Course overview
Working in healthcare
Hear from a range of health professionals, including Teesside University graduates, working at James Cook Hospital. Discover the variety of health professions and learn about their roles, why they chose a healthcare career and why its so rewarding.
Develop emotional intelligence, clinical decision-making, interpersonal skills, and your ability to provide high-quality person-centred compassionate nursing in a safe and caring environment.
Explore the changing and challenging nature of providing healthcare in the 21st-century and the evolving, diverse role of the adult nurse. Leadership is embedded throughout the course, recognising the crucial role nurses play in moving practice forward. You focus on mental health and cognitive issues impacting health. Benefit from shared learning across all four fields of practice (adult, child, mental health and learning disabilities nursing) throughout the course.
Top reasons to study this course:
- Experienced teaching team: benefit from the practical and academic expertise of our teaching team, who have a collective wealth of experience as adult nurses.
- Industry-standard facilities: our facilities mirror aspects of clinical practice placements, including a dedicated ward lab where simulated mannequins mimic real clinical situations, preparing you for the role.
- Financial support: study this course and you may be eligible for a £5,000 maintenance grant each year from the NHS Business Service Authority. Find out more. You can also apply for our Placement Support Fund if you are experiencing financial difficulties attending your placement. Find out more.
Supporting information for applicants
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Course details
Course structure
Year 1 core modules
Bio-psychosocial Approaches to Nursing Care and Decision Making
This module involves shared learning and teaching across all fields of nursing, to develop an understanding of the holistic issues that may influence and impact on the care and experience of people within different health care settings. You develop a broad understanding of the theoretical frameworks underpinning the discipline of nursing and identify and explore patterns and determinants of health, wellbeing and illness at a local, national and global level.
You identify and explore the knowledge base required to meet the fundamental mental, physical, cognitive and behavioural needs of people within their care. Research-informed teaching and learning will introduce you to the concept and process of evidence-based practice, which will enable you to take a critical approach towards nursing care.
Bio-psychosocial Development Across the Lifespan
You develop an understanding of human systems and the patterns and determinants of health, wellbeing and illness. This will include consideration of the altered and normal human biopsychosocial development. You develop an awareness of genomics, sociological, psychological development and their impact upon physical health, mental health, and intellectual impairments across the lifespan.
You will have an awareness of routine investigations which will then contribute to the development of your knowledge of commonly encountered physical and behavioural health conditions. You will understand the principles of pathogenesis, immunology, and evidence base for immunisation, vaccination and herd immunity, and establish an understanding of the principles of infection prevention and control.
Experts by Experience the Person's Voice
You develop an understanding of the centrality of the person receiving care and valuing and promoting reciprocity in every interaction. You will explore the philosophical basis and key concepts underpinning approaches to working with different people and service user groups. The biopsychosocial experience and impact of altered health and wellbeing, physical illness, cognition and/or treatment upon the person and family will be examined from the service user perspective.
You explore the balance of power within health and social care provision and relationships, and empowerment and the concepts of therapeutic alliances will be examined. The concepts of meaning, empathy, compassion, trust, connectedness and hope will be analysed and applied to practice.
Foundations of Nursing Proficiency: the Professional Basis of Care and Caring
This module will facilitate the development of fundamental knowledge and skills that pre-registration nurses must demonstrate when caring for people of all ages across care settings. The module content is linked to the Nursing and Midwifery Council platforms and proficiency statements combining theory and practice elements.
The module combines theory, practical skills and placement experience and incorporates the four fields of nursing across three semesters with students in mixed theory groups.Technology-enhanced learning is a key feature. Understanding the foundations of nursing proficiency and professional nursing practice will be developed through pre-reading, seminars and supporting of direct care through simulated workshops including role play, clinical skills development, simulation and the use of scenarios.
Introduction to Personal and Professional Effectiveness in Nursing Practice
This module will provide the foundations from which students from all fields of nursing will examine the role of the nurse as a leader and champion of high-quality, person-centred nursing care, professional practice and innovation. It enables you to explore the knowledge, values and skills required to develop your personal effectiveness and reflective practice. This exploration will be used as a professional platform to inform their leadership development.
You will be introduced to the theoretical concepts underpinning leadership and personal effectiveness including self-awareness, resilience and self-management, as well as the core professional values of nursing.
Year 2 core modules
Collaborative and Interdependent Working to Promote Health and Well-being
You build upon and apply the leadership and personal effectiveness knowledge and skills they developed in Stage 1 of the course. It focuses upon the nurse's role in collaborative and interdependent working with others, to influence and motivate. You explore how they can use their personal qualities and skills to contribute to, and promote a culture of high-quality person-centred care and a positive working environment. You develop your ability to articulate a shared vision and purpose to inspire others, engage the team and lead with care.
