurs on one day per week during term time where students are not in external practice placements in all years of the programme. In these sessions, students will be introduced and encouraged to use a range of methods of clinical supervision that enable reflection on practice and develop strategies for personal and professional development. Written assignments provide opportunities to explore the evidence base behind student experiences of providing nursing care, can propose alternate actions and evidence to improve care giving. In part three, where students undertake the ‘Principles of Professional Leadership and Management’ and ‘Collaboration and Integrated Care in practice’ modules, students critically reflect upon performance, team working and preparedness for registered practice and the requirements of reflection within the professional validation process.

In external practice placements (all years) students will be assessed on their written reflections on patient care, which are uploaded to their electronic Practice Assessment Document (ePAD). They are encouraged to reflect on their practice performance and their reflective outputs are assessed by suitably prepared Practice Supervisors and Assessors, and by link learning facilitators (University nursing lecturers with current NMC Registration) who also provide opportunities for reflective conversations in their visits to practice areas.

This course is subject to approval by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Nursing is a profession regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. It makes up the largest group of health care workers in the NHS today, and nurses also contribute strongly to social care, private and independent sectors of work. Following registration graduates may go on to develop expertise in a clinical specialism to become a specialist or consultant nurse. Graduates may decide to undertake further registration in specialist public health roles such as school nursing, district nursing, occupational health, or develop in education or research areas of practice. Students may discuss their aspirations with their personal academic tutors and seek help from student careers service. The school holds regular ‘enhancement weeks’ where the focus is on career issues, helping students identify their future nursing roles and development required to achieve these.

Registered nurses are required to continue their own personal and professional development throughout their career, undertaking revalidation of their nursing registration every three years.

This Nursing (Adult) BSc (Hons) course offers excellent opportunities to join the nursing workforce in London and beyond as an adult nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. This course will open doors to work across primary, secondary and tertiary (social) care, in a range of NHS, private, independent, voluntary sectors, or to undertake further study or research.

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

• a minimum of grades BCC in A levels (or a minimum of 104 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification).
• five GCSEs at grade 4/C to include Maths and English Language (or equivalent Level 2 functional Maths and English/communication), and preferably a science subject.
• five days or more of recent (within the last two years) work experience in a care environment would be desirable.
• an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check for the Adults' and Children's Workforce.
• clearance for non-exposure prone procedures (EPP) by an approved occupational health service.

All applicants will be required to pass an interview. The applicant will need to demonstrate values that promote compassion, dignity and respect.

The University believes in the transformative nature of higher education and the wide-ranging impact education can have on individuals and the wider community through widening participation. The University encourages applications from all students irrespective of socio-economic status or background who have the potential to benefit from a higher education course and to succeed at university.