BSc (Hons) Nursing - Adult

Level 1

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
This module will provide the necessary background in biological science to understand and describe the structure and functions of the human body and associated organs. The module is structured to promote an introductory appreciation of human anatomy and physiology as a foundation which will enable students of nursing to underpin future study in Pathophysiology and therapeutic nursing care.

INTRODUCTION TO NURSING PRACTICE
This unit aims to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate a range of essential nursing skills, under the supervision of a registered nurse, to meet individuals’ needs, and to contribute to the assessment, planning and evaluation of nursing care. This unit will explore the proficiencies associated within the four domains of professional and ethical practice, care delivery, care management and personal and professional development, from an evidence and practice perspective. This unit will also incorporate interdisciplinary learning and practice, summative assessment of specific Essential Skills Clusters and exposure to other branches of nursing, as required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF NURSING 1
In contemporary society, nurses are required to work in a range of health care settings, including primary, emergency, secondary, intermediate and palliative care, adapting their roles to meet the changing demands of the public health agenda. Nurses care for patients across the human lifespan and with differing levels of dependency. In order to achieve proficiency, meet the demands of current health care imperatives and provide holistic care for patients, clients and their carers nurses need a cross-disciplinary, inter-professional programme of learning that nevertheless has nursing and its practice at the centre of the curriculum.

This unit is designed to introduce students to the principles and practice of nursing. Furthermore, the unit will explore the proficiencies associated with the four NMC domains of professional and ethical practice, care delivery, care management and personal and professional development, from an evidence and practice perspective. This unit will introduce students to the conceptual framework and models of care, the principles and process of providing and managing care will be examined and related to care pathways and case management. Students will be introduced to the experience of health and healthcare from the patient’s perspective, and explore the location of that care on the independence-dependence care continuum

PSYCHOLOGY OF HEALTH
This unit explores the perspective of health and illness, which embraces the interaction of bio-medical, psychosocial and cultural influences. The importance of the bio-psycho-social model will be examined and in particular the student’s attention will be drawn to psychological aspects of health and illness. The role of the rapidly expanding discipline of Health-Psychology will be discussed in relation to psychological procedures for the assessment, intervention and prevention of ill health.

PUBLIC HEALTH
This unit introduces students to the concept of public health. It outlines earlier and more recent policy influencing the provision of public health services. The main themes of more recent white papers, Choosing health: Making healthy Choices Easier (DH 2004) and Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services (DH 2006) are explored in relation to public health service provision. These white papers outline plans to support the public to make healthier and more informed choices about their health, improving flexibility with a more specific personal health service. Ultimately this will provide patient and service users more control over their health and well being.

The unit as a whole explores the relationship between the health of the public, the social determinants influencing health and the tools and structures that underpin the assessment and provision of health services. The unit will develop students’ understanding of the contribution of public health to improving the health of the population. It commences by outlining the historical preludes to modern public health. Setting the scene contextually and socio-politically, it maps the changing face of public health through history up until modern times. The unit delivery places strong emphasis on the integration of theory into practical application. With the assistance of service colleagues, the role of the practitioner both in contemporary public health practice and in implementing public health policy is highlighted and explored.

SERVICE USER PERSPECTIVES
The aim of the Service User participation unit is to allow students to develop an understanding of the different levels and ways in which service users can be enabled to participate in decision making. Students will be encouraged to develop their knowledge of a variety of different service user groups. Service User and Carers will be involved in the planning, presentation and evaluation of the Unit. Students will also be expected to reflect upon their prior experience of working with service users and carers.

Level 2

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE 2
This unit explores the changing role of the nurse in a variety of health care settings. It will explore from both an evidence base and practice perspective the standards of proficiency required to practice as a registered nurse on the first part of the NMC Register, including the administration of medicines. This unit aims to extend students’ understanding of the process and management of care, with specific reference to the assessment and management of risk. Particular consideration will be given throughout the unit to patients, clients, carers and service users with chronic conditions.

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
This Unit discusses how health is disrupted by disease and disorder with conventional and complementary explanations for the causation of disease being considered. This unit aims to enable students to apply their physiological knowledge towards an understanding of disease. An introduction to pathological processes will be made, and the role of nutrition in the prevention and treatment of disease will be discussed. National and international disease trends will be examined; key disorders such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and cancer will be examined in depth.

