BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing

On this course, you'll be taught and supported by leading academics and nurses. You’ll apply your learning in a variety of clinical and health care settings, including placements on general medical and surgical wards, critical care areas such as A&E departments or intensive care units in leading NHS Trusts and hospitals across London. You may also spend this time in community placements or services for the care of elderly people.

Overall, the course is 53% coursework.

Some compulsory skills sessions may take place in the evening.

Year 1

• Essentials of biosciences for health
  This module provides understanding of the structure and function of main body systems and how the human body maintains homeostasis. The content of this module has been selected and developed to equip you with the necessary knowledge to inform your nursing practice and for progression throughout the programme. This knowledge will enable you to go on to develop an understanding of pathophysiological processes and the fundamentals of pharmacology. You’ll be supported in your learning with extensive use of teaching strategies such as key-lectures, workbooks and e-learning. 
• Person-centred care
  This module will introduce the knowledge and skills required to deliver nursing care in a variety of clinical settings. The module will enable you to understand and utilise person centred approach to care from an ethical, legal and professional perspective. In addition you’ll be introduced to the use of critical thinking skills in nursing assessment and in the delivery of patient-centred care. 
• Professional skills for adult nursing 
  In this module you’ll be equipped with the essential and professional skills and knowledge that underpins contemporary nursing practice across the adult life span. Introducing key issues in providing safe and high quality care to older people including the assessment of delirium, dementia, and risk of falling, continence and key basic interventions to manage these conditions in older people. Using safe, simulated environments, supervised placement experiences, and independent learning opportunities, you’ll be enabled to develop and expand your knowledge, practical ability and professional attitudes in promoting high quality care. 
• Practice experience year 1
  Over the year you’ll undertake three six week placements; one in a ward, one department based or out of hospital and one further hospital based ward or department. In these settings, you’ll have 37.5 hours of practice learning per week. In addition you’ll have access to a virtual learning environment. 
• Concepts of inter-professional and collaborative practice
  This module introduces the place and value of inter-professional and collaborative working in health and social care delivery. The module aims to support your development of the necessary communication, personal, partnership working and reflective practice skills required to meet the needs of clients/carers and diverse populations who are at the centre of inter-professional health and social care delivery. 
• Introducing evidence based practice in adult nursing
  This module introduces the nature of evidence in health and social care and the importance of evidence–based practice for adults and their safety and quality of experience. You’ll develop skills in accessing evidence, gain familiarity with the library, including use of electronic databases, and learn how to use the university’s referencing system for your material. You’ll learn key terms relating to research and evidence-based practice and be introduced to an evidence-based practice model. 

Year 2

• Applied physiology and pathophysiology
  This module will extend and deepen your understanding of human physiology, which will then be applied to physiological changes that take place during disease processes. Knowledge of cell receptors and some receptor groups will be linked to physiological activity in different systems then linked to the effects of certain drugs and the changes they elicit within body systems. 
• Appraising evidence-based practice in adult nursing
  This module considers how research questions are generated from practice with application to adult nursing. The steps in conducting research and audit, and the main research methods in health and social care are explained and associated ethical aspects are discussed. Methods of analysing and presenting different types of research data are introduced. The rationale for appraising research is considered and critical appraisal tools are reviewed. The module equips you with the core skills and understanding to appraise evidence and assess its appropriateness to be implemented into practice. 
• Intermediate professional skills in adult nursing practice
  This second year module will build upon previous learning and enable you to develop and expand your understanding of adult nursing as well your practice skills and knowledge. In addition, this module provides theoretical knowledge which when applied in practical settings will improve and enhance end of life and palliative care to patients and families adopting a holistic focus. It’ll encourage you to reflect on your own values and beliefs about death and dying and how this may affect interactions with patients, careers and families. 
• Public health and primary care
  This module provides theoretical knowledge which when applied in practical settings can improve the health and prevention of disease in societies, organisations and communities. You’ll be exposed to a variety of health promotion modules that will enable you to provide advice and support that will enable service user’s families and carers to make changes to improve their health and that of their families /others. 
• Inter-professional learning in practice
  During this module you’ll build upon the concepts of inter-professional learning and collaborative practice gained in year one of the programme and expand to look at the environment, teamwork and collaboration. It will promote the exploration of the complexities of inter-professional practice and collaboration in the clinical situation working with peers and health consumers. 
• Practice experience year 2
  Across year two there are three practice learning opportunities of varying lengths totalling 24 weeks and will include specialist settings, for example emergency care, intensive care, operating department, day surgery and a primary care setting and an acute care ward in a hospital setting. This will provide you with an opportunity to develop a range of skills across a range of areas. 

