BSc (Hons) Nursing (Child)

Program Overview

The BSc (Hons) Nursing (Child) program at LJMU equips students with the knowledge, skills, and experience to become effective healthcare professionals specializing in children's nursing. The program emphasizes person-centered care, interprofessional collaboration, and evidence-based practices. Graduates qualify as Registered Children's Nurses, with excellent employment prospects and opportunities for further study.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

• Objectives: The program aims to equip students with the skills, experience, and confidence to become effective healthcare professionals specializing in children's nursing.
• Description: The BSc (Hons) Nursing (Child) degree is accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and aligns with the Standards for pre-registration nursing programmes.
It provides students with a comprehensive understanding of children's health and nursing care, encompassing both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. The program emphasizes person-centered care, interprofessional collaboration, and the application of evidence-based practices.
• Program Length: The program is delivered over three years and is full-time.
• Key Features:
• Learning in state-of-the-art professional-standard clinical practice simulation suites.
• Practice learning placements in various settings, including hospitals, community environments, clinics, and treatment rooms.
• Opportunities for civic engagement placement learning.
• Access to digital resources to support learning and wider experience.
• Assessment methods that enable students to achieve across a range of assessment styles.
• Upon successful completion, students obtain an Honours Degree and can register with the NMC as a Children's Nurse.

Outline:

• Program Structure: The program is divided into three academic years, each with five theoretical modules and a practice learning module.
• Course Schedule: The program is full-time, with a weekly workload of 40 hours.
Students will undertake blocks of practice learning experiences and blocks of theoretical-based learning.
• Modules:
• Level 4:
• Professional Practice in Nursing:
This module focuses on professional principles, the NMC Code, legal and ethical frameworks, and self-care.
• Professional Values in Nursing: This module explores nursing values, behaviors, evidence-based practice, and non-discriminatory care.
• Person-Centred Nursing Care: This module covers anatomy and physiology, physical and psychological health across the lifespan, pharmacology, and person-centered care delivery.
• Partnership Working and Shared Decision Making: This module introduces students to partnership working and shared decision-making with service users, carers, and families, emphasizing communication, capacity, and reasonable adjustments.
• Promoting Health and Preventing Ill Health: This module develops knowledge about health promotion, health protection, prevention of ill health, health inequalities, social determinants, and infection control.
• Introduction to Practice Learning: This module introduces professional practice, NMC Standards of Proficiency, and skills required for nursing practice across different settings.
• Level 5:
• Health Promotion and Health Policy:
This module explores factors influencing health and wellbeing, health choices, policies impacting health, and the nurse's role in facilitating access to care.
• Interprofessional Collaboration in Nursing: This module develops an understanding of the nurse's role in interprofessional collaboration across various healthcare settings and explores individual roles and responsibilities during major incidents.
• Assessment in Children's Nursing: This module focuses on assessing, monitoring, and planning care in children's nursing, exploring research methods, ethics, and evidence-based practice application.
• Complexities in Children's Nursing Care: This module develops critical understanding of complex care in children's nursing, including end-of-life care, common challenges, and prioritizing care.
• Level 6:
• Leadership and Quality Enhancement:
This module equips students with knowledge for leading and managing care, including delegation, supporting staff, monitoring risk, and evaluating and enhancing quality of care.
• Health Economics and Health Policy: This module enhances understanding of health legislation, current health and social care policies, their influence on quality of care and patient safety, and principles of health economics.
• Nursing Interventions and Prescriber Readiness: This module explores the nurse's role in investigations, interpretation, and implementation of interventions to meet individual care needs and prepares students for prescribing qualifications.
• Managing Risk in Children's Nursing: This module focuses on understanding risk, identifying and responding to risk within individuals and organizations in children's nursing.
• Person Centred Care Planning in Children's Nursing: This module explores decision-making within the context of individualized care in children's nursing.
• Consolidating Practice Learning: This module supports students in achieving proficiencies for registered nurses aligned with Part 3 of the Practice Assessment Document and develops understanding of the theory underpinning NMC Standards of Proficiency Annexe B Nursing Procedures.

Assessment:

• Assessment Methods: The program utilizes a combination of formative and summative assessments.
• Formative Assessments: These assessments are diagnostic and focus on student development, identifying strengths and areas for improvement, and providing feedback on progress.
Examples include discussion boards, reading logs, article reviews, and group presentations.
• Summative Assessments: These assessments are the module assessments that students need to pass to receive credits.
They are designed to align with learning outcomes and be authentic to nursing practice, requiring students to demonstrate competencies and knowledge applicable to their professional lives.
• Assessment Criteria: The pass mark for assessments is usually 40%.

Teaching:

• Teaching Methods: The program employs a blended learning approach, combining face-to-face teaching on campus with independent learning and online activities.
• Teaching Activities:
• Lectures
• Seminars
• Group work activities
• Simulation skills development sessions
• Practice placements in a range of settings
• Tutorials
• Faculty: The program is taught by a team of professionally qualified and experienced academic staff with expertise in designing, developing, and delivering professional programs.

Careers:

• Career Paths: Successful completion of the program allows students to apply for registration on the Nursing and Midwifery Register, leading to careers in the health sector at home or abroad, including:
• Children's nursing roles in hospitals and community settings
• Nurse specialist posts in specific clinical areas
• Teaching, research, or management positions
• Opportunities: Graduates can pursue further studies with a master's program.
• Outcomes: 95% of children's nursing graduates go on to employment or further study within 15 months of graduating (Source: discoveruni.gov.uk).

Other:

• Facilities: The School of Nursing and Advanced Practice is located in the Tithebarn Building on the City Campus, with access to specialist clinical practice suites, seminar rooms, IT suites, lecture theaters, a café, and social spaces.
• Student Futures: LJMU's Student Futures service provides career, employability, and enterprise support, including:
• Future Focus e-learning resource and workshops
• Careers Zone 24/7 online resources and jobs board
• Unitemps recruitment service
• Discovery Internships
• One-to-one careers and employability advice
• Employer events and recruitment fairs
• Start-Up Hub for entrepreneurship development