Program Overview

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BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult) - Top Up

Why study this course with LJMU?

• Build on your Nursing Associate Foundation Degree with our 18-month top-up course.
• Qualify as an NMC-registered Adult Nurse with our multi award-winning School - 'Nurse Education Provider of the Year (pre-registration)' 2021 Winner and 'Best Student Experience' 2020 Winner (Student Nursing Times Awards).
• Learn in state of the art professional-standard clinical practice simulation suites complete with cutting edge technology.
• Grants and funding support available through the NHS Training Grant and student loan scheme (eligibility criteria apply).
• 95% of students surveyed said the academic support on our nursing courses was good or very good (National Student Survey 2024)

About your course

Studying on our NMC accredited BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult) top up degree will give you the opportunity to complete practice learning placements in a variety of settings, including hospital and out of hospital settings, and in simulated practice learning placements.

Adult nurses care for adults of all ages in both acute and long-term care. On the BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult) top up degree, you will gain the skills, experience and confidence to be an effective registered healthcare professional.

You will have plenty of opportunities for practice learning experiences within a variety of settings, including the hospital environment and in the community in places like nursing homes, home environments, clinics and treatment rooms, as well as civic engagement placement learning. This range of experience will give you vital skills in assessing, planning, delivering and evaluating patient care and needs.

The programme is delivered over 18 months and is full time.

You will undertake two theoretical assessments in the first six months, and five in the final academic year: one for each theoretical module, in addition to one practice module per year. You will be assessed utilising a variety of authentic assessment methods that will enable you to achieve across a range of assessment styles. You will have access to a variety of digital resources to support your learning and wider experience.

On successful completion of the programme, you will obtain an Honours Degree and will be able to register with the NMC as an Adult Nurse.

Course modules

What you will study on this degree

All modules in the programme are core. The modules ensure that all of the professional requirements for registered nurses are met.

Level 5 modules:

• Assessment in Adult Nursing
• Complexities in Adult Nursing Care
• Developing Practice Learning

Level 6 modules:

• Person Centred Care Planning in Adult Nursing
• Leadership and Quality Enhancement
• Health Economics and Health Policy
• Managing Risk in Adult Nursing
• Nursing Interventions and Prescriber Readiness
• Advancing Practice Learning

Professional accreditation

This programme is accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and aligned to the Standards for pre-registration nursing programmes (NMC, 2023).

Your Learning Experience

Teaching Support Assessment

Excellent facilities and learning resources

Your learning journey has been designed to be inspiring and motivating, provide tailored support, and to meet the specific NMC requirements for registered nurses.

You will learn through a mix of:

• lectures
• seminars
• group work activities
• simulation skills development sessions
• practice placements in a range of settings
• tutorials.

We use an active blended learning approach. This means you will attend face to face teaching on campus - usually at the School of Nursing and Advanced Practice, based in the Tithebarn Building (part of our City Campus), along with independent learning and work online. Examples of online activity include asynchronous tutorial discussions, discussion boards and collaborative or individual projects such as wikis, padlets, blogs and e-portfolios.

The programme is 50% practice learning experiences and 50% theory. Students will undertake blocks of practice learning experiences and blocks of theoretical based learning. Each week is 40 hours.

You will be taught by a team of professionally qualified and experienced academic staff, who have experience in designing, developing and delivering professional programmes.

Dedicated personal tutor, plus study skills support

As soon as you enrol at LJMU, you will be assigned your own personal tutor. Your tutor will give you feedback on how well you are progressing with your studies and encourage you to plan for your educational and career development.

During your practice learning experiences, you will work alongside experienced nurses and be supervised by practice assessors, as well as having the support of academics and Practice Education Facilitators. Additional support is always available within the Faculty or from student services if you need it.

We encourage students to take advantage of the study skills support available through Library Services. This covers everything from how to find the books or journals you need, through to the correct way of referencing them in your assignments.

Assessment varies depending on the modules you choose, but will usually include a combination of exams and coursework.

You will have both formative and summative assessments throughout the programme.

Formative assessments are diagnostic in nature and focus on your development, identifying strengths and areas for improvement, in addition to providing you with feedback on your progress during the learning process.

