Nursing Practice (Mental Health)

Study options

Award

BSc (Hons)

Key facts

UCAS code:
B760
Location:
Centre for Health Innovation Stafford
Study option:
Full-time
Duration:
3 Years
Start date:
23 September 2024

Professional recognition

Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Top 10 for Mental Health Nursing

Guardian University Guide 2024

Simulation-based immersive learning

Learn in our £5.8m Centre for Health Innovation

Nursing Practice (Mental Health) is for anyone seeking a career providing support for people experiencing a range of mental health issues such as depression, psychosis, trauma and dementia.

  • We place Mental Health students in two Trusts – Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust & North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust
  • Experience innovative and creative learning, including the AZ2B theatre company’s dramatisations and mindfulness training

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: BSc (Hons) Nursing Practice (Mental Health)

Work placements

Our practice learning partners are:

  • Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
  • North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust

Course content

This degree runs over an extended academic year of 45 weeks. 50% is spent in clinical practice and 50% is delivered at the University.

During practice placements you will be required to work shifts to ensure you gain necessary experience and meet the programme requirements. During your studies, you will complete some modules alongside adult and children’s nursing students. Occasionally, you will learn with other professional students.

Working with others will enable you to deepen and share your knowledge, for the ultimate benefit of service users. In Year 3, your modules will entirely specialise in mental health. You’ll further develop your competency in relation to increasingly complex aspects of mental health care, and become skilled in the use of mindfulness-based cognitive interventions.

Academic year

The course operates on a modular basis. Each credit taken equates to a total study time of around 10 hours. Total study time includes scheduled teaching, independent study and assessment activity. All students take a total of 120 credits per level and 360 credits for the degree as a whole. Your overall grade for the course and your degree classification are based on the marks obtained for modules taken at levels 5 and 6.

Professional body accreditation

Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the purpose of registration as a qualified nurse (mental health).

Nursing & Midwifery Council
Lifelike Living Space - Centre for Health Innovation

Lifelike Living Space - Centre for Health Innovation

Video

As well as our clinical skills labs, our students have the chance to take part in simulations in our realistic living space.

Sorry, this video requires the use of functional cookies which you have not consented to use. Change your cookie settings or watch the video on the provider's website

Modules

The tables provide an indicative list of the modules that make up the course for the current academic year. Each module is worth a specified number of credits. Our teaching is informed by research, and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline. We aim to ensure that all modules run as scheduled. If for any reason a module cannot be run we will advise you as soon as possible and will provide guidance on selecting an appropriate alternative module.

Year 1 compulsory modules
Year 1 compulsory modules
Mental Health And Physical Health Through The Lifespan (Rn) 20 credits
Mental Health Nursing Care 20 credits
Mental Health Nursing In Practice 1 20 credits
Mental Health Nursing In Practice 2 20 credits
Mental Health Nursing In Practice 3 20 credits
Professional, Legal And Ethical Considerations 20 credits
Year 2 compulsory modules
Year 2 compulsory modules
Altered Mental Health And Physical Health Through The Lifespan 20 credits
Human Factors: Risk, Decision-Making And Uncertainty 20 credits
Mental Health Nursing In Practice 4 20 credits
Mental Health Nursing In Practice 5 20 credits
Mental Health Nursing In Practice 6 20 credits
Physical Assessment And Preparation For Prescribing 20 credits
Year 3 compulsory modules
Year 3 compulsory modules
Mental Health Nursing In Practice 7 20 credits
Mental Health Nursing In Practice 8 20 credits
Mental Health Nursing In Practice 9 20 credits
Mental Health Nursing Practice 7, 8, 9 60 credits
Peer Learning And Teaching In Professional Nursing Practice 20 credits
The Evidence-Base For Practice 40 credits

Entry requirements

Typical UCAS Offer: 112 points, plus GCSE in Mathematics and English at Grade C (4) or above

A levels: BBC

BTEC: DMM Access awards (60 credits, with 45 at Level 3)

All applicants are individually assessed and a range of qualifications are accepted, so applicants are invited to enquire directly with the School. 