Year 3

• Implementing evidence-based practice in adult nursing
  A key aspect of evidence-based practice is the implementation of available research into practice. To equip you with the core skills and understanding to be able to implement appropriate evidence and utilise and evaluate in practice. 
• Clinical decision making and role transition in adult nursing
  This module has been designed to build upon the skills and knowledge gained in years one and two that enhance your leadership, assessment and decision making skills and enable you to smoothly transition into first destination post. This module has also been designed to enable you to demonstrate patient safety, and high quality care. You’ll have the opportunity to reflect and appraise your own learning and development needs as you approach the transition from student to registered practitioner. 
• Care of the adult deteriorating patient
  This module is designed to support pre-registration students to acquire the knowledge and skills required for recognising and managing an adult patient who is deteriorating. This module aims to facilitate you to undertake a range of clinical activities in a simulated environment to develop competency in caring for a patient who is deteriorating including recognition, A- G assessment, application of SBAR and management of the patient. 
• Applied pharmacology and medicines optimisation in adult nursing
  This module aims to develop knowledge and understanding of the principles of pharmacology and medicines management with an emphasis on clinical application. It will explore and discuss the principles of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics alongside the pharmacology of groups of drugs commonly used in clinical practice. It will consider and evaluate the role and responsibilities of the nurse in relation to the safe administration of medication in clinical practice, including competency with drug calculations. 
• Improving quality, change management and leadership
  This module is the final inter-professional learning module that will explore leadership, quality improvement and change within organisations from an inter-professional perspective. The module will look at strategic, evidence-based approaches to change management in a range of environments. It will integrate the perspectives of service users and take an inter-professional approach. 
• Practice experience year 3
  Year three consists of two practice learning opportunities with the final 12 week practice learning opportunity being undertaken in the Host Trust with identified sign-off mentors or in a primary care setting.

On successful completion of the course you'll gain your BSc (hons) Adult Nursing, which means you can register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). You can then work as a registered nurse (adult) in medical and surgical wards or in specialist units such as A&E or intensive care. As your career progresses, you could become a district nurse, occupational health nurse, sexual health nurse or specialist nurse.

An adult nurse typically starts on a salary of £21,000, which can increase to £30,764-£98,453 in senior posts. (Take a look at our Prospects section for more detail).

As a graduate from this course, you can apply for further study at postgraduate level. Browse our online CPPD prospectus to find out what courses are on offer to help with your professional development.

Employability Service

We are University of the Year for Graduate Employment for the second year in a row - The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018, 2019.

At LSBU, we want to set you up for a successful career. During your studies – and for two years after you graduate – you’ll have access to our Employability Service, which includes:

• An online board where you can see a wide range of placements: part-time, full-time or voluntary. You can also drop in to see our Job Shop advisers, who are always available to help you take the next step in your search.
• Our Careers Gym offering group workshops on CVs, interview techniques and finding work experience, as well as regular presentations from employers across a range of sectors.

Our Student Enterprise team can also help you start your own business and develop valuable entrepreneurial skills.

Personal tutoring

As a Health and Social Care student, you will be allocated a named tutor during your first three weeks at LSBU.  The role of your tutor is to be your primary contact for academic and professional development support.

Your tutor will support you to get the most of your time at LSBU, providing advice and signposting to other sources of support in the University. They should be the first person at the university that you speak to if you are having any difficulties that are affecting your work. These could be academic, financial, health-related or another type of problem.

You will have appointments with your personal tutor following every placement for 30-40 minutes throughout your course. You can contact your tutor for additional support by email.

• A Level BBC and 5 GCSEs A*-C including Maths and English or equivalent (reformed GCSEs grade 4 or above); or;
• BTEC National Diploma DMM  and GCSEs Maths and English A*-C (reformed GCSEs grade 4 or above) or equivalent; or;
• Access to HE Diploma in Nursing or similar with 15 Distinctions and 30 Merits; and GCSEs Maths and English A*-C (reformed GCSEs grade 4 or above) or equivalent; or
• Equivalent level 3 qualifications worth 112 UCAS points; and GCSEs Maths and English A*-C (reformed GCSEs grade 4 or above) or equivalent.

Foundation Year

Been out of study for a long time? Or maybe you haven’t met the entry requirements of your chosen degree? Our entry year acts as a bridge to degree-level studies.

English language

If your first language is not English you must have the following minimum International English Language Test Score (IELTS) results at the time of applying:

• 7.0 overall or equivalent
• 7.0 in the listening and reading sections
• 7.0 in the writing and speaking sections.

For more information, including how and when to pay, see our fees and funding section for undergraduate students.

Please check your fee status and whether you are considered a Home, EU or International student for fee-paying purposes and for our regulatory returns, by reading the UKCISA regulations.

See our Tuition Fees Regulations (PDF File 143 KB) and Refund Policy (PDF File 102 KB).

Possible fee changes

The University reserves the right to increase its fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions.

The fees for international students are reviewed annually and the University reserves the right to increase the tuition fees in line with the RPIX measure of inflation up to 4 per cent.

Scholarships

We offer several types of fee reduction through our scholarships and bursaries. Find the full list and other useful information on our scholarships page.