Specialist Nursing (with pathways)

BSc (Hons)

2023/24 Part-time Undergraduate course

Award:

Bachelor of Science with Honours

Faculty:

Faculty of Life and Health Sciences

School:

School of Nursing and Paramedic Science

Campus:

Belfast campus

Start date:

September 2023

This course is now closed for International applications for September 2023

With this degree you could become:

  • Diabetes Specialist Nurse
  • Nurse Practitioner
  • Emergency Nurse Practitioner
  • District Nurse
  • Learning Disability Nurse Specialist
  • Mental Health Nurse Specialist
  • Stroke Care Specialist

Graduates from this course are now working for:

  • Belfast Health & Social Care Trust
  • Northern Health & Social Care Trust
  • Northern Ireland Hospice
  • South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust - Ulster Hospital
  • Western Health and Social Care Trust
  • Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Overview

The BSc (Hons) Specialist Nursing (with pathways) prepares Nurses for Leadership roles in Specialist Nursing.

The University regularly ‘refreshes’ courses to make sure they are as up-to-date as possible.

In addition it undertakes formal periodic review of courses in a process called 'revalidation’ to ensure that they continue to meet standards and are current and relevant.

This course will be revalidated in the near future and it is possible that there will be some changes to the course as described in this prospectus.

Summary

The BSc Hons Specialist Nursing (with pathways) is aimed at preparing Nurses for Leadership roles in a field of Nursing of their choice. There are a range of Pathways to suit all Nurses including District Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Learning Disability Nursing, and Community Children’s Nursing. The full range of Adult Nursing Specialisms are offered, including Nurse Practitioner, Palliative Care, Stroke Care, Diabetes Care and Emergency Care.

The programme leads to more than one qualification. You will obtain a degree from Ulster University and a professional qualification from the United Kingdom Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Students of District Nursing obtain a further professional qualification in Nurse Prescribing.

We’d love to hear from you!

We know that choosing to study at university is a big decision, and you may not always be able to find the information you need online.

Please contact Ulster University with any queries or questions you might have about:

  • Course specific information
  • Fees and Finance
  • Admissions

For any queries regarding getting help with your application, please select Admissions in the drop down below.

For queries related to course content, including modules and placements, please select Course specific information.

We look forward to hearing from you.

About this course

About

The term, ‘Specialist Nursing’ refers to, the exercising of higher levels of judgment and decision making in relation to the nursing care of individuals, families and communities. As a future Leader you must display this higher level of decision making across four areas; clinical practice, care and programme management, clinical practice development and clinical practice leadership. At Ulster we focus on developing you as a Leader and help you achieve academic and professional competence in all these areas.

This programme is a 50-50 programme, meaning that 50% of the programme is university-based and 50% based in the practice learning setting. In the Practice Learning setting you will be allocated to a Sign-Off Mentor. This Sign-Off Mentor who is an established Specialist Nurse and Leader in Clinical Care will supervise you throughout the Programme. He/she will assess you and sign off your competencies prior to recording the professional qualification with the NMC. You will also be allocated to a Pathway Leader who will supervise your academic development and provide support throughout.

The academic component of the programme consists of a four 30-credit modules.

  • Research Module 30 credits
  • Leadership Module 30 credits
  • + Two Specialist Focus Modules, depending on your selected pathway (60 credits)

District Nursing students have an additional 20 credits to complete in order to evidence outcomes related to Nurse Prescribing.

See Overall Course Structure: http://bit.ly/1Xt1b7W

The BSc(Hons) Specialist Nursing (with Pathways) is a recognised academic and professional qualification across Europe. The quality of the education is high as is the academic expectation on you as a student. You will receive the latest ideas on academic writing, research and critical analysis. The quality of learning resources at Ulster University are very high and the support of students is also good.

All of the Specialist Nursing Teaching Team at the University are established authors and researchers and provide consultancy to numerous organisations in the UK and Ireland. At the end of the programme you will be able to apply for Masters Degrees in any University across Europe. Ideally we would like you to apply to Ulster where you will have automatic entry to our MSc Nursing.

Attendance

Full-time studentsare expected to attend the University for at least 2 days per week, with the remaining time allocated to Practice Learning. Full-time students are normally time-tabled for Mondays and Fridays.

Part-time students attend the University for 1 day per week during Term-Time. In Semester One this is normally a Monday and in Semester Two a Wednesday. Some Pathways have additional days ( i.e Emergency Care) but you will be informed of this at Induction. Practice Learning is organised on days that suit you and your Sign-off Mentor.

