MSc Mental Health Nursing - Preregistration (February Start)

Key details

MSC MENTAL HEALTH NURSING - PREREGISTRATION (FEBRUARY START)

Start Year

2023

Attendance

Full Time

Award

Degree of Master of Science

Duration (years)

Studying Mental Health Nursing at UEA prepares you for a career that can be as varied or specialist as you choose. Working with people of every age, from childhood to older age, it could see you caring for people recovering from acute illness or living with a disability, as well working alongside and supporting people to stay mentally and physically well.

Our innovative, accelerated course is ideal if you already have a degree and are looking for a fast-track into the nursing profession. Exposing you to theory and practice, our Master’s programme will build on your prior life experience, graduate attributes and enable you to qualify as a Mental Health nurse in just two years.

You’ll explore all aspects of nursing, gain experience working with people receiving nursing care in a variety of settings while working alongside other health and social care professionals.

About

With the NHS Constitution at its core, our MSc Mental Health Nursing programme will offer you the excitement and challenge to achieve your very best and provide you with the rigorous training you need to become a dynamic nurse.

Our Master’s course has been designed for students who already have an undergraduate degree and who demonstrate the personal attributes and commitment needed to pursue a career caring for others. Your time with us will help you develop into a nurse who’s not only committed, but who is also able to deliver the highest quality of person-centred care. Informed by the four pillars of Advanced Practice you will be exposed to theoretical and practice-based learning addressing themes of Clinical Practice, Research, Education and Leadership ensuring you are equipped to pursue a variety of exciting career opportunities at the point of qualification.

The course entails learning in the University setting, independent online learning, self-directed study, simulated practice and placements in a variety of health and social care settings. The course will help you develop high standards of patient centred care, as well as clinical nursing, education, leadership and research skills. This will enable you to excel in the way you work with service users, their families and carers – and maximising your contribution to the multidisciplinary healthcare team. Throughout the course, you will undertake professionally-supervised placements in a wide variety of care settings. Working closely with service users, placements provide a fantastic opportunity to apply and develop your knowledge and skills in a clinical environment. Placements will also enable you to appreciate the importance of research, education and leadership in providing quality care.

Placement opportunities will be provided across the two years of the programme.

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Important Information

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the courses listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the regular review of course programmes. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes, there will normally be prior consultation of students and others. Changes may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will inform students.

Assessment for Year 1

You’ll be assessed using a range of methods, carefully chosen to enable you to demonstrate your ability to apply theory to practice.

Year 1 assessments include written assignments, reports and exams. You will also be assessed in practice against the NMC proficiencies set out in the PART 1: MYEPAD (Midlands, Yorkshire and East Practice Assessment Document)

Structure

Our course structure will enable you to study a range of concepts and undertake practice experiences, all highly relevant to mental health nursing. Across the two years, you will also study six core modules and be exposed to placements reflective of the patient journey across a range of healthcare settings. This means you will spend time getting to grips with the theory and then applying it in practice.

In your first year, we will lay the foundations of nursing, with an emphasis on developing your knowledge and understanding of fundamental nursing theory and concepts. You’ll investigate a range of concepts including person-centred care, empowerment, public health and health promotion among others. Essential nursing skills will be taught through simulation in the University’s skills labs and practice placements where the emphasis will be on you developing core nursing skills, whilst giving you the opportunity to explore the nurses’ role within a multi-professional team.

Teaching and Learning

We take a ‘blended’ approach to teaching and learning, which includes online learning as well as classroom-based activities in order to promote engagement and develop your critical thinking.

Classroom teaching includes lectures, seminars as well as peer learning opportunities, where we encourage you to actively participate with the guidance and facilitation of a lecturer.

In Year 1, teaching centres on learning the fundamentals of nursing theory and practice and how you deliver safe care to people. We emphasise the need to develop research skills throughout the course, and in the first year you’ll learn to appreciate various research approaches and how they support and guide nursing practice.

You will have two 10-week practice placements in Year 1. Each placement block starts with a week of simulated learning in the UEA skills and simulation centre, where you will be introduced to a wide range of nursing skills. During each practice placement, you will be learning with the support of registered nurses, members of the healthcare team and those using healthcare services. Your practice placements are designed to reflect the typical working patterns of a qualified nurse. You will have access to placements in a wide variety of settings located with healthcare provides who work in partnership with UEA, across Norfolk and Suffolk.

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Assessment for Year 2

You’ll complete a dissertation that encompasses the learning outcomes for all Year 2 modules. In practice, you will be assessed against the NMC proficiencies set out in the PART 2: MYEPAD and PART 3: MYEPAD.