ETHICAL, LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL DIMENSIONS OF HEALTHCARE
It is an essential requirement of professional practice that it is carried out within an ethical and legal framework. This Unit will introduce students to ethics and the legal system in relation to healthcare. Studying ethical, legal and professional dimensions in healthcare will give students an insight into the theories, principles and rules that govern healthcare practice. The Unit will provide students with opportunities to develop the skills of rational argument in ethical debate and to consider their own personal position in relation to contentious issues such as treatment of the terminally ill.

HEALTH PROMOTION
This Unit aims to introduce students to key concepts in health promotion. The Unit is intended to enable students to develop the abilities required for the effective planning, implementation and evaluation of health promotion strategies. Students will focus on key settings for health promotion working with both individuals and communities. The course will cover many of the theoretical aspects of health promotion. Its broad aim is to provide students with a definition and overview of health promotion and an appreciation of the theories which underpin the development of different interventions.

RESEARCH SKILLS FOR EVIDENCE-BASED AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
This Unit is intended to enable students to explore and develop a critical appreciation of health care research. It seeks to develop students’ skills in reading, analysing and utilising research, whilst providing students with an opportunity to explore research methods.

DEVELOPING ADULT NURSING PRACTICE
This unit will facilitate the development of practice skills and achievement of proficiencies necessary for entry on to the nursing register. It will also facilitate the achievement of competencies outlined for Public Health Practice, and provides support for placements throughout the second year of the programme. This unit will provide support for practice placements in the second year, ensuring that students meet the European Union Directives in relation to practice experiences.

Level 3

PUBLIC HEALTH: SKILLS AND PRACTICES
This Unit is intended to enable students to develop further their skills and knowledge of the fundamental aspects of public health care, current issues and strategic developments influencing the health of the public.

The emphasis will be on contemporary issues, trends, tensions, dilemmas and their solutions. The unit acknowledges the influence of preceding public health policy and analyses the contribution of contemporary white papers, Choosing health: Making Healthy Choices Easier (DH 2004) and Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services (DH 2006) in relation to public health service provision. Key areas of analysis in this unit are: interpretation of policy issues in practice, social marketing, addressing obstacles and constraints and approaches to reducing inequalities in health.

Through delivery of key lectures supported by participative seminars students will be encouraged to think independently, applying knowledge and learning to a variety of situations. They will perform critical analysis and evaluation of policy, appraising research findings and offering solutions to public health dilemmas.

The unit provides an educational structure which supports the development of the core and specific dimensions in the NHS Key Knowledge and skills framework (KSF). The students undertake a systematic investigation of their chosen community for their summative assessment, identifying and assessing need, using public health research tools to examine impacts on health, evaluating service provision and making recommendations relating to their chosen public health priorities. Specific strategies in health care practice will be analysed and evaluated and their contributions to improving community health, promoting well being and supporting individuals in living independently and making healthy lifestyle choices.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF NURSING 3
This unit is designed to consolidate and extend the theoretical and practice competencies, skills and knowledge acquired during the programme. The unit will provide learning opportunities to facilitate transition from student to registered nurse, through a curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment strategy that will complement the Preceptorship programmes of education and support, offered by local health care trusts.

PUBLIC SERVICES MANAGEMENT and LEADERSHIP
The Health Service is constantly improving clinical effectiveness due to current Government Policies and Directives and consequently there is a continuing need for staff to acquire the necessary managerial skills to function effectively. The aim of this unit is to develop knowledge and awareness of the effects of recent and current changes in services together with the requirements for enabling the delivery of care through the management of staff and resources in the context of clinical governance.

Students will develop knowledge and skills for decision making and work force planning and develop a basic understanding of the skills required for successful management, exploring clinical governance, inter-professional working, leadership and examining the organisational culture of the National Health Service.

HEALTH INEQUALITIES
The module will enable students to analyse and compare of the commissioning, access and use of health services in the UK. The relationship between socio–economic status and poverty with regard to health and health care provision will be critically analysed. Historical and contemporary patterns of disease and ill health will be compared to current epidemiological data. Seminal texts such as The Black Report and the Health divide will be used to explore the lack of progress in reducing health inequalities.

Theoretical models and theories of the social determinants of health will be debated The diversity of experience in health care needs and access to services in relation to specific minority groups in society such as travelling families, asylum seekers and ethnic minorities will be examined. The themes of culture and subculture will be explored in relation to health inequality. Students will engage with a variety of complex issues such as the relative disadvantage of underrepresented groups in contemporary society.

