Program Overview

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Nursing Associate

FdSc

A Nursing Associate foundation degree prepares you for working in a variety of healthcare settings and supporting registered nurses and healthcare workers in providing care to a range of people.

Overview

Study the evidence behind core theories and practically apply them in our simulation centre and on placement.

You’ll learn alongside Nursing students through shared modules and working together on placement and in the Skills and Simulation Centre, where you can put theory into practice in simulated healthcare environments. As a Nursing Associate, you’ll be promoting good health, monitoring care and being an accountable member of the team as you support registered nurses who coordinate and lead in nursing care. To prepare you for these responsibilities, you’ll learn the factors of health and wellbeing throughout the human lifespan, alongside the fundamentals of human anatomy, team working and leadership skills.

Through placements with local NHS trusts and healthcare providers, you’ll benefit from learning from qualified professionals, having a supervisor for additional support and opportunities to network with students from across disciplines within the School of Nursing and Midwifery and beyond.

With a mix of in-person and recorded lectures, independent study, flipped classrooms and practical learning in both the simulation centre and on placement, the course provides an inclusive environment where you’ll be able to learn in the way that best suits you.

At Worcester you’ll also benefit from personalised support from lecturers, your assigned Personal Academic Tutor and Placement Supervisor.

Your Personal Academic Tutor is assigned to you at the start of the course and will support you in your academic progress and career planning. Lecturers will get to know you personally and tailor their guidance to your strengths and learn how to best assist your development on each module.

Placements

Experience a minimum of two placements each year with our excellent NHS trusts and healthcare providers in the region, including:

• Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
• Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health & Care Trust
• University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
• The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust
• Wye Valley NHS Trust
• Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

Whilst on placement you’ll gain access to additional library resources, be supported by a supervisor, and learn from and network with experienced nurses as you build up your own practical experience.

Course content

On this accredited course, you’ll study the evidence behind the core theories and benefit from applying your learning in practical teaching sessions in our simulation centre and during professional practice on your placement.

Our industry informed modules incorporate student and employer feedback, which mean they do occasionally change to ensure your learning stays up-to-date and relevant.

All modules are mandatory to ensure you’re eligible to register as a nurse with the NMC.

Year 1

• Mandatory modules
  • Communication and professional values for health and well-being across the lifespan
  • Promoting health and well-being across the lifespan
  • Human anatomy and physiology for person centred care
  • Essential Skills and Nursing Associate Practice 1
  • Principles of Nursing Associate Practice

Year 2

Careers

Our graduates have gone on to be employed locally with many of the NHS trust organisations we partner with for your placements. Within these and other organisations, qualified Nursing Associates can choose a range of roles within the NHS. Students can go into careers as:

• Clinical associates
• Care coordinators
• Clinical research associates
• Working with mental health services

Many graduates choose to continue onto our BSc Nursing (Adult) course to become a registered nurse, either straight away or later in their career.

As a Nursing Associate student at the University of Worcester, you’ll have the chance to meet with local healthcare employers to discuss career opportunities and ways to further your professional development. You’ll have access to recruitment events and NHS Trust job advertisements via the teaching team and our Careers and Employability Service, who also provide support in CV writing and preparing for interviews.

Course highlights

• Outstanding facilities
  • Our Skills and Simulation Centre allows you to safely practice nursing skills and clinical techniques in realistic environments, including a replica hospital ward.

Teaching and assessment

Theory

You’ll be taught through a combination of campus-based and online lectures, workshops, group activities, real-life case studies and practical learning in the skills and simulation centre, centring your learning in real-life situations. Recorded lectures, flipped classrooms, guided reading, online discussions, and e-learning tools will help you learn at your own pace. Study-skills will also be embedded into the course to help you become independent and confident in your learning.

Practice learning

When working in the skills and simulation centre, you’ll have the opportunity to work with other students, service users/carers, practitioners, technicians and academics, alongside simulation manikins and videos to enhance your practical learning. You will also gain feedback on how you applied your learning in these simulated situations to assist the development of essential skills.

You’ll be offered placements in a variety of healthcare settings where you’ll gain experience in caring for people of various ages and health needs. Not only will these placements provide the chance to put what you’ve learnt into practice, but you’ll gain extra learning opportunities, have access to additional library resources and have personalised support via your practice supervisor.

Support

Throughout the course provides an inclusive environment where you’ll be able to learn in the way that best suits you.

Entry requirements

• UCAS tariff points required: 32
• Typical Offer
  • Qualification| Grade
    • A-level| C
    • BTEC National Extended Diploma| PPP

Fees

• The Government has announced that it will increase tuition fees and maintenance loans by 3.1% from the 2025/26 academic cycle. Subject to approval, the University intends to increase our tuition fees in line with this and as per our terms and conditions. This means that from September 2025 the standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees will be £9,535 per year for new and continuing students.

Key facts

• UCAS points: 32
• Start date and location: Sep 2025 - Worcester
• Fees: UK and EU £9,535
• Duration: 2 years full-time
• Placement: Yes

Similar Courses

• Nursing (Adult)
• Nursing (Children's)
• Midwifery
• Assistant Practitioner