Structure

The second year focuses on enhancing your practical knowledge and your ability to translate theory into your nursing practice. You will be able to spend more time in practice and specialise during placements by spending time with other members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team. You’ll build on your knowledge and skills, demonstrating your ability to effectively deliver nursing care and communicate with people with complex needs. Using a range of educational and leadership skills, you will assess the needs of people while protecting their rights to privacy, dignity, respect and autonomy. In Year Two, you will complete a project that draws together the four pillars of advanced practice. This will enable you to develop a high level of critical thinking and reasoning skills, so that you are increasingly able to support people with complex needs.

As you move through the programme towards professional registration, you will explore what your role means in relation to enhancing the quality of care, nursing practice and service delivery. As a future leader in practice, you will also focus on how to apply research, education and leadership theory to lead, develop and improve service and care provision.

Teaching and Learning

In Year 2, teaching centres on embedding theory and research into your practice to enable you to deliver high quality care to people and support their families and carers. The emphasis is on managing and leading care and improving the quality of care and healthcare services in partnership with others.

You will have three practice placements in Year 2. The first two placements will be 10 weeks and the final placement is 12 weeks. Like Year 1, the first week of each placement will be a simulated practice week.

By the end of your studies, you will have developed your knowledge, skills and professional values in order to demonstrate completion of the NMC proficiencies and requirements for professional registration.

Independent Study

Throughout your two years, we encourage you to think critically about your practice, so that you become a confident, reflexive independent learner. Within directed study time, you will be expected to fully engage with our Virtual Learning Environment and use this time to develop your skills of critical enquiry.

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Assessment for Year 1

You’ll be assessed using a range of methods, carefully chosen to enable you to demonstrate your ability to apply theory to practice.

Compulsory Modules

PERSON-CENTRED NURSING PRACTICE

Code HSC-7200X

Credits 40

Person-centred Nursing Practice spans year one of the Adult Nursing programme encompassing core and field specific learning with professional values central to design. It provides the learning opportunities for students to achieve of Part One of the programme through completion of the PAN Midlands Yorkshire and East Practice Assessment Document (MYEPAD). The central focus of this module is to develop knowledge, skills and practice in preparation for registration with the NMC.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF HEALTH RESEARCH 1

Code HSC-7201X

Credits 40

This module will prepare students to become evidence-based practitioners, able to critically consume, deliver and develop, health related research. Following the research process, the first year of the module will focus on both applied and theoretical aspects of health research. In doing so, it will explore the basis of clinical research questions, the theoretical underpinnings of research methods and evolution of health research, the application of research techniques and the ethical considerations at each stage. Ultimately, students will be able to understand and implement core research methods and appraise and discuss other people’s research. The module culminates in the submission of a research protocol, written by the student. Students are supported in this module by established researchers.

IMPROVING CARE THROUGH LEADERSHIP AND EDUCATION

Code HSC-7202X

Credits 40

The focus of this module is on leading care and promoting safe practice. The aim of this module is to develop your insight into leadership and education principles to enable you to explore how these concepts impact on health care, service delivery and organisational wellbeing. The module will prepare you to lead in increasingly changing health care systems through promoting an awareness of the current challenges facing health services; the importance of clinical and organisational governance; factors influencing organisational change and strategies and approaches to transform care, services and systems. In doing so, the module takes a person-centred and service-based approach to improvements in the patient experience.

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Important Information

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring and review of modules. Where this activity leads to significant change to a programme and modules, the University will endeavour to consult with affected students. The University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. Availability of optional modules may be restricted owing to timetabling, lack of demand, or limited places. Where this is the case, you will be asked to make alternative module choices and you will be supported during this process.

Assessment for Year 2

Compulsory Modules

NURSING PRACTICE IN CONTEXT

Code HSC-7203X

Credits 0

Nursing Practice in Context spans year two and supports achievement of parts two and three of the programme through completion of the PAN Midlands Yorkshire and East Practice Assessment Document (MYEPAD). The central focus of this module is to further develop knowledge, skills and practice in preparation for registration with the NMC. This module continues to build on theoretical and practice learning from year one combining learning in the practice setting with simulated practice alongside theoretical learning. Students will develop skills of leading and co-ordinating care working towards becoming an independent autonomous practitioner who is able to respond flexibly to a range of complex situations. As preparation for future practice, knowledge, understanding and skills related to physiological states will be integrated with theory of drug actions, pharmacology and the optimisation of medicines to further develop clinical focus during the module. This year long module comprises of three blocks of practice experience: two periods of ten weeks in clinical practice will support achievement of proficiencies identified in ‘Part 2'of the MYEPAD; and a further twelve-week block of clinical practice will focus on achievement of Part 3 proficiencies in the MYEPAD, focussed on leading and co-ordinating care in preparation for registration.