All students are expected to attend all classes associated with the programme and be punctual and regular in attendance. Attendance will be monitored both at the University and in the Practice Learning setting and Employers are informed of all absences.

Start dates

  • September 2023

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Teaching methods on the programmes are innovative and intearctive. Clinical experts and Users of the Health Service or Independent Sector, are invited to teach students about current practice, developments in the field and personal experiences of specialist nursing services.

Seminars enable students to take responsibility for leading discussions on practice based issues and reviewing the current literature in their field. Tutorial sessions enable small group work to be carried out that facilitates a specific focus for particular specialisms. Skills classes, role plays, use of table-top scenario simulation (including computerised manikin) and video play back are used where appropriate to develop skills in a range of professional interventions.

All of the above methods encourage active student participation and empower individual students to recognise that as an experienced nurse you have a wealth of experience that can be utilised to illustrate the points being made in classes.

Assessment is seen as crucial part of the learning process. A range of assessment methods including OSCEs, Reflective and Academic Esasys, Case studies and Portfolio are used. Patients and families are involved in the assessment process.

Academic profile

The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.

Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (20%) or Lecturers (55%).

We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advanced HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.

The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise.  The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff.  This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.

Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.

Figures correct for academic year 2021-2022.

Belfast campus

Accommodation

High quality apartment living in Belfast city centre adjacent to the university campus.

Find out more - information about accommodation  


Student Wellbeing

At Student Wellbeing we provide many services to help students through their time at Ulster University.

Find out more - information about student wellbeing  


Belfast Campus Location

The Belfast campus is situated in the artistic and cultural centre of the city, the Cathedral Quarter.

Find out more about our Belfast Campus.

Campus Address

Ulster University,
2-24 York Street,
Belfast
BT15 1AP

T: 02870 123 456

Standard entry conditions

We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.

A level

The A Level requirement for this course is not specified.

English Language Requirements

English language requirements for international applicants
The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 7.0.

Ulster recognises a number of other English language tests and comparable IELTS equivalent scores.

Additional Entry Requirements

Applicants must:

  • Satisfy the University’s general entry requirements;
  • Hold a level 5 Diploma in Nursing (or equivalent);
  • Hold current registration with the NMC and have completed a period of experience as a registered nurse to have consolidated pre-registration outcomes.
  • Have the support of an employer for 75 days Practice Learning and the name of an appropriately qualified Practice Assessor and Practice Supervisor in the Practice Learning setting.
  • Have competency in written and spoken English (International students are required to have IELTS 7.0, see additional information on English Langauge Requirements).
  • Applicants for the District Nursing Pathway ( + all self -funding students) are required to complete Access NI Checks.
  • or, as an alternative to (a), (b) and/or (e):provide evidence of their ability to undertake the programme through the accreditation of prior experiential learning.

District Nursing Students Require a NI Access prior to Entry

All Self-Funded students will be have an interview with the Course Director and/or the Pathway Leader. They must have NI Accessand Uptodate Professional Indeminty Insurance. In addition Honorary Contracts with HSCTs in Northern Ireland may be required for Practice Learning.

Exemptions and transferability

Acreditation for Prior Learning (APL)

Students entering the degree programme will get acreditation for Level 5 Modules. Please note when you are checking the Modular structure for this programme, you will only be studying the Level 6 Modules. Some modules are listed at Level 5. Ignore these as it is assumed that you have covered this material in your Diploma and have received APL.

Due to the professional requirements of this programme, normally no exemptions are permitted at Level 6. In saying this, District Nursing students who have recently completed the V100 Nurse Prescribingand are active prescribers are permitted to apply for exemption from the Nurse Prescribing Module.

Careers & opportunities

Graduate employers

Graduates from this course are now working for:

  • Belfast Health & Social Care Trust
  • Northern Health & Social Care Trust
  • Northern Ireland Hospice
  • South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust - Ulster Hospital
  • Western Health and Social Care Trust
  • Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Job roles

With this degree you could become:

  • Diabetes Specialist Nurse
  • Nurse Practitioner
  • Emergency Nurse Practitioner
  • District Nurse
  • Learning Disability Nurse Specialist
  • Mental Health Nurse Specialist
  • Stroke Care Specialist

Career options

Graduates of this programme will be able to apply for Specialist Nursing posts in hospital and community settings. Most become Team Leaders in Specialist Nursing. There is 100% Employabilityfrom this programme.

