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PGDip
Start date(s)
16 September 2024
UCAS Code
Course specifications
Course length
Full-time (1 year)
Campus location
University of Wolverhampton
UCAS points calculator

Why choose this course?

Are you already a qualified Mental Health nurse on the NMC register ? If so consider our PG Diploma in Adult Nursing .It is ideal for existing nursing registrants who want to qualify and register with the NMC in a second field of nursing. This PG Dip allows applicants to gain a second registration in 12 months following their initial pre-registration mental health nursing programme.

Our Postgraduate Diploma in Adult Nursing adopts a person-centred approach to enable you to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to provide safe and effective nursing care for individuals of all ages experiencing mental distress. It provides an option for mental health nurses to gain an NMC-approved second qualification in adult nursing.

Recognising the increasingly integrated nature of health service delivery, the course meets the demand for highly employable nurses who can work with patients with complex morbidities across different settings. Ideal for existing nursing registrants who want to qualify and register with the NMC in a second field of nursing, the PG Dip allows applicants to gain a second registration in 12 months following their initial pre-registration mental health nursing programme.

This additional qualification would meet growing workforce needs and contribute towards improved quality of care. In addition to meeting workforce demands, dual registration could also enhance your career aspirations/trajectory in NHS trusts and private organisations looking for nurses with dual qualifications, providing you with a valuable advantage in the employment market.

Our Postgraduate Diploma in Adult Nursing will enable you, if successful, to apply for a second registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to practise as a registered Adult Nurse in a range of diverse health and social care settings. As a student on this course, the experience you gain will allow you to pursue a range of pathways. Placements include providing nursing care to some of society’s most vulnerable people including the elderly and those who are physically ill or have a physical or mental health problems. The opportunities you have coming into nursing are vast: working clinically, becoming a manager, working in a research environment, working abroad and in education.

Nursing is a demanding profession which requires hard work, commitment, the ability to problem solve, work independently and contribute to care as part of a team. This demanding route is designed to meet the needs of highly motivated graduates, looking to rapidly advance their career within the nursing profession. This course has been closely developed with local trust partners to reflect the increasing and rapidly changing requirements in patient care provision. The PG Dip Adult Nursing will create autonomous nurses with the clinical and leadership skills to synthesise data that will optimise the best possible patient care for people with physical and mental illness.

The course is split 50% in a clinical practice environment and 50% in the academic setting of the University. As well as graduating with a Postgraduate Diploma in Adult Nursing, upon successful completion you will be able to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Upon completion of the course, you will be able to practise as a Registered Nurse in the field of Adult Nursing.

What happens on the course?

50% of your course will be based at the University and 50% on placements in a variety of practice areas.

During some of the course delivery Postgraduate Diploma, Masters in Adult Nursing and Masters in Mental Health Nursing students are taught together to utilise opportunities for shared experiential learning. You will also study a range of academic field (Adult health-focused) modules based on theory and practice experiences.

Semester 1

Advancing Skills for Safe and Effective Adult Nursing Practice (20 credits)

This module enables you to advance your skills of mental, physical, cognitive and behavioural health needs-assessment and interventions through the exploration of models and approaches to assessing and planning care. You will focus on specific conditions and safe evidence-based responses and associated pharmacology and pharmacodynamics in relation to the administration of safe medication. You will also further explore methods of evaluating the impact of care.

Healthcare Improvement and Patient Safety in Adult Nursing (40 credits)

This module enables you to independently, consistently and confidently assess, plan, lead and evaluate safe and effective nursing interventions for adults in a range of care settings. You will explore the impact of human factors on healthcare in relation to both systems and individual elements and learn how to assess and respond appropriately to potentially hazardous situations. Care improvement methodologies will be explored as a means to improving and enhancing the safety and quality of adult nursing practice.

Semester 2

Advancing Evidence-Based Decision Making in Adult Nursing (20 credits)

This module enables you to explore how evidence underpins the care of individuals with specific conditions and co-morbidities and the demands of meeting individual complex nursing and social care needs. During the module you will explore and develop your knowledge and skills associated with safe and effective adult nursing practice. You will also examine the significance of your emerging role in safeguarding the public.

Preparing For Your Transition to Adult Nurse (40 credits)

This module enables you to advance your skills of physical, mental, cognitive and behavioural health needs-assessment and interventions through the exploration of models and approaches to assessing and planning care. You will focus on specific conditions and safe evidence-based responses and associated pharmacology and pharmacodynamics in relation to the administration of safe medication. You will also further explore methods of evaluating the impact of care.