IMPROVING SERVICES THROUGH LEADERSHIP AND EDUCATION

Code HSC-7205X

Credits 0

The aim of this module is to provide the student with the knowledge and skills to apply leadership, management and education principles in a variety of settings and learn about how quality leadership, management and education leads to improved outcomes and transformation of services and practices for more effective health and social care provision.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF HEALTH RESEARCH 2

Code HSC-7204X

Credits 0

This module will prepare students to become evidence-based practitioners, able to critically consume, deliver and develop, health research. Following on from year one, where learning concentrated on developing an understanding of the principles of research, the research process, methods and associated ethics and governance issues, the focus in year two will shift outwards, towards developing an understanding of dissemination of research findings while incorporating an element of raising political awareness within research and the role of health economics and implementation science. During this year students will put their learning from year one into practice by carrying out original research studies, culminating in the submission of a dissertation (synoptic assessment). Students are supported in this module by established researchers.

YEAR 2 INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT

Code HSC-7206X

Credits 60

This is a 60 credit core Integrated Assessment module will include the summative assessments 100% weighted Dissertation Project that brings together the following modules HSC-7203X; HSC-7204X and HSC-7205X.

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Important Information

Entry Requirements

Degree classification

Minimum 2:1 or equivalent; this programme is applicable if you are a registered Adult, Learning Disabilities or Children's nurse who wishes to become a NMC registered Mental Health Nurse. If you are a registered nurse looking for post-registration study opportunities within your own field of practice then this course is not suitable and you may wish to consider our other post-registration, professional nursing courses delivered at Degree and Master's level.

Degree subject

All subject areas considered

GCSE offer

Applicants will be required to have a minimum of GCSE Maths and English at Grade 4 / C or equivalent.

Additional entry requirements

The University will also take into account the employment experience of applicants where relevant.

Applicants will be required to have a minimum of GCSE Maths and English at Grade 4 / C or equivalent.

PLACEMENTS

As this course includes patient facing placements in health or social care settings, and these are a mandatory component of the course, you will need to comply with the placement vaccination policy. Failure to meet the placement vaccination policy may prevent you from joining the course or may lead to your withdrawal from the course in the future. Future employment may also be subject to this condition.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Following interview, successful candidates will be required to complete a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) online portfolio set against defined NMC outcomes (NMC, 2018), which, on confirmation of achievement, candidates will be eligible to commence the MSc accelerated programme in 2 years.

Due to its ‘shortened’ design graduate entrants are required to demonstrate 460 equivalent theoretical learning hours before starting the programme as a condition of the admissions process. This is achieved through the completion of a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Portfolio. In order to start the programme and progress you need to successfully complete the RPL.

Students for whom english is a foreign language

We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English. To ensure such students benefit from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English. Our usual entry requirements are as follows:

IELTS: 7.0 (minimum 7.0 in all components)
PTE (Pearson): 76 (minimum 76 in all components)

Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.

Other tests, including Cambridge English exams and the Trinity Integrated Skills in English are also accepted by the university. The full list of accepted tests can be found here: Accepted English Language Tests

INTO UEA run pre-sessional courses which can be taken prior to the start of your course. For further information and to see if you qualify please contact intopre-sessional@uea.ac.uk (INTO UEA Norwich)

Interviews

The strongest applicants will be invited to interview. Please note that meeting the minimum academic entry requirements will not guarantee that you will be selected for interview. Interview invitations will be sent by email. Please keep a close eye on all emails from UEA after you submit your application.

Note that we will not disclose interview questions in advance of the interviews, but in general terms the interviews will explore a range of issues, including your suitability for the profession and the NHS values (as reflected in the NHS constitution). We’ll look to consider your motivation to study this course, as well as whether you have an interest in people and a clear understanding of the profession (ideally with relevant voluntary or paid work in healthcare).

Applicants will be offered an online interview.

Experience of Healthcare

We are aware that it is a difficult time to try to gain relevant experience in healthcare. We will take this into account and will adapt our expectations.

Keep in mind that clinical work experience is not generally a requirement for applying to train in healthcare, but it is important to show that you are able to work with people and appreciate the health and social care setting. It is important to remember why we look for work experience in an application; this in turn can help you think of the numerous ways that you might be able to demonstrate how you have acquired relevant experience.

We will want to see that you understand what a career in Health involves. Work experience, and other related experiences, are only as valuable as the way you talk about them and what understanding you take from them. While we will expect you to show some understanding of what it is like to be the professional of your choice, part of this involves demonstrating that you know what it is like to work in a responsible role, particularly with the public.

Any activity or life experience that helps you to prepare for training to be a healthcare professional will help. This means any activity that allows you to demonstrate that you have:

- Had people-focused experience of providing a service, care, support or help to others, and that you understand the realities of working in a caring profession.
- Developed some of the values, attitudes and behaviours essential to being a Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health professional such as conscientiousness, effective communication and the ability to interact with a wide variety of people. The values that we are looking for are set out in the NHS Constitution.
- A realistic understanding of Health and Social Care and in particular the physical, organisational and emotional demands of the career.