Work placement / study abroad

All students must complete 75 days Practice Learning in an approved Practice Learning Setting.This should occur in a setting where you have direct interaction with your client group.

Professional recognition

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the purpose of recording as Specialist Practice Qualification (SPQ) (adult)

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

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

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

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

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

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

Apply

Start dates

  • September 2023

Fees and funding

Module Pricing

The price of your overall programme will be determined by the number of credit points that you initiate in the relevant academic year.

For modules commenced in the academic year 2023/24, the following fees apply:

Module Pricing
Credit Points NI/ROI Cost GB Cost International Cost*
120 £4,710 £9,249.60 £15,840
60  £2,355 £4,624.80 £7,920
30 £1,177.50 £2,312.40 £3,960
20  £785 £1,541.60£2,640

NB: A standard full-time undergraduate degree is equivalent to 120 credit points per year.

*Please note our on campus part-time postgraduate courses are not open to international (non-EU) students.

Scholarships, awards and prizes

Philip Goodeve -Docker Award for District Nursing

Maragret Devlin Award for Diabetes Nursing

Additional mandatory costs

Access NI (enhanced disclosure) is an additional cost for Self-Funded students.

It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.

Where a course has additional mandatory expenses (in addition to tuition fees) we make every effort to highlight them above. We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free Wi-Fi are also available on each of the campuses.

There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.

Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as a part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs, as well as tuition fees.

See the tuition fees on our student guide for most up to date costs.

Contact

We’d love to hear from you!

We know that choosing to study at university is a big decision, and you may not always be able to find the information you need online.

Please contact Ulster University with any queries or questions you might have about:

  • Course specific information
  • Fees and Finance
  • Admissions

For any queries regarding getting help with your application, please select Admissions in the drop down below.

For queries related to course content, including modules and placements, please select Course specific information.

We look forward to hearing from you.


For more information visit

Disclaimer

  1. Although reasonable steps are taken to provide the programmes and services described, the University cannot guarantee the provision of any course or facility and the University may make variations to the contents or methods of delivery of courses, discontinue, merge or combine courses and introduce new courses if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key staff, changes in legislation or government policy including changes, if any, resulting from the UK departing the European Union, withdrawal or reduction of funding or other circumstances beyond the University’s reasonable control.
  1. If the University discontinues any courses, it will use its best endeavours to provide a suitable alternative course. In addition, courses may change during the course of study and in such circumstances the University will normally undertake a consultation process prior to any such changes being introduced and seek to ensure that no student is unreasonably prejudiced as a consequence of any such change.
  1. The University does not accept responsibility (other than through the negligence of the University, its staff or agents), for the consequences of any modification or cancellation of any course, or part of a course, offered by the University but will take into consideration the effects on individual students and seek to minimise the impact of such effects where reasonably practicable.
  1. The University cannot accept any liability for disruption to its provision of educational or other services caused by circumstances beyond its control, but the University will take all reasonable steps to minimise the resultant disruption to such services.

Testimonials

"I have been a registered nurse for 18yrs and have worked in district nursing for almost 9 yrs. I wanted to undertake this course to enable to progress up the career ladder. I feel this course will help develop my knowledge in relation to district nursing and also help develop both management and leadership skills. I work for NHSCT. Initially to progress as district nursing sister which is band 6 and then hopefully to a band 7 senior practitioner post/continuing care nurse"

Bridie Logue

Northern Health and Social care Trust

"I have been a registered nurse for 7 years and have worked in District Nursing for 4 years. In order to further my career I wanted take this Specialist Nursing course in District Nursing. I find the research module and the leadership module are both very challenging. Its difficult to get into the way of academic writing when you havent been studying for a while and I feel that it has taken me until week 9 to figure out exactly what is expected and even at that am not 100% sure that am on the right track. Maybe thats just me!"

Many thanks

Donna McCarrison

Staff Nurse in Community

South Eastern Trust

"I have been a registered nurse for 27yrs, moving only in the last 2yrs to the children’s' community setting. I wanted to gain more knowledge in this specialist area of Children’s' Community Nursing. I find the degree in Specialist Nursing helps me with continued development in leadership and decision making skills in order to work and help the children and families availing of the services within the community setting. In turn ,enabling me to deliver the most up to date evidence based practice to provide high quality specialist care".

Euphrasie Mc Laughlin

Western Health and Social Care Trust.

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