Programme specification: BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies KEY FACTS Programme name Nursing Studies (General Nursing; Cardiac Care; Acute and High Dependency Care; Neonatal Care; Emergency Care; Intensive Care; Ear, Nose and Throat Practice; Head and Neck Care; Contraception and Sexual Health; Leadership and Managing Change) Award BSc (Hons) School School of Health Sciences Department or equivalent Division of Nursing; Division of Health Research and Management Programme code USNSNS/ USNSCC/ USNSHD/ USNSNE/ USNSEM/ USNSIN/USNENT/USNCSH/USNLMT/USNHNC Type of study Full Time, Part Time Total UK credits 120 Total ECTS 60 PROGRAMME SUMMARY The BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies provides you, as a registered nurse, with an opportunity to study and attain a Bachelor s degree in aspects of nursing practice and theory relevant to your practice. The programme allows you to be credited with previous study at diploma level and to Top-up to a degree. To do this you must attain 120 HE level 6 degree credits (HE 6) which can be done through one of the following routes: General Nursing Cardiac Care Acute and High Dependency Care Neonatal Care Emergency Care Intensive Care Ear, Nose and Throat Practice Head and Neck Care Contraception and Sexual Health Leadership and Managing Change (e-learning specialist modules) The aims of this programme are to provide you with an opportunity to study at Bachelor s degree level and develop your specialised clinical practice. The aims of the programme are: 1
The development of generic or specialist skills and knowledge linked to patient and client care policy, national service frameworks and ethical and clinical guidelines. The expansion of your role and the development of skills within your specific area of professional practice. The development of advanced problem-solving skills within the multiprofessional team. Analysis of contemporary policy and evidence-based care within your specific area of practice. For all of you completing this level (Honours degree) you will develop a coherent systematic, detailed knowledge of your discipline. Exploring and engaging with current professional issues and clinical developments in Nursing, you will develop techniques for practice and research. This programme draws on research and scholarship to enable you to demonstrate your role as an ethical and reflective practitioner. The duration of the programme depends upon your qualifications. Typically, students study part time whilst working as a nurse. The normal period of registration for this programme is one year s taught programme for full time students (plus up to one year for dissertation) or two years taught programme for part time students (plus up to one year for dissertation). The maximum period of registration for full time students is three years and five years for full time students. WHAT WILL I BE EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE? On successful completion of this programme, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding: Demonstrate a critical awareness of key aspects of knowledge within your specific clinical area. Demonstrate a critical, conceptual understanding of contemporary issues in nursing practice. Demonstrate an understanding of research and develop your knowledge and utilisation of research perspectives and methodologies to inform evidence based care. Demonstrate an understanding of the ethical context of professional nursing practice in managing care, with particular attention to the safeguarding of vulnerable people and the questioning of poor care. Skills: Contribute to the development of research and health care agendas. 2
Analyse evidence in relation to appropriate decision making within health care teams and settings and between nurse and patient/client. Develop and enhance your problem solving and clinical skills in relation to your specific area of practice. Develop the skill of critically analysing and interpreting evidence for a range of professional purposes. Consider different styles of management and leadership in practice where relevant Values and attitudes: Appreciate the uncertainties and limits of knowledge and identify and critically explore the competing and sometimes incompatible perspectives that underpin the evidence base for practice. Critically evaluate and take responsibility for your own professional development. Demonstrate respect for the ideas and contributions of others when working collaboratively and across professional boundaries. This programme has been developed in accordance with the QAA Subject Benchmark for Nursing. Further information can be found via the following link: http://www.qaa.ac.uk/publications/informationandguidance/documents/nursing.pdf Registration Period The normal period of registration for this programme is one year s taught programme for full time students (plus up to one year for dissertation) or two years taught programme for part time students (plus up to one year for dissertation). The maximum period of registration for full time students is three years and five years for full time students. HOW WILL I LEARN? A range of teaching and learning strategies described below are used throughout the programme, to deepen your knowledge and apply this with an innovative approach to problem solving. Exploration of research enables the development of critical evaluation of the available evidence and application of this knowledge to your clinical practice. Where relevant, specialist professional frameworks and occupational standards will be incorporated as part of the individual developmental strategy. The Department of Health Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) will provide guidance in the learning and achievement process. Lectures allow information to be presented in a logical manner providing an overview of new material and stimulating you to read further around the subject and participate in discussions to develop knowledge further in small group sessions. Small group activities include seminars, debate, role-play, enquiry based learning 3
