Mental Health Nursing BN (Hons)

This module is designed to equip you with a foundational understanding of human anatomy and physiology, highlighting their connection to the biological principles underlying pharmacology. Learners will also explore how this knowledge is applied in practical, real-world healthcare settings.

Indicative content 

1. Introduction to the human body across the age continuum; characteristics of life; concept of integration and homeostasis. Levels of structural organisation; systems and cross-system concepts, organs, tissues, cells and chemicals. Geographical navigation of the body; anatomical position and directional terms.   Overview of relevant disciplines. Overview of the biological basis of routine investigations.  
   
   
2. Basic principles of pharmacology and their application; concept of keeping an ongoing personal formulary diary.
   
   
3. The internal environment, fluid and electrolyte balance;  homeostatic control; common disorders; principles of restoring fluid and electrolyte imbalance homeostasis.
   
   
4. Human body systems:
   
   - Integumentary system and cross-system concepts; human microbiome; inflammation, introduction to wound healing; introduction to the physiology of pain; principles of pharmacology/ topical route; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Nervous system and cross-system concepts; mental health/learning disability; common disorders; principles of pharmacology and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Endocrine system and cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Cardiovascular system and cross-system concepts; blood; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Lymphatic system and immunity; cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Respiratory system and cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Gastro Intestinal system and cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Muscular Skeletal system and cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Urinary system and cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Reproductive system and cross-system concepts; genetics/ genomics; common disorders and commonly prescribed  medicines.

This module introduces the concept of holistic, person-centred care across the lifespan. You will develop an understanding of human development and recognize the importance of effective communication with service users, their families, and the multidisciplinary team (MDT) across diverse healthcare settings

Indicative content 

The cross field content of this module is designed to enable students to meet the needs of service users and carers from all four fields of practice and as such the delivery will include application to all service user groups.

1. Define person centred care & holistic care across all fields of nursing; historical context of person centred care; models of person centred care; and factors that influence delivery of person centred care.
2. Public health and influences on health and social care - socio-economic, psychosocial, epidemiology. Health inequalities - addressing vulnerability and abuse; lifestyle; environment including urban and rural perspectives.  
3. Human development across the lifespan; physical & psychological development; theories of development; developments of self-esteem; ACEs (adverse childhood experiences); identification of vulnerable groups; safeguarding.

This module will introduce you to the principles of evidence-based practice and its role in delivering high-quality, safe, and effective care. It will also examine how socio-economic and environmental factors influence health and well-being across the lifespan

Indicative content 

The cross field content of this module is designed to enable students to meet the needs of service users and carers from all four fields of practice and as such the delivery will include application to all service user groups.

1. Effective verbal and non-verbal communication strategies; communication tools; active listening skills. Individualised person centred care; family centred care; develop and maintain appropriate relationships with service users, families, carers and MDT. Resilience and coping; role modelling; use of the arts & humanities to enhance communication; mental capacity; advocacy; empowerment.
2. Barriers to providing person centred care; safeguarding; cross cultural perspectives, diversity & cultural competence; social policy, environment including urban and rural perspectives.
3. Types, range and strength of evidence used in nursing to provide high quality and safe care, for instance art in health; research, ethics and governance; evidence based practice; links to theory and practice; quality of care; policy.

To prepare the student to become an effective nurse for the 21st century

This cross field module will integrate learning-to-learn and reflection into a series of linked sessions leading to personal and professional development, including the following:

1. The context of nursing as a profession, past, present and future, including enhancing resilience, personal awareness, well-being and self- care strategies.
2. Professional identity, social values and multi-professional working in order to provide creative and collaborative solutions to enhance practice.
3. Preparation for lifelong learning in theory and practice, including active listening, note-taking, note-making, effective reading, portfolio writing including reflection to develop awareness of self and others, academic integrity.
4. The use of current practice guidelines, contemporary evidence and political drivers to inform decision making, urban and rural practice differences.
5. How the Code, ethical and legal frameworks underpin the nursing profession in the 21st century.

This module will engage you in a diverse range of practice-based learning opportunities across a variety of clinical fields. It introduces both cross-field and field-specific nursing skills, enabling you to develop a comprehensive understanding of professional practice and demonstrate the essential competencies required in for nursing practice. 

Indicative content 

The cross field content of this module is designed to enable students to meet the needs of service users and carers from all four fields of practice and as such the delivery will include application to all service user groups in theory and practice: 

1. Becoming a professional: NMC code, models of practice learning, legal and ethical frameworks, duty of candour. Self-care including reflective practice, reasonable adjustments in practice plan (RAPP), emotional intelligence, resilience, healthy lifestyle choices and clinical supervision. Advocacy and challenging discrimination. Record keeping, confidentiality, privacy and dignity.
2. Safeguarding and escalating concerns. Capacity and consent. Interpreting routine investigations. Holistic assessment across the lifespan. Risk assessments, reasonable adjustments for service users. Developing person centred care plans, the nursing process.
3. Working in partnership with service users, relatives, carers and other professionals. Lived experience connectors. Role modelling. Working with cognitive, behavioural, mental or physical challenges. Communication strategies across the lifespan. Supporting the activities of daily living across the lifespan including sleep, hygiene, nutrition and hydration and skin integrity. Prioritisation of care. Medication administration and management.
4. Technology for health including manual and electronic recording devices. Team working and data sharing. Evaluation of care. First aid and basic life support (BLS), mental health first aid (MHFA), moving and handling techniques and equipment. Principles of infection prevention and control. Use of personal protective equipment (PPE), barrier and reverser barrier nursing and decontamination practice. Promoting healthy lifestyles in others. Obtaining clinical specimens and interpreting findings.
5. Risk assessment and improvement tools across the fields and life span. Managing a safe environment.
6. Integrated approaches to care, rural and urban perspectives. Promoting independence and recognising challenges for safe nursing care including socio-economic, physical, psychological and socio-cultural differences. Handing of effectively including written, verbal and digital techniques.
7. Medicines management, application in practice of knowledge of pharmacology. Preparation and administration of medications. Accurate documentation for medicines management. Medicines calculations. Recognising and escalating concerns of harm from medication administration and error.

