Program Overview

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Intellectual Disability Nursing

Course Fact File

• Code: CK730
• Duration: 4 Years
• Teaching Mode: Full-time
• Qualifications: BSc (Hons)
• NFQ Level: Level 8
• CAO Points: 2024: 369
• CAO Points Range: 2024: 369-497

Course Outline

This Intellectual Disability Nursing course will provide you with excellent opportunities to develop knowledge and skills relevant to professional Intellectual Disability Nursing practice, including independent and critical thinking, and problem-solving. It will enable you to deliver nursing care that is up-to-date and based on the best current evidence.

This four-year full-time degree course is offered in partnership with Cork's COPE Foundation, and upon completion you can apply to register as an Intellectual Disability Nurse with the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), the profession’s regulatory body. You will then be ready to start work as a qualified Intellectual Disability Nurse in a variety of clinical settings immediately after graduation.

The broad aim of the course is to promote your personal, intellectual and professional development to meet the role dimensions of a qualified practitioner of Intellectual Disability Nursing. Each year, you will study modules in both theory and clinical practice. Clinical practice modules require you to be in supervised clinical practice in hospital, community and other healthcare settings for 35 hours per week for a number of weeks each year.

Theory modules include both nursing, and biological and social science modules, some of which are core (shared with students from other nursing/midwifery branches), while others are discipline-specific (taken by Intellectual Disability Nursing only).

Year 1 Modules

• NU1026 Academic Writing, Information Technology and Evidence-Based Nursing Practice
• NU1032 Fundamental Knowledge and Skills for Nursing Practice (10 credits)
• NU1040 Infection Prevention and Control for Nursing and Midwifery Practice
• NU1047 Interpersonal Skills for Nursing Practice and Psychology for Healthcare (10 credits)
• NU1049 General Nursing Practice (10 credits)
• NU1050 The Foundations of Contemporary Intellectual Disability Nursing
• NU1066 Supporting Individuals with a Specific Intellectual Disability I (10 credits)
• SC1015 Sociological Concepts for Nursing

Year 2

• Health, Life-Cycle - Perspectives on Maternity Care and Child Health Nursing
• Health Care Needs of People with Intellectual Disabilities across the Lifespan I & II
• Supporting Individuals with a Specific Intellectual Disability
• Therapeutic Communication Supports and Person Centred Practice for People with Intellectual Disabilities

Year 3

• Professional Issues, Development of Disciplinary Knowledge, Teaching and Learning
• Research for Evidence-Based Nursing and Midwifery Care
• Supporting Individuals with a Specific Intellectual Disability
• From Childhood to Older Adult: Issues for the Person with an Intellectual Disability and their Family
• Health Needs of People with an Intellectual Disability across the Lifespan
• Supporting People with Behaviours that challenge and/or Mental Health Issues
• Intellectual Disability Nursing Practice

Year 4

• In Year 4, you will take a number of theory modules at UCC in semester one (before Christmas). In semester two (after Christmas), you will undertake a 36-week paid internship with your parent health service provider (HSP).
• Modules include:
  • Research for Evidence-Based Nursing and Midwifery Care
  • The Profession and Discipline of Nursing: including Ethics, Legal Issues, Equality, and Professional Practice
  • Professional Development and Nurses as Team Members, Leaders, and Managers of the Future
  • Valuing People with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families across the Lifespan
  • Therapeutic Interpersonal Skills for Intellectual Disability Nursing Practice
  • Intellectual Disability Nursing Practice
  • Elective Module

Clinical Practice Modules

• These require you to be in supervised clinical practice in hospital, community and other healthcare settings for 35 hours per week for a number of weeks each year.
• In semester two (after Christmas) of Year 4, you will undertake a 36-week paid internship with your parent HSP.

Assessment

• Written exams will take place before Christmas and in May.
• Not all modules will have formal examinations.
• Many modules use other types of assessment including essays, projects, seminar presentations, assessments of clinical skills and learning, in-class tests, self- and peer-assessment.
• Students are assessed by expert clinical nurses while on their clinical placements.

Why Choose This Course

Top 50 Ranking

• University College Cork (UCC) is ranked in the top 2% of universities worldwide according to the major World University Rankings and is ranked as one of the top 50 Nursing Schools.
• According to the QS rankings, UCC’s School of Nursing and Midwifery is ranked as the top School of Nursing in Ireland and is the top-ranked subject at UCC.

Placement or Study Abroad Information

Clinical Placements

• The varied placement criteria and the extensive array of placement locations require students to travel to clinical placement areas throughout their nursing or midwifery programme, irrespective of their normal residence.
• This may also entail overnight stays, utilising accommodation in closer proximity to the assigned placement site.
• The purpose is to guarantee that students fulfil the clinical instruction standards outlined by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI).

Study Abroad

• The School of Nursing and Midwifery participates in several international research and educational programmes which allow you to undertake part of your BSc studies abroad.

Skills and Careers Information

• The course aims to provide you with sound clinical nursing skills (and the supporting knowledge base) necessary for starting your professional career as an Intellectual Disability Nurse.
• These skills will be further developed through clinical experience and further study at postgraduate and in-service levels.
• You will also develop skills in independent thinking, problem-solving, and analytical and clinical decision-making, as well as fundamental research utilisation and application skills.

Requirements

Leaving Certificate Entry Requirements

• At least six subjects must be presented.
• Minimum grade H5 in two subjects and minimum grade O6/H7 in four other subjects.
• English and Irish are requirements for all programmes unless the applicant is exempt from Irish.

EU/EFTA/UK Qualifications

• EU/EFTA/UK applicants presenting an equivalent school-leaving qualification should review the EU/EFTA/UK Applicants page for information on equivalent grades and how to prove their level of English.

Mature Students

• To compete through the mature entry route, applicants must be 23 years of age on or before 1 January of the application year and apply online via the CAO.
• The application should include a statement of interest, and further details on applying can be found in our Mature Nursing Applications information.

QQI FET Entry

• Applicants who meet the required level of distinctions in required subjects can apply for entry to this course using specific QQI FET qualifications.

Fitness to Practise

• This programme is subject to UCC's Fitness to Practise Policy.

Student Garda Vetting

• All students on this programme will come into contact with the public and assume positions of trust through educational and training opportunities.
• To ensure the protection of the public, and to justify public trust and confidence, UCC is committed to ensuring that only suitable candidates are allowed to undertake this programme.

Fees and Costs

• Whether you are an EU or Non-EU student will affect the course fees applicable to you.
• The State will pay the tuition fees for EU students who are eligible under the Free Fees Scheme.
• The annual student contribution and capitation fees are payable by the student.

How To Apply

Irish and European (EU/EFTA/UK) Applicants

• Apply via the CAO.

Mature Applicants

• Apply via the CAO by 1 February.

QQI/FET Applicants

• Apply via the CAO.

Non-EU Applicants

• If you are from outside the EU/EFTA/UK, apply online via the UCC Apply portal.