Program Overview
School of Health Care Sciences
Bachelor of Nursing Science (B Nur)
Undergraduate Degree
The Bachelor of Nursing Science degree entails being part of a large team of professional workers dedicated to rendering health services to the community. It requires being prepared to understand, accept, and trust people whose way of life, beliefs, values, and culture may differ from one's own, and to serve them and care for them with one's knowledge and personal aptitude. Nursing Science equips one to serve others and to enrich their lives.
The course covers four years of full-time study. During the course, students are prepared for four career fields, namely:
- General Nursing: Caring for people with different needs in different situations, such as in hospitals, clinics, and private practices.
- Community Nursing: This is aimed at primary health care, including the prevention of diseases and the promotion of health, the rendering of clinical nursing services, and the rehabilitation of people in the general community.
- Psychiatric Nursing: The emphasis is on the mental health of individuals, families, and the community.
- Midwifery Nursing: In this field, the emphasis is on providing for the unique physical, psychic, and mental needs of a woman and her baby within the family and the community.
Career Opportunities
With this degree, one can work in various hospitals and clinics in the community and also run a private nursing practice. The state and the private sector offer a wide variety of opportunities. The following fields of nursing specialization are available:
- General medical and surgical nursing science
- Emergency nursing
- Theatre nursing
- Community nursing
- Psychiatric nursing
- Midwifery nursing
- Paediatric nursing
- Neonatal nursing
- Nursing management
- Nursing education
Admission Requirements
Mathematics, Physical Science, Biology, or Physiology are recommended subjects. Selection is based on academic merit. An AP-score Grade 11 (25) and Grade 12 (24) is required. A personal interview is conducted with every applicant. An NSC for degree purposes is required with the following minimum subject requirements and AP-score per subject:
- English (4)
- Additional Language (4)
- Four other subjects (4)
- Life Orientation (4) - Life Orientation is excluded from the APS calculation.
Admission to the course is subject to Departmental selection, and applications close on 31 May of the preceding year. Selection also includes writing the University's admission test.
Course Content
The syllabus consists of subjects forming the basis for nursing, namely the social, biological, and nursing sciences. The subjects within the various sciences are presented by experts of the University of Pretoria.
First Year
- Anatomy
- Nursing Studies
- Dynamics of Nursing Practice
- Medical Terminology
- Philosophy
- Physiology
- Nursing Practice Education
- Computer Literacy and Language Skills
- Ethnic Language
Second Year
- Community Development
- Psychology
- Integrative Health Care
- Microbiology
- Nursing Studies
- Physiology
- Dynamics of Nursing Practice
- Nursing Practice Education
- Health Care Systems
Third Year
- Pharmacology
- Nursing Studies
- Dynamics of Nursing Practice
- Nursing Practice Education
Fourth Year
- Health Research
- Nursing Studies
- Dynamics of Nursing Practice
- Nursing Practice Education
Registration
Students register with the South African Nursing Council as student nurses.