The feedback may come from several sources, including academic staff, practice supervisors and assessors, service users and wider university support staff. You may receive this verbally or in written format. Formative feedback and feedforward are helpful in your development throughout the modules.

Examples of formative activities include discussion boards to develop learning networks, a reading log, article reviews and group presentations.

Summative assessments are the module assessments that you need to pass to receive the credits for the module. Learning outcomes for the module will describe the knowledge, skills or expertise that you will need to demonstrate you have acquired to pass the assessment. As an undergraduate student, the pass mark for your assessments is usually 40%.

The assessments for each module have been designed to align with the learning outcomes and be authentic to Nursing practice. This means that assessments will require you to use the same competencies, or combinations of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that you will need to apply in your professional life.

Career paths

Successful completion of the course allows you to apply for registration on the Nursing and Midwifery Register, regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. This can lead to careers in the health sector at home or abroad and in the private and voluntary sectors.

There are a growing number of nurse specialist posts in some clinical areas too. Some graduates prefer to pursue careers in teaching, research or management, or continue their studies with a masters programme.

93% of our adult nursing graduates go on to employment or further study within 15 months of graduating (Source: discoveruni.gov.uk)

Tuition fees and funding

Fees

The fees quoted above cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as library membership and student IT support with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources including programme-appropriate software and on campus Wi-Fi.

Financial Support

The University offers a range of scholarships to support students through their studies. You'll find all the information you need on our specialist funding pages, including details of the Student Support Fund and other activities to support with the cost of living.

Additional Costs

In addition to fees, students should also keep in mind the cost of:

• Accommodation
• Travel costs including those for placements, visas and travel for studying abroad and field trips unless paid for by LJMU
• Stationery, IT equipment, professional body membership and graduation gown hire

The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees in accordance with any changes to the maximum allowable fees set by the UK Parliament. In the event of such a change, any fee increase will be subject to a maximum cap of 10% of the total course cost as originally stated at the time of your offer.

Additional fees you may need to factor in are travel costs to placements and parking if using a car whilst on placement. However, you may be able to claim reimbursement of travel costs through the Learning Support Fund provided by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).

Students who would like to buy extra uniform items, further to their standard uniform which is included in the course fees, have the option to do so.

International experiences may incur costs.

Entry requirements

Please choose your qualifications below to view requirements

Grades/points required from qualifications:

Work out how many UCAS points your qualifications are worth by visiting the UCAS Tariff Calculator.

GCSEs and equivalents

English and Maths GCSE at grade A* - C / 4-9 (please contact our Admissions team if you have equivalent qualifications)

Alternative qualifications considered

Advanced standing from a FdSc Nursing Associate Programme.

Applicants to this top-up programme will need to demonstrate they have met the following learning outcomes via prior certificated study to the value of 120 level 4 credits and 60 level 5 credits.

LEVEL L01 Apply a critical understanding and application of the knowledge, skills and proficiencies outlined in NMC Standards of proficiency for Nursing Associates.

LEVEL L02 Demonstrate competency in delivery of key proficiencies, meeting the health needs across the lifespan as outlined in NMC Standards of proficiency for Nursing Associates.

LEVEL L03 Display the ability to work effectively within the limits of their knowledge, the boundaries of professional Nursing Associate practice in the delivery of professional compassionate care.

LEVEL L04 Apply understanding and evaluation of evidence-based Nursing Associate practice in the delivery and monitoring of safe care provision.

LEVEL L05 Utilise effective communication skills with service users, families, and the care delivery team to facilitate the delivery of holistic care, which is non-judgemental, inclusive and promotes equality.

LEVEL L06 Effectively use skills for employment that include professional written & spoken communication; numeracy skills and digital capability and team working and collaboration.

LEVEL L07 Demonstrate skills of a reflective practitioner with the ability to engage in life- long learning.

Additional requirements

• Interview required

Participation in values-based recruitment

International requirements

• IELTS

International applicants will be required to have IELTs scores of 7.0 overall with 6.5 in each component

Further information

• DBS, Occupational Health requirements
• RPL

Recognition of prior learning that is capable of being mapped to the Standards of proficiency for registered nurses and programme outcomes, up to a maximum of 50 percent of the programme, is permitted (NMC Standards for pre-registration nursing programmes, 2023: 1.5).