and reflection sessions and they encourage the application of theory to practice, extending the depth and breadth of knowledge. Team working, time management, problem solving, communication, presentation and reasoning skills are learnt as a result of these activities. Simulation enables you to practice skills in a safe environment, apply theory and develop your dexterity. You can observe activities to learn from skilled and experienced practitioners then participate in care to develop skills whilst gaining feedback from experienced practitioners. During self-directed time a range of activities is available to support your learning, including workbooks, videos and e-learning (including Moodle). This enables you to study at your own pace and in different areas. E-Learning: This is used as a learning strategy for many of the modules. You will use Moodle (our Virtual Learning Environment) for interactive activities that augment classroom teaching. Specialist Route modules for the Leadership and Managing Change Route are fully online modules. Moodle: Interactive Moodle activities will augment the classroom teaching through discussion forums quizzes etc. and will also be used for feedback and assessment. Supervision sessions complement all these activities by providing you with an academic who monitors your individual progress and offers guidance and support. You will also receive pastoral support from a Personal Tutor - you be notified of who this is when you commence the programme. WHAT TYPES OF ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK CAN I EXPECT? Assessment and Assessment Criteria A range of assessments are utilised within the different modules, for details please see the individual module assessment guidelines. Assessments monitor your progress, assess and evaluate the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes and enable you to achieve learning outcomes at different stages of the programme. There is a range of formative assessment activities to support development and identify areas where there is a need to undertake additional study. Summative assessment methods include the following approaches: Coursework, including a range of essay formats, which enable specific issues to be explored and link theory to practice. Examinations enable you to demonstrate your ability to recall knowledge and apply this to clinical practice. OSCEs and viva voces require you to draw upon knowledge and demonstrate skills and attitudes related to specific practice 4
focussed activities in a simulated environment. Practice and skills portfolios enable and require you to undertake activities in practice and demonstrate academic achievement related to them. Assessment Criteria are descriptions, based on the intended learning outcomes, of the skills, knowledge or attitudes that you need to demonstrate in order to complete an assessment successfully, providing a mechanism by which the quality of an assessment can be measured. Grade-Related Criteria are descriptions of the level of skills, knowledge or attributes that you need to demonstrate in order to achieve a certain grade or mark in an assessment, providing a mechanism by which the quality of an assessment can be measured and placed within the overall set of marks. Assessment Criteria and Grade-Related Criteria will be made available to you to support you in completing assessments. These are provided in programme handbooks, module handbooks, and can be easily found on the virtual learning environment (Moodle) or attached to a specific assessment task. Feedback on assessment Feedback will be provided in line with our Assessment and Feedback Policy. In particular, you will normally be provided with feedback within three or four weeks of the submission deadline or assessment date. This would normally include a provisional grade or mark. The timescale for feedback on final year dissertations is up to eight weeks. The full policy can be found at: https://www.city.ac.uk/ data/assets/pdf_file/0008/68921/assessment_and_feedback_po licy.pdf Assessment Regulations In order to pass this programme, you should complete 120 HE6 credits, including the four core modules. The Pass mark for each module is 40%. If you fail an assessment component or a module you will normally be offered one resit attempt. However, if you do not participate in the first assessment and have no extenuating circumstances, you may not be offered a resit. If you are successful in the resit, you shall be awarded the credit for that module. The mark used for the purpose of calculation towards your Award shall be calculated from the original marks for the component(s) that you passed at first attempt and the minimum pass mark for the component(s) for which you took a resit. If you do not satisfy your resit by the date specified the Assessment Board shall require that you withdraw from the Programme. You may be able to take other modules for your own personal and professional development but you will not be able to accumulate credits in order to be granted an award. If you fail to meet the requirements for the award, but satisfy the requirements for an Ordinary Degree, then this lower qualification may be awarded as per the table below. If 5
