Program Overview

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BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing (Degree Apprenticeship) 4-year

Overview

This course will enable you to develop the knowledge, attitude, and skills necessary to register as an Adult Nurse. Nursing is an ever-evolving profession, making adaptability and resilience crucial components of this course. It focuses on equipping you with the ability to navigate new situations effectively.

The course is divided into theoretical (50%) and practical components (50%). The practical learning and assessments occur in a variety of clinical placements. The course's design has been and will continue to be determined through close collaborative relationships between the University of Suffolk, Service Partners, and Service Users. The program's purpose is to facilitate your development in order to meet the requirements for registration as an Adult Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). You will demonstrate appropriate values, possess the necessary knowledge, and showcase essential skills in accordance with the Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship Standard. Additionally, you'll view learning as a lifelong pursuit and be willing to assume professional leadership and management roles, not only in clinical practice but also in various other contexts.

The curriculum is designed to be flexible, allowing it to adapt to changing needs, developments, priorities, and expectations in health, healthcare practice, and education. It will instill in you the understanding that providing the highest quality care in any environment involves embracing the opportunities and challenges brought about by change. Nursing hasn't always fully recognized the leadership role of newly qualified nurses. This curriculum is designed to equip you with the skills and motivation needed to take on this responsibility.

Students consistently express that they undergo substantial personal growth throughout the course. You will have experiences that are unique to the nursing profession and will have the privilege of being present during some of the most significant moments in people's lives. Excelling in this requires a willingness to question your assumptions and those of others, both within and beyond the profession. You will learn about and cultivate these skills at university, applying them during placements, ultimately reaching a point where you are prepared to work as an independent practitioner.

Course Modules

Our undergraduate programmes are delivered as 'block and blend', more information can be found on Why Suffolk? You can also watch our Block and Blend video.

Each semester students will attend blocks of theory (2-6 weeks) and blocks of practice (6-8 weeks). The first year concentrates on essential midwifery skills, anatomy and physiology, communication skills and the nature of professional practice. The focus is on the normal childbearing experience and the knowledge and skills needed to monitor and facilitate this. As the course progresses students will be introduced to more complex aspects of theory and practice associated with childbearing and midwifery practice.

Downloadable information regarding all University of Suffolk courses, including Key Facts, Course Aims, Course Structure and Assessment, is available in the Definitive Course Records.

Select course year Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4

Year 1

• Introduction to Professional Values for Adult Nurses
• Collaborative Working to Optimise Health
• Person-Centred Care
• Fundamentals of Bioscience for Adult Nursing
• Adult Nursing Practice: Part 1

Year 2

• Care of the Acutely Unwell Adult
• Research for Adult Nurses
• Adult Nursing Practice: Part 2

Year 3

• Ethics, Law and Politics
• Pathophysiology and Pharmacology for Adult Nursing

Year 4

• Contemporary Perspectives on Leading and Managing Care
• Medicines Optimisation
• Delivering Complex Care
• Dissertation
• Adult Nursing Practice: Part 3

Entry Requirements

UK Academic Requirements

• 112 UCAS Points (or above)
  • BBC (A-Level)
  • DMM (BTEC)
  • Merit (T Level)

All applicants are required to hold GCSE English, Maths and Science at Grade C/4 or above.

Apprentices who do not have GCSE English and/or Maths may be required to undertake additional training in English and/or Maths during the course of the apprenticeship. Apprenticeship funding rules set by Government require all apprentices to have Level 2 English and Maths by the end of the Apprenticeship if they do not have it in advance.

Non-Academic Requirements

Any offer of a place will be subject to:

• Successful interview
• Satisfactory Health check
• Satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• Two satisfactory references

International Requirements

Apprentices must have the right to work in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the EEA or the UK for at least the three years prior to beginning the Apprenticeship. Any apprentice with non-UK qualifications will be expected to meet the equivalent entry requirements.

Students with English as a second language must also meet our English Language requirements:

• IELTS 6.0 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components) where English is not the students' first language.

Career Opportunities

Following qualification, the opportunities for registered adult nurses are vast. A wide variety of positions will be open to you in England and abroad. With the increasing emphasis on nursing people in the community, the opportunities are continuing to grow and we are seeing high levels (97%) of graduate recruitment within the East of England.

You will also be eligible to register your award with the NMC. This means they will be able to work anywhere in the UK as a registered nurse within the NHS, private or voluntary sectors. A very large percentage of students who qualify are employed locally, straight form the course. This can be straight into community settings as well as in the hospital. You can choose to go on to specialise within their chosen field of practice or perhaps they may wish to undertake their mentorship qualification and begin to support students in practice themselves.

Following qualification as an adult nurse, opportunities for further training in mentorship, health visiting, school nursing and midwifery are also available in partnership with the University.

Your Course Team

• Dawn Parsons
  • Dawn has developed particular interests in education and caring for acute and critically ill patients and is Senior Lecturer in Adult Nursing.
• Natasha Hackett
  • Natasha is a Senior Lecturer in Adult Nursing and has taught on a range of courses, including the Adult Nursing Degree Apprenticeship.

Apprenticeship Funding

Degree Apprenticeships are only offered to students undertaking the course as part of their employment. Apprenticeship training will therefore be funded directly by employers or by employers in partnership with Government. Apprentices will not be required to pay any tuition or course fees, and will not be eligible for any Student Finance England maintenance support.

Facilities and Resources

The Health and Wellbeing building provides students with a variety of state-of-the-art clinical simulation facilities, including two simulated hospital wards, a midwifery birthing unit, physiotherapy teaching spaces, a sports and exercise facility and a working radiography imaging suite. The building also hosts the Institute of Health and Wellbeing Research and the Integrated Care Academy.