Overview

Learn more about caring for acutely ill adults, and top-up your existing nursing qualification to a BSc (Hons) in just one year. You’ll learn about current laws, procedures and best practice in this field while enhancing your leadership, decision-making and teamwork skills.

Find out more about teaching options and studying during COVID-19 in the Entry requirements section, below.

Caring for acutely ill adults is a demanding and important role, and we’ll help you develop the skills and expertise to practise effectively and compassionately. You’ll learn how to provide specialist clinical care while at the same time transforming your existing qualification/s into a BSc (Hons) degree.

Choose to study in Cambridge, Chelmsford or Peterborough, alongside other students with a particular interest in this area. It’s a great opportunity to learn from each other. Together, you’ll explore and apply the current policies, laws and procedures that affect the care of acutely ill adults. You’ll deepen your leadership skills, improve your decision-making, and increase your ability to support and develop others in their work. You’ll also develop your ability to work closely with professionals from other disciplines.

When it comes to work placements, you’ll need to be already employed in a suitable acute-care environment. Your manager should agree to offer supervision and mentorship so that your practice can be fully assessed.

Careers

We work with employers to make sure you graduate with the knowledge, skills and abilities they need. They help us review what we teach and how we teach it – and this course offers two great ways to boost your career.

Firstly, you’ll turn your existing qualification/s into a BSc (Hons) degree in just one year. Secondly, when you graduate you’ll have an important nursing specialism under your belt.

Having developed your intellectual and practical skills on this course, you’ll be a real asset to any team. You might choose to remain in your current job, or you might pursue a more specialist role. Whatever your plans, we’ll help you choose the course modules to suit.

Once you’ve got your bachelor’s degree, opportunities to study or research at Masters level will be open to you.

Core modules

Research Methodology

Become analytical and insightful regarding research reports - an invaluable skill for anyone who wishes to provide effective, evidence-based and appropriate care in their individual sphere of practice. Today's practitioner works in an expanding field of multi-professional, multi-agency collaboration, and thus requires insight into the efficacy of research within these disciplines also. This module will revisit your existing knowledge of the research process and assist you in further developing skills of critical analysis. In addition, you'll have the opportunity to appraise the ethical dimensions of research studies.

Undergraduate Major Projects

Your Undergraduate Major Project is chance to raise and address significant questions relating to your chosen topic/issue. You will be supported by a tutor with similar interests and research profile. This module requires autonomous study and it is your chance to demonstrate that you have met our University’s expectations and are ready to graduate.

Assessment

Your practice assessment booklet sets out the core skills you should gain on this course. Depending on the module, you’ll demonstrate these skills in a number of ways, including essays, presentations, observed structured clinical exams (OSCEs) and/or exams.