Overview
There’s never been a better time to train as a nurse! Not only is public appreciation for nurses growing, so is the funding. You can now apply for a £5000 grant that you won’t need to pay back! There is also an extra £3000 funding available depending on your personal circumstances. You can find more information about eligibility and how to apply on the HSC Scholarships and Funding page.
Nurses are visible in all walks of life – hospitals, patients’ homes, doctors’ surgeries and care homes. They form the largest group of staff employed in the health and social care sector, and are crucial to everything we do in society today. With 97% of our School of Health and Social Care students in employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes 2020), we’re confident our BSc Nursing (Adult) will help you to build a career that really makes a difference.
Adult nurses work with adults of all ages with diverse health conditions. Communication skills are essential to set patients at ease under pressurised and sometimes difficult situations, as is the ability to assess, plan, implement and evaluate the care offered to each patient. You must be willing to take responsibility for someone else’s health and well-being, and show the compassion needed to ensure a good nurse-patient relationship.
Unlike many of the older, traditional nursing schools, at Essex you receive a fresh, contemporary and relevant nursing programme. You work with local organisations to ensure that you gain the best experience possible during your time with us, and studying alongside other health professionals means that you also have the opportunity to gain expert knowledge from them. We provide support throughout all aspects of your journey, including dedicated support in literacy and numeracy.
There are four main types of pre-registration nursing degree – child, learning disabilities, adult and mental health. At Essex we specialise in adult and mental health nursing courses, as well as offering CPD courses for those who already have professional registration. For a full list of our undergraduate, postgraduate taught, and research nursing courses, take a look at our subject pages.
The cost of required uniform will be fully covered by the school.
Placement Opportunities
Half of your studies will be spent working in clinical settings – for example, in a ward, a health centre or in client’s homes. You will be working alongside nurses as you practice and perfect your skills.
Placements are based in NHS, private and voluntary settings throughout Essex. You will work shift patterns whilst in placement equivalent to approximately a 37.5 hour week. This includes early shifts, late shifts, night shifts, weekend and bank holiday working.
Location
You can choose to study this course at either our Colchester campus or our Southend campus – and your placements will correspond to the campus you choose. Colchester students will have placements in north Essex, while Southend students will have placements in south Essex.
Making your application
Before you make your application, take a look at our frequently asked questions section at the bottom of our undergraduate department pages. Here you will find hints and tips on what we are looking for, as well as useful resources to help you prepare for interviews.
DBS and Occupational Health Checks
This course requires a satisfactory Occupational Health Check and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check (including child and adult barred list check) – both of these are organised by the University. Please contact our DBS team if you have any questions relating to getting your DBS check.
A satisfactory Overseas Criminal Record Check/Local Police Certificate is also required, in addition to a DBS Check, where you have lived outside of the UK in the last 5 years for 6 months or more. Further information about how to obtain an Overseas Criminal Record check can be found on the Gov.uk website.
Study abroad
Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.
Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.
If you spend a full year abroad you’ll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won’t pay any tuition fees to your host university
Our expert staff
A unique feature of our School is that many of our staff work with local NHS Trusts and other local agencies, which enhances our grasp of the contemporary links between academic research, the major issues of the day and practice.
We specialise in applied, multidisciplinary research that addresses issues of national and international concern to health and social care policy and practice and related fields. We also host the NIHR Research Design Service for the East of England.
Specialist facilities
The School of Health and Social Care is located at two sites; in the Kimmy Eldridge building at our Colchester campus and in the Gateway Building at our Southend campus. Delivering the course across two campuses means that we have small, interactive classes to create a stronger learning environment.
We have purpose-built nursing skills labs at both our Colchester and Southend campuses to meet the needs of a growing and lively School. We offer excellent physical and online resources in terms of libraries, computer labs, data-sets, archives and other research materials.
Our dedicated support tutor will help to develop your academic literacy and clinical numeracy skills. This helps you apply these critically important areas of study to real life situations.
Your future
Successful completion of our BSc Nursing (Adult) leads to eligibility to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on the Professional Register as a “Registered Adult Nurse” allowing you to practise as a nurse in the UK.
Why we’re great
- We’re in the top 20 for overall student satisfaction for Adult Nursing in the National Student Survey (2021).
- Our focus is on producing nurses with empathy as well as technical skill.
- Much of your study is spent in clinical settings, working alongside nurses and other professionals.
Structure
Course structure
Our Nursing programmes consist of three terms per year. This structure adopts a developmental approach to the mastering of nursing skills and development of knowledge and understanding. It has a 50:50 split between theory and practice which means that for 50% of your programme, you undertake clinical practice by working with nurses in a variety of settings (primary and secondary care, public and private sectors, adult and the elderly, acute care and specialist services). Service user-centred care planning emphasises the holistic nature of health and illness. Alongside this experience, you are given the opportunity to rehearse practical skills in a controlled environment further preparing you for working in the practice environment.
As you undertake a significant part of your programme in placement areas we work in partnership with the NHS and the independent health and social care sector across Essex where you will spend your placement hours so that you gain the best clinical learning experiences. Whilst on placement you will have a mentor allocated to you and contact with a member of the academic team linked to that placement. You will work shift patterns whilst in placement equivalent to a 37.5 hour week. This includes early shifts, late shifts, night shifts, weekend and bank holiday working.
Attendance at all parts of this programme is compulsory (as are the modules you study) and must be evidenced in order to register as a nurse.
These carefully selected modules will give you the chance to explore, question, and create powerful ideas. Picked to give you an extensive and in-depth education, they’ll equip you with the specialist knowledge, vital transferrable skills, and the confidence to make a genuine difference to the world around you.
We’re reactive, we’re pioneering, we never stand still, so modules might change from year to year in response to new developments and innovation. Those listed below show how a typical course might look, but more detail on course structure, including details of all optional modules, is available on our Programme Specification.
Teaching and learning disclaimer
Following the impact of the pandemic, we made changes to our teaching and assessment to ensure our current students could continue with their studies uninterrupted and safely. These changes included courses being taught through blended delivery, normally including some face-to-face teaching, online provision, or a combination of both across the year.
The teaching and assessment methods listed show what is currently approved for 2022 entry; changes may be necessary if, by the beginning of this course, we need to adapt the way we’re delivering them due to the external environment, and to allow you to continue to receive the best education possible safely and seamlessly.
Teaching
- Lectures inform you of the most important topics, with classes allowing you to consolidate your learning through discussion
- We work closely in partnership with the NHS and the independent health sector to provide placement opportunities
- Modules have their own accompanying webpages on Moodle where you can download relevant readings, power-points, podcasts and YouTube clips, and contribute to online discussions
Assessment
- You will be assessed through presentations, coursework and assessments of practical settings
- You will also undertake two written exams, one in year one and the other in year two