The development of complex Adult Nursing practice will be acquired from a variety of community and acute settings reflecting the key drivers within the health sector. Academic mastery will be cultivated through problem-based learning approaches with opportunities for skills simulation in our laboratories. Learning will be supported by academic experts and researchers in the field of nursing and inter-professional learning with other healthcare disciplines.

A lot of what you’ll do on the course is based in our on-campus skills labs, which gives you the opportunity to test out your skills in a safe environment. Placements include providing nursing care to some of society’s most vulnerable people including the elderly and those who are physically ill or have a physical or mental health problems. In order to ensure all the people you care for are protected and kept safe, you will be expected to abide by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) guidance for student nurses.

As a student nurse, you are required to work shifts, including weekends and bank holidays. Shifts can be in the day or at night to ensure you gain experience of the different types of care patients receive at different times of day.

Placements will be undertaken in private health organisations or with one of six NHS Trusts: The Royal Wolverhampton Trust; Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust; The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust; Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust; Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust.

Travel expenses to University placements are not funded/subsidised.

Course Modules

Potential Career Paths

Successful completion of Postgraduate Diploma in Adult Nursing will lead to a  second registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and will then open up the prospect of many jobs in clinical practice, hospital or community settings, research, teaching or managerial roles.

 

With experience, as an RN you can take additional qualifications enabling you to work in the community or district nursing, health visiting or school nursing. Adult-trained RNs often work in GP practices and hospice settings. In hospitals, adult RNs may work in wards, outpatient clinics or specialist areas such as accident and emergency or intensive care units.

 

You may also take the opportunity to become an advanced nurse practitioner or nurse consultant. If you register as an Adult Nurse, you may wish to undertake midwifery training or work abroad in Australia, New Zealand or EU countries.

Additional Information

Everything you need to know about this course!

State-of-the-art facilities at City Campus Wolverhampton include our skills labs. In the immersive simulation suite we can change the environment without moving our students – so we can recreate a road traffic accident, simulate someone who is having an acute mental health crisis, or produce an imitation intensive care unit. Through these simulations, you will get a sense of the environment you may end up in in clinical practice and apply appropriate responses. 


Our mock hospital wards and Laerdal patient simulators allow you to practise without peril and gain confidence in a safe and risk-free environment.  

You will gain hands-on experiences in a variety of hospital, community and excellent nursing/residential homes, where you work alongside a range of healthcare and other professionals. You will experience opportunities for inter-disciplinary learning across all nursing pathways and with midwifery, social work and social care.

When you apply to the University of Wolverhampton, we provide you with a list of all of our placement providers. You get to indicate your placement choices (although your preferred placement cannot always be guaranteed). Student feedback on this is positive as it means you get to know your local Trust – the Trust gets to grow their own workforce, and you as the student have a greater chance of earning a job at the end of your course.

Who will teach you on this course?

All of the staff that teach you on this course are Registered Nurses. You will benefit from the team’s expertise, which draws on a wealth of different experiences including acute inpatient care and community care, as well as years of experience as advanced nurse practitioners, ward managers and commissioners.

As a Registered Nurse you will:

  • meet the NMC Standards of proficiency for pre-registration nursing education
  • have obtained the subject knowledge and understanding surrounding the professional and ethical conduct of a nurse, to deliver a high standard of appropriate nursing care and leadership and supervision of others, as well as being able to reflect on your personal and professional development
  • demonstrate subject-specific knowledge related to the field of adult nursing, including professional and ethical practice, appropriate care delivery, managing care and personal and professional management
  • identify health and social care policy trends and be able to use evidence and develop arguments to underpin your own practice, to evaluate the delivery of healthcare services
  • be able to apply decision-making and problem-solving techniques in order to provide quality care to patients and support their families.

Location Mode Fee Year
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2022-23
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2023-24
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2023-24
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2024-25

These fees relate to new entrants only for the academic year indicated for entry onto the course, any subsequent years study may be subject to an annual increase, usually in line with inflation.