INDEPENDENT STUDY
This unit provides the principal vehicle by which students can clearly illustrate their ability to synthesise the differing disciplinary approaches and theoretical perspectives they have studied. The aim of the unit is to design and conduct a research study related to nursing practice presented in the form of a dissertation that examines critically the relationship between theory and practice. It aims to provide students with the opportunity to illustrate their potential as independent, reflective graduates in nursing.

MANAGEMENT OF ADULT NURSING PRACTICE
This unit will facilitate the consolidation of practice and management of care skills. It will provide support for practice learning placements in the third year, together with support for the final management placement. The unit will facilitate achievement of the standards of proficiency necessary for entry onto the nursing register. It will also facilitate the achievement of competencies outlined for Public Health Practice.

The course is offered over a “long” academic year consisting of 45 weeks of study. This is organised into three periods of study called trimesters. Reflecting the public health focus of learning, almost two thirds of your placements will be in primary care (community) and just over one third in secondary care (in- patient facility) settings across the East Midlands. Public health practice can take place anywhere but the community is where you will learn how health and illness are developed and how they shape lives. We have found that two trimesters of community work supervised by expert nurses prepares our students well for adapting to a hospital placement later. Practical placement experience is weaved in between periods of learning on campus in a 50/50 split across the three year duration of the programme. In your second year placements are solely in hospitals where you will carousel between different areas of specialised trauma and critical care. In your third year you return to the community and prior to graduation complete a management and leadership placement.

The course is full time and occupies 45 weeks of the year in order to permit exposure to adequate levels of theory and practice with two weeks holidays at Christmas, two weeks at Easter and three weeks in the summer fixed for three years. If a situation arises where you are no longer able to maintain this level of study, you may take up to two years off returning to your studies at the end of this time. In this ‘step off step on’ approach time off must be taken in blocks of one year.

Your learning experience as a nursing undergraduate at Lincoln will be everything you might expect from the most modern campus in Europe.

• A fully equipped clinical suite with separate treatment, teaching and observation areas

• ‘State of the art’ lecture theatres and class rooms

• An award winning library

• An academic team with experience across a range of specialties.

The curriculum has been developed to meet the United Kingdom’s Nursing and Midwifery Council standards for proficiency (NMC, 2004, 2006).

Key Features include:

Learning opportunities supervised by expert nurses in community and hospital placements across the East Midlands.

• Simulated treatment sessions in the clinical suite

• Interdisciplinary teaching and learning with health and social work students

• Three Principles and Practice Modules mapped against related clinical experience.

• The Patient Experience of Care in Health and Illness

• Applied Biological Sciences

• Contemporary Health and Social Issues

• Psychology and Health

• Research and Evidence Based Practice

• Legal and Ethical Perspectives in Healthcare

• Public Health Policy and Practice

• Information and Technology Skills.

If a nine to five Monday to Friday desk bound job fills you with dread and you have a passion for making a difference in peoples lives for the better in a career where no two days are the same then yes this might be the course for you. There is no undergraduate course in nursing study anywhere in the UK which will prepare you better for practice in the 21st century.

• Good Communication and Interpersonal Skills

• Arithmetical Skills

• Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team

• Flexibility.

The purpose of assessment is:

• Develop the student’s ability to integrate concepts, theories and practice and to be able to apply these effectively to high quality professional nursing practice

• Encourage students to develop as independent life long learners.

A clinical assessment portfolio lies at the heart of learning on this programme. The students’ proficiency in practice is measured and tracked against a skills inventory. Their ability to relate theory to practice is measured by maintenance of a reflective journal central to the portfolio. Different modes of assessment are used for different modules of study. For example submitted written work is used to assess grasp of theory and clinical exams are used to assess application of theory to practice. In the course of learning a variety of imaginative workshops, group presentations, discussion forums and project work are used to develop knowledge, understanding and skill.

A BSc (Hons) in Nursing will mean that you may register on the NMC register as a qualified nurse. This will equip you to work with individuals’ families and communities to restore health, promote health and help them cope with illness. As a practitioner able to profile the health needs of any community anywhere, you will be an indispensable professional wherever you choose to practice.

