Program Overview

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There's never been a better time to train as a nurse! Not only is public appreciation for nurses growing, so is the funding. You can now apply for a £5000 grant that you won't need to pay back! There is also an extra £3000 funding available depending on your personal circumstances. You can find more information about eligibility and how to apply on the HSC Scholarships and Funding page. Nurses are visible in all walks of life - hospitals, patients' homes, doctors' surgeries and care homes. They form the largest group of staff employed in the health and social care sector, and are crucial to everything we do in society today. With 98% of undergraduate graduates from the School of Health and Social Care in highly skilled employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes 2022), we're confident our BSc Nursing (Adult) will help you to build a career that really makes a difference. Adult nurses work with adults of all ages with diverse health conditions. Communication skills are essential to set patients at ease under pressurised and sometimes difficult situations, as is the ability to assess, plan, implement and evaluate the care offered to each patient. You must be willing to take responsibility for someone else’s health and well-being, and show the compassion needed to ensure a good nurse-patient relationship. Unlike many of the older, traditional nursing schools, at Essex you receive a fresh, contemporary and relevant nursing programme. You work with local organisations to ensure that you gain the best experience possible during your time with us, and studying alongside other health professionals means that you also have the opportunity to gain expert knowledge from them. We provide support throughout all aspects of your journey, including dedicated support in literacy and numeracy. The School of Health and Social Care is proud to work closely with our Service User Reference Group (SURG). SURG is made up of service users, carers, and volunteers who generously share their first-hand experiences of health and social care. We work collaboratively with SURG to design our courses to ensure that we truly are putting the needs of patients and clients at the heart of what we do. SURG are involved as part of our course application processes and often form part of our interview panels. This helps us to be confident that we are selecting the right applicants for the course and their future careers. SURG members also support the delivery of our teaching sessions and research activity, which means you’ll benefit from an insight into their lived experiences of living with a diagnosis, health condition, or circumstance. You’ll find that not only does your clinical knowledge expand, but your empathy, compassion and ability to advocate develops also. You can find out more about SURG by reading their blog here . There are four main types of pre-registration nursing degree – child, learning disabilities, adult and mental health. At Essex we specialise in adult and mental health nursing courses, as well as offering apprenticeships for those already in employment in a healthcare setting and CPD courses for those who already have professional registration. For a full list of our undergraduate and research nursing courses, take a look at our subject pages . The cost of required uniform will be fully covered by the school.

Placement Opportunities

Half of your studies will be spent working in clinical settings – for example, in a ward, a health centre or in client’s homes. You will be working alongside nurses as you practice and perfect your skills. Placements are based in NHS, private and voluntary settings throughout Essex. You will work shift patterns whilst in placement equivalent to approximately a 37.5 hour week. This includes early shifts, late shifts, night shifts, weekend and bank holiday working.

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Location

You can choose to study this course at either our Colchester campus or our Southend campus - and your placements will correspond to the campus you choose. Colchester students will have placements in north Essex, while Southend students will have placements in south Essex. Whilst this course is offered at both our Southend and Colchester campuses, we recommend that you consider which location would suit you best and apply for that campus. If you apply to multiple campuses, you will only have one interview and your chances of being offered a place will be the same as if you had only applied to one campus. If you wish to change campus at any point during the admissions process then please contact your Admissions Adviser who will do their best to accommodate your preference. Changing campus is subject to availability.

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Making your application

Before you make your application, take a look at our frequently asked questions section at the bottom of our undergraduate department pages . Here you will find hints and tips on what we are looking for, as well as useful resources to help you prepare for interviews. DBS and Occupational Health Checks This course requires a satisfactory Occupational Health Check and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check (including child and adult barred list check) - both of these are organised by the University. Please contact our DBS team or Occupational Health team if you have any questions in relation to these checks. A satisfactory Overseas Criminal Record Check/Local Police Certificate is also required, in addition to a DBS Check, where you have lived outside of the UK in the last 5 years for 6 months or more. Further information about how to obtain an Overseas Criminal Record check can be found on the Gov.uk website . Mandatory Vaccinations As you may be aware, the UK government has now revoked legislation that requires all health and social care staff working in sites regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Whilst vaccination is not essential, we encourage our applicants and students to be fully vaccinated. Find out more about what this means for applicants to this course .

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Professional accreditation

Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the purpose of registration as a qualified nurse (adult). Nursing Why we're great.

• The University of Essex is ranked top 40 for overall satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2022 (broad discipline English universities).
• Our focus is on producing nurses with empathy as well as technical skill.
• Much of your study is spent in clinical settings, working alongside nurses and other professionals.

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Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course. Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university

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Our expert staff

A unique feature of our School is that many of our staff work with local NHS Trusts and other local agencies, which enhances our grasp of the contemporary links between academic research, the major issues of the day and practice. We specialise in applied, multidisciplinary research that addresses issues of national and international concern to health and social care policy and practice and related fields. We also host the NIHR Research Design Service for the East of England.

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Specialist facilities

The School of Health and Social Care is located at two sites; in the Kimmy Eldridge building at our Colchester campus and in the Gateway Building at our Southend campus. Delivering the course across two campuses means that we have small, interactive classes to create a stronger learning environment. We have purpose-built nursing skills labs at both our Colchester and Southend campuses to meet the needs of a growing and lively School. We offer excellent physical and online resources in terms of libraries, computer labs, data-sets, archives and other research materials. Our dedicated support tutor will help to develop your academic literacy and clinical numeracy skills. This helps you apply these critically important areas of study to real life situations.

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Your future

Successful completion of our BSc Nursing (Adult) leads to eligibility to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on the Professional Register as a “Registered Adult Nurse” allowing you to practise as a nurse in the UK.