Developing Personal and Professional Effectiveness in Nursing Practice
You further develop your understanding from the first year module across all fields of nursing of the role of the nurse as a leader and champion of high-quality, person-centred nursing care, professional practice and innovation. It enables you to explore and critique the knowledge, values and skills required to develop your personal effectiveness and reflective practice. This exploration will be used to advance knowledge to inform your leadership development.
You develop skills to explore theoretical concepts underpinning leadership and personal effectiveness including self-awareness, resilience and self-management, as well as the core professional values of nursing.
Nurse as Investigator and Leader of Change
You build on the knowledge and skills developed in Year 1 in relation to the role, nature and use of evidence to support health and social care practice and service improvement. You develop your ability to critically appraise a range of evidence. You will explore how evidence is used to underpin national guidelines, decision-making and high-quality nursing practice within a clinical governance framework. To facilitate evidence-based practice and influence the improvement agenda you will apply leadership and change management concepts covered in other modules.
Promoting Adult Nursing Proficiency: Developing Evidence-based Professional Care and Caring
Develop the fundamentals of care and skills and combine theory and practice. Explore and assess the fundamental and complex holistic needs of adults, their families, and carers.
Therapeutic Nursing Practice in Adult Nursing
Explore and focus on therapeutic nursing care needs across the adult service user journeys. Build on your knowledge and understanding of altered pathophysiology, cognition, health and wellbeing. Enabling you to enhance your ability to make evidence-based decisions within a biopsychosocial context.
Final-year core modules
Enhanced Person-centred Assessment and Decision Making Skills in Adult Nursing
Consider the knowledge, understanding and skills required to undertake enhanced holistic assessments of people accessing adult nursing services and to formulate a person-centered plan of care that optimises health outcomes. Develop skills such as history taking, interpretation of assessment and evaluation information.
Enhanced Therapeutic Practice in Adult Nursing
Explore complex therapeutic, person-centered decision making in adult nursing practice. Develop knowledge and evidence-based decision-making skills underpinning the management of health care needs of people accessing adult nursing services in the primary, secondary, and tertiary care settings. Explore the knowledge and skills required to promote effective decision making and multidisciplinary and multi-agency working when managing care for adults with complex needs.
Enhancing Adult Nursing Proficiency: Leading Evidence-based Professional and Caring Practice
Develop your ability to lead and manage care in a diverse range of practice settings. you consider delegation, prioritisation, time management, decision making, teaching and supervision of others, safeguarding and addressing poor practice. Practical workshops facilitate the further development of technical and therapeutic skills such as care of the deteriorating patient, CPR, medicines management, effective transfer of care and talking therapies.
Nursing Improvement and Entrepreneurship
You focuses on enhancing skills and attributes to enable you to explore systematic approaches to develop the quality improvement agenda and improve the safety, effectiveness and people’s experience of care. The role of the nurse in this context will be explored. You will develop and propose a service improvement initiative in the workplace utilising enhanced knowledge and understanding of the tools, techniques and models linked to successful improvement initiatives in health care practice.
Modules offered may vary.
How you learn
Spend 50% of your time learning theory in the classroom or independently and 50% of your time on placement.
Theory is delivered Monday to Friday, possibly involving some evening sessions. Placements may involve early starts, night duty and weekend shifts, and they may not be near to your home or within your local trust. You are expected to travel to different areas.
The structure and sequencing of university and placement-based learning means it is not possible to take holidays outside of the set dates.
All modules adopt a blended approach to learning and teaching. Theory is delivered through teacher and student-led activities, including lectures, discussions, group activities, seminar presentations, tutorials, skills workshops, experiential learning or simulations, service user-focused activities and e-learning. Learning through digital-based platforms is an important component.
Practice placements are undertaken in a range of healthcare environments, including hospital and community settings. This incorporates nursing closer to home, preventative, acute and long-term healthcare provisions, enabling you to explore the adult service users’ journey. Throughout your placement allocations you gain experience with client groups from other fields of nursing (mental health, learning disabilities and children’s nursing), giving you an understanding of the health and nursing needs of people across all fields of practice, who will inevitably access adult nursing services.
The theory and practice experiences enable you to explore the service user’s journey, developing knowledge and experience of nursing and healthcare needs within services across the age continuum. One of the modules in the first year has been co-produced with service users.
How you are assessed
You are assessed through written assignments, reflection, case studies, exams, poster presentations and projects. You are also assessed in practice each year through a Practice Assessment Document (PAD). Essential practice proficiencies must be met for this course. They are contained within the PAD, linked to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) platforms (communication and relationship management skills and nursing procedure skills). The platforms are:
- 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
- coordinating care.
