Pre-registration Mental Health Nursing MSc

As a student, you will be provided with practice learning opportunities which provides a range of experiences across fields. The module will build on cross-field and field-specific skills for nursing. You will actively participate in and work towards increasing confidence and competence to provide care with minimal guidance.

The cross-field content of this module is designed to enable you 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. Maintaining self-care including reflective practice, reasonable adjustments in practice (RAPP), emotional intelligence, resilience, healthy lifestyle choices and clinical supervision. Advocacy and challenging discrimination. Record keeping, confidentiality, privacy and dignity.
2. Assessing lifestyle factors and supporting others to make informed choices to manage health challenges. Assessing motivation and capacity to promote wellbeing recognising the person’s capacity to be a partner in their care. Recognising and acting upon signs of deterioration in mental health and providing evidence based support and skills. Understanding the family in partnership when considering end of life care and supporting treatment and care preferences. Health needs assessments, Global practice experience.
3. Working in partnership with service users, relatives, carers and other professionals to evaluate and monitor care effectiveness to readjust care plan goals. Using alternative communication strategies such as translator services to be able to provide people, families and carers with accurate information when providing treatment and care. Lived experience connectors. Maintaining clear and legible documentation and using digital technologies in care delivery. Initiate appropriate interventions after making informed judgements on commonly encountered presentations.  
4. Participate in nursing procedures including assessing skin status and hygiene and providing wound care including aseptic technique, product selection and drain management; nutritional assessment and artificial hydration and nutrition including insertion and removal of nasogastric tubes; assessment and promotion of self-management in bladder and bowel continence and removal and insertion of different urinary catheters in all genders; neurological observations and seizure management, supporting mobility and managing falls; respiratory assessment including peak flow, chest auscultation and administration of oxygen via different routes. Nasal and oral Suctioning techniques, blood glucose monitoring, cardiac assessment including ECG and infection prevention and control methods. Social prescribing practice.
5. Interpretation of normal and abnormal blood profiles and venepuncture and cannulation skills. Managing transfusion of blood components, Recognising and treating sepsis, positive risk taking and risk aversion.
6. Safe and effective discharge planning across services and caseloads, negotiation and advocacy of people and making reasonable adjustments to aid assessment, planning and delivery of care. Leadership and management in own field of nursing including advanced leadership and political understanding of the context of practice.
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 errors, reporting adverse events and incidents using appropriate reporting methods.

Through this module you will critically apply knowledge and skills to evidence personal and professional development for the 21st century. You will integrate learning-to-learn, reflection and professional development into a series of linked sessions leading to personal and professional development, including the following:

1. Critically exploring contemporary compassionate care agenda: to include notions of caring, multi-ethnicity, spirituality for example in end of life care, resilience and nursing fatigue.
2. Critically applying collaborative working strategies to provide creative current and future solutions to enhance practice through an examination of historical and contemporary nursing practice.
3. Critically applying multiple levels of evidence and reflective practice at level 7 to inform clinical and strategic decision making. The transition to level 7 study, critical writing, study skills, academic integrity.
4. Challenging traditional perspectives of leadership through exploration of the ethico-legal framework and socio-political contexts of nursing as a profession.

As part of transition to registration within this module, you will develop critical appreciation of the steps involved in developing a proposal for strategic service improvement in order to enhance the delivery of care for the 21st century.  

The cross-field content of this module is designed to enable you 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. Strategic decision making for 21st century, the political impetus for strategic change 21st century healthcare. Local and national approaches towards quality and governance, operational frameworks for the improvement agenda.
2. Supporting innovation: preparing the culture for innovation; creative approaches to service improvement for 21st century healthcare, managing teams, the use of power and change models.  
3. Developing leadership potential: Leadership theory and styles in order to manage group dynamics, positive and negative leadership traits and their impact upon collaborative working, using emotional intelligence to impact performance, compassionate leadership strategies.  
4. Developing a business case for innovation, critiquing evidence to support innovation, service user and stakeholder consideration. 
5. Using creative approaches to developing artefacts for service improvement, communication skills for pitching and promoting innovation, auditing and evaluating service improvements.

As a student, you will be provided with practice learning opportunities which provides a range of experiences across fields. The module will build on cross-field and field-specific skills for nursing. You will actively participate in and work towards increasing confidence and competence to providing care with minimal guidance.

The field content of this module is designed to enable you to meet the needs of service users and carers in their fields of practice and also deliver cross-field care all service user groups

1. Maintaining 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, promoting professionalism in others. Mentoring and supervising others. Being a professional role model.
2. Completing whole body assessment using different strategies and technologies to assist. Assessing capacity and making reasonable adjustments when a person lacks capacity. Referring to other health and social care professionals and services.
3. Recognising deterioration in mental, physical, and emotional health and recognising vulnerability and reducing harm from others. Keeping accurate and legible records, symptom management with increasing complexity including pain, distress, anxiety and confusion. Working with families in partnership and using digital technologies to assist. Using advanced communication techniques and strategies.  
4. Participate in nursing procedures including assessing skin status and hygiene and providing wound care including aseptic technique, product selection and drain management, nutritional assessment and artificial hydration and nutrition including insertion and removal of nasogastric tubes, assessment and promotion of self-management in bladder and bowel continence and removal and insertion of different urinary catheters in all genders, neurological observations and seizure management, supporting mobility and managing falls, respiratory assessment including peak flow, chest auscultation and administration of oxygen via different routes. Nasal and oral Suctioning techniques, blood glucose monitoring, cardiac assessment including ECG and infection prevention and control methods. Social prescribing practice.
5. Interpretation of normal and abnormal blood profiles and venepuncture and cannulation skills. Managing transfusion of blood components, Recognising and treating sepsis, positive risk taking and risk aversion.
6. Safe and effective discharge planning across services and caseloads, negotiation and advocacy of people and making reasonable adjustments to aid assessment, planning and delivery of care. Leadership and management in own field of nursing including advanced leadership, commissioning and political understanding of the context of practice.
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 errors, reporting adverse events and incidents using appropriate reporting methods.