This module will facilitate you to explore the principles of evidence-based practice in detail. You will consider the value of interprofessional collaboration, and foundational research skills. It explores how integrating research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values improves healthcare outcomes, and prepares students to contribute to service improvement through collaborative, research-informed approaches.

Indicative content 

1. Problem solving within an interprofessional context, including evidence-based decision-making, hierarchies of knowledge and service user perspectives.
2. Interprofessional learning and collaboration: Remit, roles and responsibilities; sharing knowledge in health and social care.
3. Research: literature searching across evidence bases, research appraisal and critical thinking, ethics and governance.
4. Service improvement and innovation methodologies: audit, quality assurance, evaluation, continuous improvement, clinical governance, service user co-production.
5. Drivers influencing interprofessional health and social care: organisational and national policy, socio-political and economic drivers.

This module aims to explore health promotion and prevention of ill health in your chosen field of practice. The aim is to demonstrate understanding of enhanced communication to empower and enable service users, and work effectively across the MDT / range of settings.

This module will focus on field specific nursing conditions with increasing complexity and service users with co-morbidities. The module will explore identification and management of risk and factors which influence this.

To provide students with practice learning opportunities which provide a range of experiences across fields. The module will build on cross field and field specific skills for nursing. The learner will actively participate in and work towards increasing confidence and competence is able to provide care.

To provide students with practice learning opportunities which provide a range of experiences across fields. The module will build on cross field and field specific skills for nursing. The learner will actively participate in and work towards increasing confidence and competence is able to provide care with minimal guidance.

This module aims to facilitate learners to apply knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, principles of pharmacology and how these are applied in field specific nursing practice.

This module will enable you to critically examine the complexities of human anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology in preparation for professional registration and readiness to prescribe

Indicative content 

1. Revision of anatomy and physiology, relevant pathophysiology, homeostasis across field specific nursing and beyond.
2. Consolidate understanding of pharmacological principles in order to become prescribing ready, completion of personal formulary. Use of BNF. Application of how illness affects pharmacology, adverse drug reactions, polypharmacy, Drug Interactions - Pharmacokinetic and Pharmaco-dynamic Interactions, prescribing errors and management of field specific issues which includes the individual variation for people of all ages.
3. Understanding the role of the nurse prescriber, developing consultation skills apply knowledge of pharmacology to the care of people, the role of generic, unlicensed, and off-label prescribing and the potential risks associated with these approaches to prescribing. and consideration to the psychosocial impact. Knowledge of how prescriptions can be generated, consent, concordance, adherence and duty of care in prescribing with consideration to the psychosocial impact. Influences on prescribing including organisational and pharmaceutical companies. Preparation to progress to a prescribing qualification following registration.

This module will support you in your transition to professional registration by fostering leadership and teaching skills essential for delivering safe, effective, and forward-thinking care in 21st-century nursing

Indicative content 

The cross field content of this module is designed to enable students to meet the needs of service users and carers from all four fields of practice and as such the delivery will include examples and application to all service user groups. 

1. Continuing professional development and accountability: the role of practice supervisor, practice assessor, academic assessor and practice clinical supervision, delegation, action planning for personal development and principles of lifelong learning.
2. Supporting learning: preparation for a teaching role; learning and teaching strategies; peer supervision; skills of teaching and facilitation; Inter-professional Learning (IPL), coaching.  
3. Developing leadership through an examination of effective leadership traits, intelligent kindness, compassionate leadership, role modelling and reflection. Consideration of delegation and team working.
4. Nurturing the future generation of nurses through compassion, empathy, prevention of burnout, time management, self awareness.

This module aims to develop your understanding of the processes involved in creating a service improvement proposal, with the goal of enhancing care delivery in 21st-century healthcare settings and supporting your transition to professional registration.

Indicative content 

The cross field content of this module is designed to enable students to meet the needs of service users and carers from all four fields of practice and as such the delivery will include examples and application to all service user groups. 

1. Continuing professional development: Understanding the political drivers for 21st century healthcare, decision making strategies, types of power used in managing teams.
2. Supporting innovation: preparing the culture for innovation; change theories and models; quality and governance.  
3. Developing leadership potential: Leadership theory and styles, positive and negative leadership traits, using emotional intelligence.
4. Development of service improvement artefact.
5. Developing a business case for innovation, using evidence to support innovation, pitching and rationalising innovation. 

To provide students with practice learning opportunities which provide a range of experiences across fields. The module will build on cross field and field specific skills for nursing. The learner will actively participate in and work towards increasing confidence and competence is able to provide care with minimal guidance.