PgDip / MSc Mental Health Nursing

Some compulsory skills sessions may take place in the evening.

You will be taught separately from the three-year undergraduate students and will study the following:

Year 1

• Improving quality, change management and leadership
  This module focuses on inter-professional learning and 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. 
• Building practice skills for mental health nursing
  The purpose of this module is to build upon learning and develop your practice skills and knowledge. You’ll continue to use safe, simulated environments, supervised placement experiences, and independent learning opportunities. The module will focus on the development and use of appropriate professional values with a stronger emphasis on becoming more analytical and reflective in your problem solving skills. Additionally you’ll be challenged to work towards developing effective clinical and communication skills to support practical care giving.
• Life sciences and applied biology for mental health
  The aim of this module is to develop knowledge and understanding of basic physiology and the application of biology in mental health. This module recognises that you may not have prior knowledge of physiology and biology. It will give a basic introduction to physiology. It will explore neurotransmitters and interactions of hormones in mental ill health. Interactions between physical and mental ill health will be explored. It will consider the basic principles of medicine management with an emphasis on clinical application. Responsibilities of the nurse in relation to the safe administration of medication in clinical practice, including competency with drug calculations will be explored.
• Therapeutic psychopharmacology
  This module is designed to educate via a comprehensive analysis and guide/critical review of the field of psychopharmacology in order to prepare you as a safe competent practitioner. It will explore the clinical, practical and theoretical implications of this controversial area of mental health care. Special focus will be placed on learning the core knowledge required for risk assessment and safety management (for choice and levels of drug dosage and contra-indications), and emphasise on the need to take a service user/recovery focussed approach in working to deliver therapeutically focussed psychopharmacology. 

Year 2

• Enhancing practice skills for mental health nursing
  The purpose of this module is to prepare you to enhance your assessment and decision making skills whilst effectively managing care that promotes quality, health, safety, service user and staff wellbeing. You’ll be able to appraise your own learning and development needs as you approach the transition from student to registered practitioner. 
• Working with complex cases in mental health
  People with long-term complex, co-morbid health conditions are the most frequent users of health care services. Despite this they often fail to get appropriate treatment for associated mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, or dementia in the case of older people. As a result of these and other co-morbidities, the prognosis for their primary long-term condition and the quality of life they experience can both deteriorate markedly. In addition, the costs of providing care to this group of people are increased as a result of less effective self-care strategies and other complicating factors related to poor mental health (Huppert, 2008; Naylor et al, 2012;) 
• Human relations and the clinical practice environment
  Human relationships and therapeutic encounters are central tenets of mental health and wellbeing. Understanding how to interact, engage, challenge and support people through their most vulnerable times is the aim of this module. Alongside understanding self, is the need to have knowledge and awareness of the many competing demands (of the individual, their community, the organisation etc.) within which these encounters take place. Many mental health care contexts and environments are highly emotive and demanding. Therefore preparing students to fully understand, engage and work within these areas to become proficient and resilient, authentic leaders and effective practitioners; this requires a level of competence in the theoretical application of knowledge and skills explored in this module.
• Research in health and social care
  The purpose of this module is to consolidate and extend your knowledge of research approaches and methods and enhance your ability to be a critical user of research evidence. The module examines philosophical and theoretical perspectives underpinning health and social care research approaches including exploration of research design and key aspects of data gathering and interpretation of both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The module will develop practical skills for identifying, critical reviewing and synthesising research evidence relevant to professional practice.

Top-up to MSc

You'll be able to gain a Masters by completing a dissertation. Students who successfully complete the PgDip RN course have up to four years to complete the dissertation module via part-time study.

This course will equip you with the skills to work in a diverse range of mental health nursing roles across a range of settings, including the NHS and the private health care sector. Successful completion of the course fulfils the requirements for graduates to be able to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a Registered Nurse - Mental Health. Recent graduates from this course have gone onto a range of nurse practitioner roles within mental health nursing.

Role and responsibilities

Day-to-day, the role broadly involves working in the community and hospitals taking on a variety of tasks – from giving patients medication, to assessing and supporting a patient's needs.

With experience, there are multiple opportunities for specialisation as your career progresses – such as: alcohol or substance misuse, forensic psychology, psycho-therapeutic interventions or working with offenders.

Career progression

As a graduate from this course, you will be able to apply for further study at postgraduate level. Once you gain a significant level of professional practice experience, you will be able to consider our part-time MSc Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and MSc Mental Health Practice (Older People). Find out more about these courses through our online CPPD prospectus.

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.

You will be taught by lecturers trained in CAT, CBT, DBT, mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, Psychodynamic Counselling and Open Dialogue. You will be introduced and given a good grounding in a range of bio-psycho-social interventions and the latest cutting edge treatment approaches used in the NHS.

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 after each placement for 30 minutes throughout your course. You can contact your tutor for additional support or to arrange meetings by email.

Applicants will be considered on an individual basis but will normally require:

• A Bachelor degree with a minimum 2:2 classification. Candidates without a health or science related degree are required to complete a Life Sciences work book package to satisfy the Life Sciences element of the APL portfolio.
• In accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requirements, Maths and English GCSEs/equivalent (at C or above) are also required.

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

Please note that this course is not currently open to international students.

Possible fee changes

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

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

Postgraduate loan (PGL) for Masters study

If you are starting a Masters course, studying either full- or part-time, you may be entitled to apply for a postgraduate study loan. Find out more at our postgraduate fees and funding section.

Scholarships

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

Fee status

Please check your fee status and whether you are considered a home, EU or international student for fee-paying purposes by reading the UKCISA regulations.