During this module you will apply knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, principles of pharmacology and how these are applied in mental health nursing practice. You will:

1. Relevant anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, homeostasis and the application to field specific nursing: field genomics, respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, musculoskeletal, skin, endocrine, gastro intestinal and renal. Epidemiology and demography of field specific manifestations. Altered pathophysiology including signs of deterioration and sepsis. Example mental health: Revision of anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system including effects of smoking in the client group. Effects of inactivity and high levels of cardiovascular disease including premature death. High incidence of diabetes, weight gain and sexual dysfunction and understanding the underlying physiology and helpful interventions.
2. Impact of ageing on field specific groups, altered pathophysiology and psychosocial factors affecting homeostasis, including physiological and psychosocial impact of pain, anxiety, stress and discomfort. Example mental health: positive symptom reduction in psychosis in older people, loneliness and isolation of people with mental illness, chronicity in severe mental illness, physiology of dementia.
3. Advancing pharmacology mental health field specific knowledge, introduction to and the impact of poly pharmacy, medication usage and treatments, continued completion of personal formulary, knowledge of pharmacology and the ability to recognise the effects of medicines, allergies, drug sensitivities, side effects, contra-indications, incompatibilities, adverse reactions, prescribing errors and over the counter medication usage in field specific nursing. Application of mental capacity in medicines management. Example Mental Health: compatibility of medicines used in mental health settings i.e. interaction of commonly prescribed anti-psychotics, anti-depressants and mood stabilisers with more commonly prescribed medicines in general population. Complexity of substance misuse including alcohol and the interaction with prescribed medicines (although more common in younger population). Consider education around legal highs and accessibility of drugs on line.
4. Application of the principles of pharmacology and pharmacokinetics relating to a range of field specific conditions and related to management of interventions as applied to the mental health field.

As part of your transition to registration, this module aims to prepare you to be practice ready in preparation for twenty first century nursing.  This module is designed to enable you 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.   You will examine:

1. Transition to registration: developing a leadership role; intelligent kindness, compassionate leadership, change management; time management; prioritisation and delegation and accountability as applied to field nursing. Compare and contrast the paradoxical nature of leadership styles and qualities Leadership styles, role modelling
2. Preparation to become practice supervisor, understanding standards for student supervision and assessment in a leadership and supervisor context.
3. Revision of anatomy and physiology, relevant pathophysiology, homeostasis across field specific nursing and beyond.
4. 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 mental health field specific issues. Individual mental health field patient variation including paediatrics and older people.
5. Understanding the role of the nurse prescriber, developing consultation skills apply knowledge of pharmacology to the care of mental health  people, the role of generic, unlicensed, and off-label prescribing and the potential risks associated with these approaches to prescribing. Knowledge of how prescriptions can be generated, consent, concordance and adherence, duty of care in prescribing. Influences on prescribing including organisational and pharmaceutical companies. Preparation to progress to a prescribing qualification following registration.

Through this module you will explore person-centred mental health nursing and learn to critically evaluate strategies to work effectively across the MDT / range of settings and deliver cross-field care to all service user groups. 

You will cover:

1. Definitions and theories of person centred care & holistic care; historical context of person centred care. Models of person centred care, barriers to person centred care. Evidence based care planning; prioritisation of care. Physical & psychological development; theories of development; developments of self-esteem; ACEs (adverse childhood experiences); identification of vulnerable groups; safeguarding. Co-morbidities; complex care; recognition and management of deteriorating patient; identify appropriate investigations and interventions.
2. Communication – developing therapeutic relationships; communication tools and strategies; empowerment; capacity; MDT communication; appropriate relationships with service users, families, carers and MDT; documentation; handover & sharing of information; play, distraction, art & music; education. Recognition and management of risk – risk assessment tools; impact of human factors; hierarchy; role modelling; working across different clinical & professional services, integrated care.
3. Application of public health to field and health promotion. Prevention of ill health; health inequalities; life experiences & choices. Socio-economic factors. Identification of vulnerable groups; safeguarding and abuse; lifestyle; environment. Stress and coping; resilience; use of the arts; mental capacity; advocacy; empowerment. Cross cultural perspectives & cultural competence; social policy; role models, brief interventions.
4. Range of mental, physical, behavioural and cognitive health conditions across the lifespan and in relation to own field specific conditions
5. Discharge and transition planning – simple and complex discharge; inter & intra hospital transfer; transfer between teams; service transition across the lifespan; interagency team work and collaboration; accurate communication and documentation.

This module aims to consolidate your prior learning in numeracy throughout the nursing programme and to support you in achieving the required level of numeracy competence for entry onto the nursing register, in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Standards for Pre-registration Nursing Programmes (2018), Realising Professionalism: Standards for Education and Training, Part 3, Section 4.6.

The module will include the baseline skills needed to calculate medicines, measurements and other areas as required by the standards of proficiency for registered nurses (2018).