An interview, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and occupational health screening form part of our selection process. You must also sign the Health and Social Care awards Contract of Professional Behaviour at the start of the programme and annually until completion.

This course requires IELTS 7 for students whose first language is not English.

We understand that you might have experienced a challenging run up to higher education and may have not met the entry requirements as listed. If this is the case don’t worry, contact us and our team of expert advisors can guide you through the next stages of application, or help you find the perfect course for your needs.

Community mental health nurses in GP surgeries help patient wellbeing

News

Community mental health nurses based at GP surgeries can significantly improve patient outcomes, a new study shows

For equivalent entry requirements in your home country, please see the information on our country pages.

Choose your country

Check our entry and English language requirements for your country.

GO

Facilities

Careers

Graduate Earning potential

Nursing is a career that offers excellent prospects and earning potential. On qualification you will start on over £25k and with experience and further development & training you have the potential to reach positions in advanced clinical practice where you could earn over £49k.

This course has an excellent employment record. The local mental health Foundation Trust works closely with us to ensure that students have the opportunity to secure employment after successfully finishing the course.

Graduates work as registered mental health nurses in a range of community, inpatient and specialist services. Some have gone on to postgraduate study; others have used their internationally recognised qualification to work abroad.

Once you qualify, work can range from inpatient settings, to supporting people in their own homes, NHS hospitals, charities, prison healthcare units and other non-statutory services. We have excellent connections with Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust who provide many placements for our students.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops and laboratory practicals. Seminars enable you to discuss and develop your understanding of topics covered in lectures in smaller groups of around 16-18 students. In addition, you will have timetabled meetings with your personal tutor at least twice a year. You will be taught in first-class learning spaces throughout your course.

Simulation

The course utilises a five-stage approach to teaching and learning, ensuring students develop a strong evidence base for practice, whilst also supporting them to develop their clinical skills, communication and team working. As part of the five stage approach to teaching and learning, simulation is embedded throughout our course and allows our students to experience real life scenarios within the safety of the University setting.

At Staffordshire University, we have state of the art facilities which help us to recreate the ‘real world’ experiences such as our Centre for Health Innovation, which is a unique, multi-purpose space, and allows us to recreate a vast range of different clinical environments, from community settings, to wards and even operating theatres. We also have access to immersive and virtual reality technologies to allow us to further develop the learning environment for our students enhancing learning.

The team strive to make our simulations a real as possible and draw on a wealth of clinical and teaching experience to help achieve this.

Assessment

Your course will provide you with opportunities to test your understanding of your subject informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark. Each module normally includes practice or ‘formative’ assessments, for which you receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental and any grades you receive for them do not count towards your module mark. There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module. This includes a range of coursework assessments, such as essays, reports, portfolios, performance, presentations, final year, independent project and written examinations. The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark.

Learning support

In addition to the excellent support you will receive from your course teaching team, our central Academic Skills team provides group and one-to-one help to support your learning in a number of areas. These include study skills (including reading, note-taking and presentation skills); written English (including punctuation and grammatical accuracy); academic writing (including how to reference); research skills; critical thinking and understanding arguments; and revision, assessment and examination skills (including time management).

Additional support

Our Student Inclusion Services support students with additional needs such as sensory impairment, or learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

Feedback

You will normally receive feedback on coursework assessments within 20 working days following the date of submission. Examination feedback may take a variety of formats. However, as a minimum, generic feedback will be made available to all students who take written examinations.