Candidates must be:

  • A registered nurse in the UK on Part 1 of the NMC register post 2011
  • or
  • A registered nurse in the UK on Part 1 of the NMC register pre 2011 with an honours degree 2.2 or above

GCSEs at grade C+/ 4 in an English-based subject and Maths or equivalent qualifications (e.g. Key Skills Level 2/ Learn Direct Level 2/ Functional Skills Level 2).

Please note we do NOT accept GCSE Short Courses

Other Requirements

You will need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course. However, access to these facilities is also available in the University libraries during opening hours.

Applicants will need to demonstrate that on entry to the programme they have capability for digital and technological literacy to meet course outcomes. Evidence of digital literacy and technological literacy capability will therefore be aligned to the online application process.

Applicants will also be required to provide satisfactory personal statement and reference (academic or employer).

Those meeting the entry requirements may be shortlisted for a values-based selection process and will be subsequently required to meet a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check and Occupational Health requirements.

Read further information regarding interview preparation

Previous Study

Where an applicant has previously studied a professional course at another higher education institution, we will require an academic reference from your previous higher education institution.

Additional Information

During the Nursing course you will be required to attend placements.   When you are asked for your choice of placement area we will endeavour to meet your request however we must emphasise that this cannot be guaranteed and therefore you must ensure you are able to travel to the final placement area you are allocated.

Free Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Occupational Health Check:

Due to the professional nature of some of our courses you may also be required to complete a Declaration of Health and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check.  We will coordinate both of these non-academic conditions with you should your course require this and you receive an offer from us

There will be no cost for the DBS this is free to applicants who have secured an offer and have chosen to study at the University of Wolverhampton.

Student Visa Requirements:

Applicants who require a student visa to enter the UK are not eligible to be considered for this course. 

Skilled Worker Visa Requirements:

Applicants who are in the UK on a Skilled Worker Visa or are a dependent of a Skilled worker are not eligible to be considered for this course. 

Don't have GCSE English and/or Maths? Take our Equivalency Assessments

We understand that not everyone is able to achieve GCSE Maths and English for a variety of reasons. Our equivalency assessments provide an opportunity for you to further your English and/or Maths skills ready for your studies, as well as being able to meet part of the entry requirements for many of our undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Our online equivalency assessments are free of charge and accepted as the equivalent to a GCSE for the majority of our courses, however applicants of Initial Teacher Training courses will need to sit an on-campus equivalency test which costs £35. Find out more about our equivalency tests.

 

 

 

“Really love flipped learning as a dyslexic learner it really does level the playing field in giving you opportunity to prepare.”

“The strengths of the module? It covered a diverse range of subjects but appropriate to practice. I liked that we had lots of additional sources that we could go back in our own time and revisit.”

“Not only have we received the knowledge and skills to be nursing registrants but we have also been taught how to lead person-centred care. As a part of the course, I have reflected upon my own values and moral compass which has not just been useful for my professional life but also my personal life.”

Tuition Fees Loan (Home Fee Status):

By studying an undergraduate or postgraduate pre-registration programme you are eligible for a Tuition Fee loan. of up to £9,250. The loan will support your studies and enable you to start a rewarding career in healthcare.


Changes for EU students:

The UK government has confirmed that EU students starting courses from 1 August 2021 will normally be classified as Overseas (International) students for fee purposes. More information about the change is available at UKCISA:

EU citizens living in the UK with 'settled' status, and Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland, will still be classified as Home students, providing they meet the usual residency requirements, for more information about EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) click here.


NHS Grant:

All new and continuing nursing, midwifery and most allied health professionals’ students on pre-registration courses will also receive a grant of at least £5,000 per year that is not means-tested and will not have to be repaid.

An additional payment of up to £3,000 per academic year will be available to eligible students. Eligibility will include the following:

• £1,000 towards childcare costs • £1,000 if studying in a region that is struggling to recruit • £1,000 if studying a shortage specialism

Among others, the shortage specialisms have been confirmed to include:

• Mental health nursing

• Learning disability nursing

Read the full press release on the Government website to find out more or access“The recent grants for health courses explained"


Additional funding:

Is available via NHS Business Services Authority

The Learning Support Fund offers students additional support while studying for their degree. This includes:

• Dependants allowance of £1,000 per student per year

• Additional travel and accommodation costs to clinical placements over their normal daily travel costs

• An exceptional hardship fund of up to £3,000 per student per academic year


You can find more information on the University’s Funding, cost, fee and support pages.

Telephone

01902 32 22 22

Email

enquiries@wlv.ac.uk

Online

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