Our Disability Services team provide an inclusive and empowering learning environment and have specialist staff to support disabled students access any additional tailored resources needed. If you have a specific learning difficulty, mental health condition, autism, sensory impairment, chronic health condition or any other disability please contact a Disability Services as early as possible.
Find out more about our disability services
Find out more about financial support
Find out more about our course related costs
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
You are expected to have:
- a minimum of two GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above including English language and maths. Key Skills/Functional Skills Level 2 in Communication and Application of Number can be accepted in place of English and Maths GCSE.
Plus any of the following qualifications:
GCE and VCE Advanced Level
112 points from two or three A levels, or equivalent T levels.
AS Level
These are only acceptable combined with other qualifications. One AS level can be accepted when combined with two or three A Levels to meet the 112 points required.
Access course
112 UCAS points from a QAA-recognised Access course (any combination)
*We can accept level 2 Access units in communication and maths in place of English and maths GCSEs.
BTEC QCF Extended Diploma
112 points (DMM).
CACHE Level 3 Extended Diploma in Health & Social Care
120 points (B) in health and social care.
Foundation degree
A pass in any subject.
Irish Leaving Certificate
112 points from four or five Highers/Honours subjects.
Open University
60 credits at Level 4 with the Open University or a CertHE pass in any subject.
Scottish Highers
112 points from four or five Highers.
Advanced Scottish Highers
112 points from three Advanced Highers.
For further detailed entry requirements for this course please visit www.ucas.com.
Shortlisting criteria
Your application will be measured against the following criteria:
- your ability to complete all sections of the application form fully and correctly
- the level of all qualifications and grades are specified
- appropriate academic entry requirements achieved or working towards qualifications
- personal statement supportive of chosen course and demonstrates the uniqueness of the profession and the role of the professional
- satisfactory appropriate supportive references (academic/employer/character).
If you are invited to interview and the date is not suitable we may not be able to offer you an alternative date due to the high volume of applications received for this course - but it is important that you contact the Admissions Office immediately.
Interview criteria
A mini multiple interview process will be used as part of the selection process. This will involve you moving through a series of three interview stations (approximately ten minutes per station). At each station you will explore a different scenario and will be measured against the six C's and the following criteria which has been mapped against the NHS Constitution:
- knowledge of chosen profession/career
- an appreciation of the demands of the course and chosen profession
- enthusiasm for the course/profession
- ability to communicate effectively both verbally and non verbally.
- a future plan for the specialism.
If you are successful in both shortlisting and interview you will receive a conditional offer which is subject to the following:
- evidence of achievement of the required academic qualifications
- a successful work-based risk assessment which will reflect the appropriate HEOPS recommendations. Find out more about all of the HEOPS standards
- an enhanced criminal history (DBS) check may be required for certain modules or placements which involve working with children and/or adults at risk. The DBS check is funded by the School of Health & Life Sciences so you do not need to pay for this process.
- satisfactory references.
Please note until 1 to 4 have been successfully completed the offer of a place on the course remains conditional. Advanced standing for a maximum of 50% of the course is available for suitable candidates, subject to them meeting the Recognition of Prior Learning criteria. This is only considered once a place has been offered and accepted.
International applicants
- International applicants must have a minimum IELTS score of 7.0 or equivalent in line with the University English Language Policy that equates to overall IELTS 7 with a minimum of 6.5 in writing (or equivalent), before an unconditional offer is made.
- If you are successful at shortlisting you will be invited to attend an interview (which may be in person OR video call) in one of our international offices in either India, Malaysia or China, or through a secure web link (which will be arranged by the University).
- If you can not attend an interview as stated, you will be unable to proceed with your application.
For international enquiries please email internationalenquiries@tees.ac.uk
For general information please see our overview of entry requirements
International applicants can find out what qualifications they need by visiting Your Country
You can gain considerable knowledge from work, volunteering and life. Under recognition of prior learning (RPL) you may be awarded credit for this which can be credited towards the course you want to study.
Find out more about RPL
Employability
Career opportunities
On graduation you are eligible for registration with the regulator of NMC as an adult nurse. This can lead to a range of exciting and rewarding career opportunities within the NHS and private sectors, in the UK and overseas.
This course has been designed to prepare you for the challenges and demands of contemporary and future nursing, health, and social care practice. It provides a stepping-stone from which you can further develop your expertise in the fields of nursing practice, leadership, research, education and consultancy.
Information for international applicants
Qualifications
International applicants - find out what qualifications you need by selecting your country below.
Select your country:
Useful information
Visit our international pages for useful information for non-UK students and applicants.