Return to Practice

Would you like to return to practice? 

(Midwifery, Nursing - Adult, Mental Health, Child, Learning Disability, General Practice)

This programme enables previously registered practitioners, who have been out of practice, to fulfil current Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requirements and return to the appropriate part of the register, ready to enter clinical practice as a safe and competent practitioner. The Return to Practice programmes are available at degree level (Level 6) and students are encouraged to develop skills in life-long learning as required by the Post registration Education and Practice standards.

Nursing and Midwifery are exciting and developing professions that you have previously enjoyed, and this programme will provide a broad-based update on essential subjects that will allow you to continue your chosen career. Whether you have been out of practice for a long period of time, or have had a short career break, you are welcome to apply for this programme and please note there is no upper age limit.

The Return to Practice programme will only run once starting in September .

Please note:

The Return to Practice (Midwifery) programme only runs once a year starting in September.

All other pathways (Adult, Mental Health, Child, Learning Disability) will only run in September 2022.

The Return to Practice (Nursing) pathway for general practice nurses only will not be running in January.

 

Discover more about our courses:

 

"I started the course in May 2019 and my Pin was reactivated the same year and I'm now a Community Learning Disability Nurse FT. I enjoyed every minute of the course and it reignited my passion for nursing further."

The programme can be completed over 6 to 8 months. This is dependent on individual applicants circumstances.

At the beginning of the programme a block of 12 study days will be delivered over a 10 week period followed by up to 300 hours in a clinical practice placement. The venue for the study days will be the University of Wolverhampton’s Walsall Campus (Sister Dora Building, Gorway Road, Walsall). Please note that some content may be delivered online due to the current Covid-19 restrictions.

Due to elements of online delivery you will be required to have access to a device compatible with the University’s virtual learning environment. If you have circumstances beyond your control that mean you cannot access online study then please do not worry, we can discuss this at interview and can offer you a loan of a laptop from the University or we can defer your start to a date where a more suitable arrangement can be made.

You will be required to use a device that has a built in camera, microphone and secured internet connection.

The location of your clinical practice placement will be discussed with you at interview. Placement areas must have had an educational audit undertaken and have a Practice Assessor and Practice Supervisor to support you. The University will acquire this evidence prior to commencing the placement. Please be advised that placement requests will be considered, but cannot be guaranteed; you will be offered a suitable clinical practice placement to allow you to achieve the learning outcomes of the programme.

Return to Practice students will achieve the required proficiencies under the supervision of a Practice Assessor and Practice Supervisor whose roles are to contribute to student assessments to confirm that the NMC ‘Future Nurse: Standards of Proficiency for Registered Nurses’ (https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/education-standards/future-nurse-proficiencies.pdf) have been met by Return to Practice nursing students and the NMC ‘Standards of Proficiency for Midwives’ (https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/standards/standards-of-proficiency-for-midwives.pdf) have been met by Return to Practice midwifery students.  Return to Practice Nursing students will be assigned a Practice Assessor who is a registered nurse and Return to Practice Midwifery students will be assigned a Practice Assessor who is a registered midwife.

Formative Assessment

During the block of 12 study days students will complete a 500 word formative essay which is designed to allow you to receive feedback and feedforward on your academic writing ahead of your final summative submission (this is not graded but is required to be submitted)

Summative Assessment

During the programme there are two summative assessments which assess all learning outcomes for the module:

  1. Ongoing Continuous Practice Assessment - The ‘Pan England Practice Assessment Document for Return to Practice Nursing’ (for Return to Practice Nursing students) or the ‘Return to Practice Midwifery Ongoing Record of Achievement’ (for Return to Practice Midwifery students). These are proficiency based documents that you will be required to complete whilst on your clinical practice placement to evidence that you have met the requirements of the NMC ‘Future Nurse: Standards of Proficiency for Registered Nurses’ for Return to Practice nursing students or the NMC ‘Standards of Proficiency for Midwives’ for Return to Practice midwifery students.
  2. 1500 word reflection – This will allow you to reflect in an academic style on your own experiences during your clinical practice placement and will prepare you for using the NMC Revalidation Reflection template.

 

Provisional Dates for forthcoming courses are detailed below:

 

September 2022 Start

 

University Study days for ALL RtP students

19.09.22 Monday

26.09.22 Monday

27.09.22 Tuesday

10.10.22 Monday

11.10.22 Tuesday

24.10.22 Monday

25.10.22 Tuesday

31.10.22 Monday

07.11.22 Monday

08.11.22 Monday

14.11.22 Tuesday

21.11.22 Monday

Additional NIPE study days for Midwifery RtP students only

All day 3rd October 2022

All day 4th October 2022

All day 14th October 2022

All day 17th October 2022

All day 28th October 2022

All day  4th November 2022

 

 

Individually negotiated tutorials TBA with course leader

Clinical Practice Hours up to 300 following on from these university study days

 

 

Would you like to contact us?

FAQ's:

The Return to Practice programme is currently being funded by Health Education England so there are no fees for you to pay.

Return to Practice students may undertake a full range of activities under supervision like a 3rd year student.

You will be expected to work a minimum of 2 shifts per week once your clinical practice placement commences and where possible adopt the shift patterns undertaken within the clinical practice placement area. Some placement areas work 12 hour shifts (long days) some work 7.5 hour shifts incorporating Early and Late shifts. You are required to be there for handover. You are not required to work night shifts. Clinical practice placement hours cannot be undertaken solely at a weekend.

The vast majority of the students who complete the programme successfully find employment as a Registered Nurse or Midwife having regained confidence, ensuring their practice is up to date and their knowledge is evidence based.

Following the Return to Practice programme some students choose to continue with part-time studies at the University in order to progress their careers further. We offer top-up degrees and Master’s programmes for nurses and midwives.

Covid-19 Update

We appreciate there are a high number of previously registered nurses and midwives who want to help during the current NHS crisis, but our next Return to Practice programme does not commence until September 2020. Upon commencement of this programme, it could take 6-8 months before you are able to re-enter the NMC register and are able to return to practice.

Please see the links below which you might find useful:

https://www.nmc.org.uk/news/coronavirus/

  1. goodsamapp.org/NHS

 

Who do I contact if I need advice about the Return to Practice programmes?

The Course Leaders, Caroline Lowe (Nursing) and Alexandra Birch (Midwifery), can be contacted for further information by email or telephone or you can choose to attend one of our Open Days (which may be virtual during the current circumstances).