Learning Disabilities Nursing BSc (Hons)

Overview

This professional course aims to enable you to make real changes to the lives of people with learning disabilities, one of the most marginalised and vulnerable groups in society.

The course is designed to equip you with the hands-on clinical and care skills to prepare you to practise autonomously and compassionately, providing person-centred care and building therapeutic relationships to support people with a learning disability across all ages, regardless of personal characteristics or aspects of their lifestyle and circumstances, together with their families, carers, and friends.

Course information

In modern health and social care settings nursing students are increasingly required to work towards becoming autonomous practitioners, taking a leadership role in decisions regarding patient care within multi-professional settings. They routinely have frequent and what can be intense contact with patients and so must be competent in recognizing changes in the patient’s condition so that appropriate action can be taken.

Placing equal value on practice and theory, undertaking approximately 800 hours of both per year, you will have the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects, including anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, psychology, sociology and research methods. This course will give you the opportunity to become immersed in learning about the needs of populations, individuals, related health and nursing services with an emphasis on using research to enhance and improve services.

The collaborative curriculum, which you’ll study alongside students from other health-related courses, has been developed in response to the need to produce professionals who are effective communicators, caring and compassionate, with good relationship building skills. It recognises the importance of inter-professional working within the health and social care workforce and comprises five core modules in the areas of: the foundations of communication and professionalism; the social determinants of health and wellbeing; evidence informed practice and decision making; working together to lead service improvement; and enhancing practice through evaluation and research.

Your degree culminates with a literature review related to one aspect of nursing practice, for which you will write a 5,000-word report. Past students have covered topics as diverse as effects of antipsychotic medication, uptake of annual health checks, treatment of people with learning disabilities in acute hospital settings, experiences of parents with learning disabilities and experiences of offenders with learning disabilities.