Course summary
Embrace the opportunity to be an ambassador for mental health. This course not only allows you to become a vital part of a compassionate healthcare team providing physical and mental health care, but also positions you at the forefront of mental health advocacy and development in society and healthcare systems. You’ll acquire the expertise to offer the highest standard of person-centric care, guiding individuals through their most challenging moments and significantly enhancing their quality of life. Why study at BNU? Upon completing this degree, you will be qualified to register with the Nursing & Midwifery Council. We have developed a comprehensive suite of facilities specifically tailored to enhance the learning experience in the field of mental health nursing, and designed to help with creating real-life scenarios. Simulation plays a pivotal role in our nursing and healthcare programs, particularly in the context of mental health. Across our campuses, we have meticulously constructed simulation labs that replicate working wards and other relevant settings. These facilities are not just about practicing technical skills; they are designed to immerse you in scenarios that closely mirror the complexities and nuances of mental health care. This helps ensure that when you embark on your placements, you are well-prepared and confident in your mental health nursing abilities. One of our unique features is a simulated living room environment. This space is crucial for practising scenarios that resemble community home visits or counselling sessions, areas of paramount importance in mental health nursing. In this controlled setting, you can hone your skills in conducting sensitive conversations, managing diverse emotional states, and applying therapeutic techniques, all under the guidance of experienced professionals. Additionally, we prioritise the integration of the latest technologies and therapeutic approaches in mental health care. This means you’ll have access to cutting-edge tools and resources that are currently shaping the future of mental health treatment and support. Our campuses also offer an inclusive, safe, and supportive environment, fostering an atmosphere where students can learn, experiment, and grow without hesitation. By spending regular time in these simulation areas, you will not only refine your technical competencies but also develop the critical soft skills essential for effective mental health nursing, such as empathy, communication, and ethical decision-making. Throughout the course, you’ll allocate approximately half of your time to clinical practice and the remaining half to University-based learning. Our strong partnerships with various NHS Trusts and independent care providers in the region ensure that students have diverse and enriching clinical placements. Whilst nursing is a rewarding career, we also understand studying mental health nursing at university can be challenging at times. Throughout your time on the course you’ll gain direct support both in the classroom and on placement, as we provide a personal tutor who will check in with you on a regular basis and practice visitors to support your learning in practice. On campus you can find further support in the form of our Student Wellbeing Centre and our Student Learning Achievement Centre. Here we will be able to help you with a range of areas such as academic writing and building your CV. This course is also offered as a four-year programme, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate degree.
Modules
Year one Core Introduction to Professional Practice Fundamental Skills for Nursing Essential Anatomy and Physiology for Healthcare Pharmacology and Numeracy in Nursing Understanding Health, Illness Disability and Diversity Across the Lifespan Becoming a Mental Health Nurse Beginning Practice Year two Core Approaches to Research Methods, Appraisal and Application in Nursing The Professional Context of Nursing Understanding Mental Health Conditions Assessing Needs and Planning Care for Mental Health Nursing Developing Competence in Mental Health Nursing Progressing in Practice Optional Socio-cultural Aspects of Health Sexual Health Infant Feeding Elective Placement Year three Core Medicines Management Leading and Managing Care Coordinating Complex Care in Mental Health Nursing Advanced Nursing Practice Level 6 Preparing for Registration in Mental Health Nursing Attaining Competence in Practice
Assessment method
This full-time pre-registration nursing programme seamlessly blends academic and practical learning, fostering collaboration between the University and practice partners. Embracing a student-centred philosophy, the course enables you to gain essential knowledge, skills, and professional values necessary for the delivery of compassionate, safe, and effective mental health nursing care. Throughout the course, you’ll allocate approximately half of your time to clinical practice and the remaining half to University-based learning. Our strong partnerships with various NHS Trusts and independent care providers in the region ensure that students have diverse and enriching clinical placements. When you’re on campus, your academic study will be undertaken through varying including seminars, lectures, exploring authentic scenarios and case studies as well as online learning. Simulation is valued within the School of Nursing and Midwifery as supportive in enabling our nursing students to acquire skills and behaviours through practice. Nursing simulation incorporates the use of human patient simulators in a virtual ‘real-life’ healthcare environments and situations. Within this learning environment, real-time evolving clinical situations can be simulated, repeated, evaluated, and reflected, reducing the risk of patient harm. To help build your digital skills, online teaching and digital learning opportunities, such as discussion boards and interactive web-based activities, will also be integrated throughout many modules within this programme. This helps you to develop and enhance the necessary digital skills required to work in today’s health care environments. We include assessments which reflect real life nursing practices and, across the three years, you will be assessed through a number of means, such as: reflective assignment presentations exams academic poster development assignments literature review oral exams. You are also required to complete the knowledge skills and behaviours included in the Practice Assessment Document in each year of practice.
Professional bodies
Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.
- Nursing and Midwifery Council
How to apply
This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.
Application codes
Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.
Points of entry
The following entry points are available for this course:
- Year 1
- Year 2
International applicants
Visit bnu.ac.uk/international to find out more about applying to BNU as an international student!
Entry requirements
Qualification requirements
UCAS Tariff - 112 - 136 points
GCSE/National 4/National 5
You may find it easier if you have prior knowledge of health, so we prefer if you have relevant A Levels - such as Biology, Health and Social Care, Chemistry, Psychology, Physics, Physical Education, and Sociology. However, it is not essential.
Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course
https://bucks.ac.uk/applying-to-bucks/general-entry-requirements
Additional entry requirements
Criminal records declaration (DBS/Disclosure Scotland)
Interview
Audition
Admission tests
Institutions Own Test (IOT)
Group Activity.
English language requirements
Test | Grade | Additional details |
---|---|---|
IELTS (Academic) | 6 | We require an IELTS score of 6.0 (with no element lower that 5.5) or a recognised equivalent. |
If English is not your first language or if you have studied in a non-majority English-speaking country, then you will typically be required to demonstrate your English language ability (speaking, listening, reading & writing) by way of a test such as IELTS.
BNU English Language Requirements
Student Outcomes
The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
England | £9535 | Year 1 |
Northern Ireland | £9535 | Year 1 |
Scotland | £9535 | Year 1 |
Wales | £9535 | Year 1 |
Channel Islands | £9535 | Year 1 |
Republic of Ireland | £9535 | Year 1 |
EU | £15150 | Year 1 |
International | £15150 | Year 1 |
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
Sponsorship information
There are several ways you can fund your studies, including sponsorship and student loans. You may be able to use ELCAS credits for some of our courses. We also have scholarships and bursaries to help support our students. Buckinghamshire New University offers a range of bursaries and scholarships. For more information, please visit bnu.ac.uk/bursaries
Provider information
Buckinghamshire New University
Queen Alexandra Road
High Wycombe
HP11 2JZ