you fail to meet the requirements for the awards of BSc Hons and are not eligible for the award of a lower level qualification, the Assessment Board shall require that you withdraw from the Programme. If you would like to know more about the assessment regulations at City, please see the full version of the Assessment Regulations at: http://www.city.ac.uk/data/assets/worddoc/0003/69249/s19.doc WHAT WILL I STUDY? The programme consists of taught modules resulting in the accumulation of 90 credits and EITHER a Literature Review Project OR a Reflective and Critical Practice Project worth 30 credits. The taught modules consist of core, core specialist and elective modules. These modules may be studied in any order which suits you - unless there are pre-requisites. All taught modules are pre-requisites of the project i.e. they must be completed successfully before you will be allowed to continue with the Literature Review Project or the Reflective and Clinical Practice Project. The weightings of the taught and project modules is described in the table below. BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (with specialism) HE Credits Weighting (%) Taught Modules 6 90 66 Project 6 30 33 Core Modules Code Credits Elective compen- sated? Contemporary Nursing NM3001 15 C N 6 Knowledge Using Research Knowledge NM3270 15 C N 6 Biological foundations in clinical practice and related pharmacology* NM3301 15 C N 6 You must complete and pass all taught modules and achieve 90 credits prior to commencing one of the following modules. You will receive notification from the Assessment Board that you may proceed with one of the two project modules below. SITS Code 6 Module Credits Core/ Elective Can be compensated? Either: Literature Review NM3271 30 C N 6 Or: Reflective and Critical CH3008 30 C N 6 HE
Practice Project Students on all routes must study the above four core modules to obtain 75 level 6 credits. Nursing Studies (General Nursing) Students registering for the generic award must complete the core modules detailed above plus three elective modules from the menu given below to obtain the 120 HE6 level credits required for the award. Students wishing to obtain a specialist route award To obtain the specialist route award students must complete the core modules detailed above plus the route specific modules listed below plus one additional 15 credit elective module from the elective module menu to obtain the 120 HE6 level credits required for the award. Nursing Studies (Cardiac Care) SITS Module Core/ Can be Code Credits Elective compensated? Cardiac Care Core Skills NM3257 15 C N 6 Cardiac Care Specialist Role NM3258 15 C N 6 Development Nursing Studies (Acute and High Dependency Care) HE Acute and High Dependency Core Skills Acute and High Dependency Specialist Role Development Code Credits Elective compensated? NM3224 15 C N 6 NM3225 15 C N 6 Nursing Studies (Neonatal Care) Code Credits Elective compen- sated? Neonatal Care Core Skills NM3245 15 C N 6 Neonatal Care Specialist Role Development NM3246 15 C N 6 Nursing Studies (Emergency Care) SITS Code 7 Module Credits Core/ Elective Can be compensated? HE
Emergency Care Core Skills NM3228 15 C N 6 Emergency Care Specialist NM3229 15 C N 6 Role Development Nursing Studies (Intensive Care) Code Credits Elective compen- sated? Intensive Care Core Skills NM3226 15 C N 6 Intensive Care Specialist Role Development NM3227 15 C N 6 Nursing Studies (Ear, Nose and Throat Practice) Ear, Nose and Throat, Head and Neck Core Skills Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist Role Development Nursing Studies (Head and Neck Care) Code Credits Elective compensated? NM3026 15 C N 6 NM3116 15 C N 6 Ear, Nose and Throat, Head and Neck Core Skills Head and Neck Specialist Role Development Code Credits Elective compensated? NM3026 15 C N 6 NM3105 15 C N 6 Nursing Studies (Contraception and Sexual Health) Contraception and Sexual Health - Theory Contraception and Sexual Health - Praxis Nursing Studies (Leadership and Managing Change) Code Credits Elective compensated? NM3286 15 C N 6 NM3287 15 C N 6 Code Credits Elective compen- sated? Leadership (e-learning) CH3044 15 C N 6 8
Managing Change (e-learning) CH3045 15 C N 6 Elective Modules To achieve the remainder of the 120 credits required, you may select elective modules from the list below. Students on the General Nursing route will be required to study 3 elective modules, students on all other routes will be required to study 1 elective module. Elective SITS Code Module Credits Core/ Elective Can be compensated? HE 12 Lead ECG: Use in NM3010 15 E N 6 Assessment of the Patient Development of a NM3012 15 E N 6 Specialist Practitioner in Intensive Care Nursing Liaison Mental Health NM3036 15 E N 6 Care Asthma & Chronic NM3041 15 E N 6 Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Diabetes Care NM3059 15 E N 6 Developments in Infection NM3099 15 E N 6 Control Promoting Physical, NM3193 15 E N 6 Mental and Social Wellbeing Clinical Assessment in NM3204 15 E N 6 Primary Care Advanced Trauma Care NM3207 15 E N 6 Promoting Child and NM3237 15 E N 6 Adolescent Psychological Development Supporting and Assessing NM3272 15 E N 6 Learning in Practice Clinical Decision Making NM3281 15 E N 6 in Neonatal Practice Neonatal and New-born NM3284 15 E N 6 Examination Theory Neonatal and New-born NM3285 15 E N 6 Examination Practice Requires NM3284 as a pre-requisite Neonatal Surgical Care NM3317 15 E N 6 9