Your study time will consist of class contact hours, self-directed learning, assessment and placements where appropriate. Your actual contact hours will depend on the subject area and professional body requirements. A typical composition of study time for this course is:

Year 1

13% of time in lectures, seminars or similar
42% of time in independent study
46% of time in work based learning

Year 2

21% of time in lectures, seminars or similar
32% of time in independent study
47% of time in work based learning

Year 3

17% of time in lectures, seminars or similar
33% of time in independent study
51% of time in work based learning

Independent learning

When not attending lectures, seminars, laboratory or other timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve utilising a range of digital resources including our virtual learning environment; reading journals, articles and books; working on individual and group projects; undertaking research in the library; preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations. Your independent learning will be supported by a range of excellent facilities. These include the library, open access computer facilities, informal learning zones, a range of laboratories and performance and studio spaces.

Year 1

34% practical assessments
50% coursework
17% written exams

Year 2

25% practical assessments
58% coursework
17% written exams

Year 3

25% practical assessments
75% coursework
0% written exams

Fees

For the course starting on 23 September 2024 the tuition fees are:

Tuition fees for BSc (Hons)-Full-time
Study option UK / Channel Islands International
Full-time £9,250 per year of study £19,000 per year of study

UK and Channel Island students: This tuition fee is agreed subject to UK government policy and parliamentary regulation. If the UK government passes appropriate legislation, the fee for subsequent years of study may increase in each academic year. But this increase will not exceed the rate of inflation as measured by RPIX**. Any change in fees will apply to both new and continuing students. The University will notify students of any change as early as possible. Further information about fee changes would be posted on the University’s website once this becomes available.

**RPIX is a measure of inflation equivalent to all the items in the Retail Price Index (RPI) excluding mortgage interest payments.

International students: Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course, as long as you complete it in the normal time-frame (i.e. no repeat years or breaks in study).

Included in tuition fees
Included in the fees:

The School will fund uniforms, occupational health screening and DBS services.

Not included in tuition fees
Not included in the fees:

Some students may choose to take an elective placement outside of our standard Practice Learning Placement circuit. Where this is the case, the costs associated with travel, accommodation, insurance etc will be the responsibility of individual students.

INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS ONLY

International Students, like all others, should be aware of the additional costs they will incur of travelling to their Practice Learning Placements (which constitutes fifty per cent of the course over three years). This is in addition to the costs associated with studying away from home such as accommodation.

International Students are unlikely to be eligible for the additional financial support offered to some UK/EU students. The International tuition fee includes a contribution to the yearly Practice Learning Placement tariff which will allow students to access the full range of clinical learning experiences.

Accommodation and living costs
Accommodation and living costs

Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees. 

For more information on accommodation and living costs, please see: Accommodation

Sources of financial support

If you receive funding from Student Finance you may be eligible to apply for additional benefits. Details can be obtained by reading our additional funding web pages, or visiting www.gov.uk

Scholarships and additional funding

As an undergraduate student at Staffordshire, you may be eligible for additional financial support through one of our scholarships and bursaries. You can visit our funding page to find out more and check your eligibility.

Our students

I'm excited to be a student at Staffordshire University.

Since I began at the University of Staffordshire, my life has changed dramatically. I was a member of the COVID-19 pandemic's 2020 cohort. However, with the team's help, I've surmounted all barriers and am confident. I am certain that Staffordshire University is preparing, moulding, and graduating me as an exceptional future nurse. I'm excited to be a student at Staffordshire University.

Joseph Osuwu Bempah

Nursing Practice (Mental Health)

Apply

Location Award Study option Start date Apply Link
Centre for Health Innovation Stafford BSc (Hons) Full-time 23 September 2024 Apply now

Rules and regulations

If you are offered a place at Staffordshire University, your offer will be subject to our rules, regulations and enrolment conditions, which may vary from time to time.

Students of Staffordshire University enter into a contract with us and are bound by these rules and regulations, which are subject to change. For more information, please see: University Policies and Regulations.

Have you considered?

Nursing Practice (Child) BSc (Hons)

Study options
Full-time
in the UK for Quality Education

Sustainable Development Goal 4, Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Facilities

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Social Inclusion

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Four Star Rating

QS Star Ratings 2021