BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing

During the course, you’ll gain practice experience in a wide range of in-patient and community settings, reflecting the diversity of mental health specialities. This might include subjects such as acute psychiatry, child and adolescent mental health, forensic psychiatry, eating disorders, addictions and rehabilitation.

Some compulsory skills sessions may take place in the evening.

Year 1

• Assessing needs and planning care in Mental Health Nursing
  This module will introduce students to the values, frameworks and skills that underpin mental health nursing. The module focuses on different methods and frameworks for engaging in holistic assessment underpinned by evidence-based practice. The module is mapped against the NMC (2018) standards and prepares students to carry out fundamental nursing skills across the four fields of nursing utilising a combination of teaching methods including simulated practice.
• Biosciences for nursing
  This module provides understanding of the structure and function of main body’s systems and how the human body maintains homeostasis. The content of this module has been selected and developed to equip student nurses with the necessary knowledge to inform their nursing practice and provide and for progression throughout the programme. This knowledge will enable students to go on to develop an understanding of pathophysiological processes and the fundamentals of pharmacology. Students are supported in their learning with extensive use of teaching strategies such as key-lectures, workbooks and e-learning.
• Introducing evidence-based practice for nursing
  This module introduces the nature of evidence in health and social care and the importance of evidence-based practice for patients and their families and their safety and quality of experience. Students will develop skills in accessing evidence, gain familiarity with the library, including the use of electronic databases and learn how to use the University’s referencing system for their material. Students will learn key terms relating to research and evidence-based practice and be introduced to an evidence-based practice model. The module also sets out the context for the conduct of health and social care research, including funding and ethical aspects.
• Communication for nursing
  The focus of this module is on interprofessional working to promote patient safety. Nurses need to learn how communication can influence practice as well as therapeutic relationships and how to assimilate theoretical knowledge into practice to improve patient safety. It will identify the need for a range of alternative communication techniques to effectively manage, maintain and promote safe care.

Year 2

• Providing care in Mental Health Nursing
  This module builds on students’ existing knowledge and skills and extends these for application to more complex scenarios in mental health nursing. The module focuses on the collaborative planning and delivery of holistic care. The module is mapped against the NMC (2018) standards and prepares students to think more critically about and carry out more complex nursing skills across the four fields of nursing utilising a combination of teaching methods including simulated practice.
• Applied physiology for Mental Health Nursing
  This module will extend and deepen students’ understanding of human physiology, which will then be applied to physiological changes that take place during mental ill health, and physical health conditions commonly associated with mental ill health. 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 for practice
  This module considers how research questions are generated from practice with application to 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 nurses with the core skills and understanding to appraise evidence and assess its appropriateness to be implemented into practice.
• Promoting health and preventing ill health
  This module introduces public health concepts and contemporary public health issues, the principles of which can then be applied at an individual and population level and within a local, national and global context. This module of study is aligned to the NMC Standard Platform 2, Promoting health and preventing ill health (NMC (2018) Future nurse: Standards of proficiency for registered nurses).
• Safe and effective practice
  This module aims for students to reflect on their professional identity and to develop an understanding of multidisciplinary roles within teams. It will advance students’ knowledge in relation to interprofessional working and the skills needed to work in diverse teams such as teamwork, work environment, stress and fatigue and reflective practice. The focus of the module is on collaborative team practice from a service user perspective. It will link professional practice to theory through experimental learning.
• Mother and new-born
  This virtual learning module introduces the student to the nature of normal childbirth and neonatal care. It explores the concepts of antenatal care, childbirth and postnatal care and the role of the midwife in the delivery of woman centred care. Utilising a variety of on line resources, students will share knowledge gained with their peers on labour, infant feeding and maternal care. This module ensures compliance with European Union Directive 2005/36/EC.

Year 3

• Enhancing and evaluating care in Mental Health Nursing
  The module develops students’ abilities to utilise clinical reasoning to respond to and manage unfamiliar and complex scenarios in mental health nursing, to evaluate care that is provided and to develop the skills of other members of the team. The module is mapped against the NMC (2018) standards and prepares students to carry out fundamental nursing skills across the four fields of nursing utilising a combination of teaching methods including simulated practice.
• Pharmacology and prescribing ready for Mental Health Nursing
  This module provides the essential knowledge and details required for a solid understanding of pharmacology: how the drugs work and their effects, why side effects occur, and how the drugs are used clinically. In addition, a prescriber must also understand how differences in individuals and populations may alter this effect. This module will provide students with the knowledge and skills to prescribe appropriately and safely administer medications in particular to people who have an impaired understanding of their own health and wellbeing.
• Implementing best practice
  This module brings together all the learning from the two previous evidence-based practice modules undertaken in years one and two. It involves the implementation of available research into practice. The module equips the potential graduate nurse with the core skills and understanding to be able to implement appropriate evidence, utilise, and evaluate in practice. It helps the student to learn how to translate evidence into practice.
• Complex and critical mental health care
  Students in this module will develop their knowledge of the complex care needs of people with critical mental health issues, and the longer-term implications of living with comorbidities. Early intervention and health promotion will be re-considered as a mechanism for sustaining mental wellbeing across the life course. Students will develop their understanding of evidence - based interventions and practice strategies for managing the impact of crisis and traumatic life events on the individual.
• Transition to leadership
  This module will develop and build effective leadership skills in a complex and multidimensional health care setting. It will explore theoretical models of leadership, quality improvement and patient safety and provide an opportunity to explore how these concepts interrelate and impact on the delivery of care and prepare the students for their final clinical placement.

Employability Service

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.

• A Level BBC/A*A* and 5 GCSEs including Maths and English at grade 4 or above (previously A*-C) or equivalent; or;
• BTEC Extended Diploma DMM and 5 GCSEs including Maths and English at grade 4 or above (previously A*-C) or equivalent; or;
• Access to HE Diploma in Nursing or similar with 15 Distinctions and 30 Merits at Level 3 and 15 Credits at Level 2; and GCSEs Maths and English grade 4 or above (previously A*-C) or equivalent; or;
• Equivalent level 3 qualifications worth 112 UCAS points; and 5 GCSEs including Maths and English at grade 4 or above (previously A*-C) or equivalent.

Please make sure you have the required GCSE qualifications (or equivalent Level 2 qualifications) before applying for this course

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.

Foundation Year

If you have been out of study for a considerable amount of time or have slightly missed the entry requirements this course, you can take your first steps to becoming a registered practitioner with our Health and Social Care Foundation year. Boost your qualifications and confidence for further study with this one-year introductory course and on completion of this course you will be guaranteed entry on to one of our 13 health BSc pre-registration health and social care degrees.

The international fee for this course shows as "£0" because this course is not open to international students.

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 391 KB) and Refund Policy (PDF File 775 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.

The individual fee for this course is shown above. For more information, including how and when to pay, see our fees and funding section for postgraduate students.

See our Tuition Fees Regulations (PDF File 391 KB) and Refund Policy (PDF File 775 KB).

We have a range of PhD Scholarships available in partnership with businesses and organisations; read notices of PhD studentships.