Cervical Cytology NM3320 15 E N 6 Child protection: working NM3440 15 E N 6 together to manage risk and resilience Work based project CH3001 15 E N 6 Personal and People CH3002 15 E N 6 Development Integrated Working CH3003 15 E N 6 Management Leadership CH3004 15 E N 6 and Change Public Policy and Law CH3005 15 E N 6 Supporting and Assessing Learning in Practice (elearning) Making sense of clinical governance (e-learning) Health Care Improvement Project (Requires CH3040 as a pre-requisite) (elearning) Evidence Based Health Care (e-learning) Health Informatics (elearning) Research methodologies for Practice (e-learning) CH3020 15 E N 6 CH3040 15 E N 6 CH3041 15 E N 6 CH3042 30 E N 6 CH3043 15 E N 6 CH3046 30 E N 6 WHAT AWARD CAN I GET? Your award will be BSc Nursing Studies with your specialism in brackets, as follows: BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (General Nursing) BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (Cardiac Care) BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (Acute and High Dependency Care) BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (Neonatal Care) BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (Emergency Care) BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (Intensive Care) BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (Ear, Nose and Throat Practice) BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (Head and Neck Care) BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (Contraception and Sexual Health) 10
BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies (Leadership and Managing Change) Exit Award - BSc (Ordinary) Nursing Studies To qualify for the Ordinary Degree, you must satisfy the requirements for and have acquired at least 60 HE 6 credits; at least 30 of these must come from the core modules NM3001 and NM3270. Part HE Credits Weighting Class % required (%) 1: Taught 6 60 100 With Distinction 70 With Merit 60 With Pass 40 WHAT KIND OF CAREER MIGHT I GO ON TO? A BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies all routes can enhance your career in many ways. Professional, academic and personal goals can be achieved and clinical competence can be enhanced. If you would like more information on the Careers support available at City, please go to: http://www.city.ac.uk/careers/for-students-and-recent-graduates. HOW DO I ENTER THE PROGRAMME? You must be registered in the United Kingdom as a nurse. You should have 120 HE4 credits and 120 HE5 credits; you should have attained these as part of a Dip-HE in Nursing programme which included registration with the NMC. If you do not have sufficient HE5 credits see the APL/AP(E)L Requirements below. If you would like to apply for one of the specialist routes you should have approximately 10 months experience working as a nurse in your chosen specialist care environment and you must have continuing access to patients / service users in your chosen specialist area. If you wish to undertake a specialist route you must also have clinical support. Students wishing to rescind their Diploma in Higher Education Nursing Studies must register for the BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies within five years of graduating. Students who have achieved a BSc Ordinary degree from City University London, will be required to achieve 120 HE6 credits in order to complete their BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies Programme may APL 60 HE6 credits from their previous studies. Students wishing to rescind their BSc Ordinary degree must register for the BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies within five years of graduating. 11
If English is not your first language you will be required to supply evidence that your command of the language is suitable for undergraduate studies. This will be through one of the following: British Council IELTS Test Overall score of 7.0 Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) minimum score accepted by City: Undergraduate = 107 (internet based test). APL/AP(E)L Requirements for HE 5 Credits Students who have completed their pre-registration Diploma in Nursing at City University London will have attained 120 HE 4 credits and 120 HE5 credits which allows entry to the BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies. Students from other universities can also APL across equivalent credits. Students who have not achieved 120 level HE5 credits must enrol on the module CH2083 Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning as an alternative portfolio entry route. A fee is applied for any external student bringing in credits from another Higher Education Institution. APL Requirements for HE 6 Credits Students who have obtained relevant level HE6 credits through CPPD study in the five years before registering on the programme can use APL to transfer these credits towards the award of BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies. Students who have undertaken the pre-registration Diploma in Nursing at City University London will have obtained 45 or 60 credits at HE level 6 during their third year. They are able to APL these credits into the BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies. Students who have completed the BSc Ordinary Nursing Studies award and now wish to upgrade to the BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies award may APL up to 60 HE6 credits toward the programme. Students who have gained credits at HE 6 at another University may APL up to 30 credits into the programme, against any of the optional modules. A fee is applied for any external student bringing in credits from another Higher Education Institution. The University reserves the right to decide on the relevance to the final award of the credits being transferred in via APL. 12
Version: 3.0 Version date: April 2015 For use from: 2015-6 13