“Studying nursing at Lincoln really helps you see the bigger picture because of the strong public health focus. There are lots of options in learning which help you to link theory with practice and vice versa.” - Max Flitton Second Year Student

• Life experience which has given you sound ‘people skills’ - examples of this include charity work, professional caring, working with the public, school and college, work experience placements and parenthood

• Self awareness - you should be able to list the skills and personal qualities you can bring to nursing

• A sense of commitment - you should give evidence that you are not applying on a mere whim but that you have given time and thought to what is a major life decision.

We will be looking for applicants committed to Adult Nursing. This must be clearly demonstrated in the personal statement section of the UCAS application form by saying why the candidate wants to study Adult Nursing and any relevant work experience that they have undertaken to date. Candidates must show evidence of a good understanding of the scope of the nursing profession, preferably indicated by observational work experience. Candidates must demonstrate an understanding of the scope of clinical and professional experiences in nursing. In addition candidates should be able to articulate the realistic expectations required from the programme and the demands of clinical placements.

Apply via UCAS online at www.ucas.com.

For details about NHS Bursaries please see: www.NHSBSA.NHS.UK/Students.

Selection is by interview.

At interview we will want to hear about you, your background, work history and other interests. Most importantly we will want to know why you think you will make a good nurse. We will expect you to know about the role of the nurse in the 21st century particularly in areas of public health so you would also wise to visit the department of health website and read the news section of the Nursing Times or Nursing Standard in advance of your interview day.

• 260 UCAS points from a minimum of three A levels
• A minimum of three GCSEs at grade C or above, to include English Language, Mathematics and Science, or the equivalent. GCSEs must be obtained prior to application.
• Access 45 level 3 credits at merit or above from a recognised Access to HE course
• IELTS 7.0
• Successful performance at an interview
• Knowledge of contemporary health and social care issues, and the nature of nursing in a public health context
• Understand and make use of written material and can communicate clearly and accurately in written and spoken English
• “Settled residential status” in the United Kingdom in line with the requirements of the 1977 Immigration Act
• Resident in the United Kingdom for at least three years
• Satisfactory completion of Occupational Health Check
• Satisfactory completion of an enhances Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.

A registration charge is payable, which covers both the cost of registration and an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.

Further information can be found at www.isa-gov.org.uk.

A wide range of career options lie before newly qualified nurse graduates including education and research, professional leadership and management and specialist practice.

What if I don’t have key skills in English and Maths?
We accept Key Skills level 2 Application of Number, and Communication in lieu of GCSE Maths and English. You can study for these quickly online using a service such as learn direct. It is possible to obtain key skill qualifications in just six weeks although you may take longer if you wish.

How soon will I hear?
You UCAS form normally reaches us one week after you apply. You can expect to be invited to interview immediately after this unless your application is rejected. If your application is rejected we will provide feedback via the UCAS track.

How can I prepare for interview?
We will want to hear about you, your background, work history and other interests. Most importantly we will want to know why you think you will make a good nurse. We will expect you to know about the role of the nurse in the 21st century so you would also wise to visit the department of health website and read the news section of the Nursing Times or Nursing Standard in advance of your interview day.

What are the costs of being a student on this programme?
University tuition fees are paid by the department of health. You will also be eligible for a means tested bursary of between £2000 and £4000 per year while you study with us. In addition you can apply for a student loan from your local education authority. You can find out more about this by contacting Helen Cadogan at student support services at the University of Lincoln or by visiting the NHS careers website. Some students also choose to supplement their income by working flexible part time jobs at weekends. HOWEVER DUE TO THE DEMANDS OF THE PROGRAMME WE WOULD ADVISE AGAINST THIS

If clinical placements are throughout the region, how will a be able to get there?
Travelling expenses are paid for by the university. If you hold a full driving license we can provide you with a funded lease care to travel to placements. If you have your own car we can provide you with a parking space on campus. While there can be no guarantees we are usually successful in taking into account your place of residence , family responsibilities and transport when placing you in a care setting.

Is the study course flexible? What if I need to take time off for personal reasons?
The course is full time and occupies 45 weeks of the year with 2 weeks holidays at Christmas, 2 weeks at Easter and 3 weeks in the summer fixed for 3 years. If a situation arises where you are no longer able to maintain this level of study, you may take up to 2 years off returning to your studies at the end of this time. In this ‘step off ,step on’ approach time off must be taken in blocks of one year.

For further information and funding your study please see our Fees & Funding pages.

Fees and Funding