Nursing with Registered Nurse (Learning Disabilities)

Our registered nursing programmes are full-time. You will spend 37.5 hours per week in study or on placement, over the full year (52 weeks). It is therefore not possible to study this course and also work full-time.

We are committed to delivering academic learning of the highest quality, helping you to stretch your mind and fulfil your university and career pathway ambitions. Specialities such as high dependency; intensive care; cardiothoracic and cardiology nursing; emergency nursing; care of the elderly; renal nursing; theatre nursing and many more are all represented amongst our staff specialisms.

Additionally, many of our academic staff are not only registered nurse teachers, but they also hold dual professional nursing registration and often work within the clinical setting when not teaching. This enables our staff to maintain clinical competence and makes them ideally placed to support you on your learning journey.

A three-year degree qualification typically comprises 360 credits and each 20 credits (a standard module) equates to 200 hours of study, which comprises of a mixture of lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical sessions and independent study.

Independent study is an important aspect of your degree course. The exact combination of study time will be detailed within your module descriptors.

Both theory and practice elements of the course will be assessed throughout the duration of the three years of the programme using written essays, reports, posters, presentations, examinations and observation of practice. The course encourages students to become independent learners who are self-motivated and fosters the adoption of a self-directed approach to the management of your nursing studies.

The School is one of the largest providers of healthcare education in the North West region and as a result we have developed close links with healthcare providers across the whole of the central Lancashire area including NHS trusts across Preston & Fylde Coast, Fleetwood and Blackpool, Blackburn, Burnley, Wigan, Chorley, Southport and Ormskirk, and many more.

We can also arrange placements with private healthcare providers, independent and voluntary sector organisations. These learning environments will provide you with a unique insight into how healthcare is managed in all settings, not just within the NHS. All clinical placement providers are audited according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council professional regulatory requirements for learning and teaching in clinical practice and each area has a dedicated member of academic staff attached to the placement, so that you may access support and advice.

Academic staff work in close contact with the NHS trust Practice Education Facilitators and the development of these close links with practice partners will enable you to feel confident that your practice experiences are supported throughout your course. As part of your clinical experiences you can expect to work alongside a practice supervisor and practice assessor who will support your learning journey throughout each placement area. As a result there is no part-time route for the BSc Nursing as all students are expected to work closely with their practice assessors which may entail a range of different shift patterns throughout the year.

As a nurse specialising in adult care, you can deliver care to people who need immediate help and support in hospitals or community settings; or assist people to recover and manage an illness they will have to live with for the rest of their life. Promoting good health and educating people to care for themselves, or members of their family or community, is a key focus for adult nurses, whether their patients are in hospital, care homes or being nursed at home.

Nursing is the most rewarding of careers. Registered Nurses provide professional care for patients in many settings and your experiences within the course will prepare you for registration. Throughout the course, you will work with young and elderly alike, some will have physical problems you can see, while others will have mental health problems that call for excellent listening skills as much as your clinical knowledge. You'll need to be open-minded and motivated to help patients understand themselves and their condition. Whether it's assisting a patient to overcome major surgery or helping someone with agoraphobia leave their house, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you've made a real difference to peoples' lives.

Nursing is open to all those who want to care for others. Your age, experience and qualifications will have their part to play in deciding how you wish to begin your nursing career. You'll soon realise you are entering a profession in which only you set the limits to your potential. Service users, carers and the wider community are also involved in the development, delivery and running of the nursing programme. Service users and carers share their experiences with students at the University and are involved in providing students with feedback in clinical practice, as well as being involved in recruitment and assessment activities.