Admission Criteria

Candidates must be able to satisfy the general admission requirements of the University of the West of Scotland as specified in Chapter 2 of the University Regulatory Framework together with the following programme requirements:

Appropriate Undergraduate Qualification

Other Required Qualifications/Experience

Other Required Qualifications/Experience

Successful completion of the admission process. Recruitment is normally undertaken in partnership with clinical colleagues or other partners.

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) evidence of literacy and numeracy for entry to pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes (NMC, 2010).

All offers will be subject to Occupational Health checks and Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks (both the PVG scheme and the risk assessment process agreed with all NHS Board Partners).

Satisfactory personal or academic reference, which supports studying at SCQF Level 11.

Further desirable skills pre-application

Further desirable skills pre-application

Care experience in either an employment or voluntary capacity.
Good communication and interpersonal skills.
Competent information technology skills.
Academic reading, writing and referencing skills.

Overseas Applicants only:

Complete the academic version of the British Council International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test and achieve at least 7.0 in the listening, reading and speaking and no less than 6.5 in writing. The Occupational English Test (OET)will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse or Midwife's English Language Competence (NMC 2017)

General Overview

The School of Health and Life Science is the largest in Scotland and has a portfolio of four-campus provision across West, South West and Central Scotland and works in partnership with 6 Health Boards (NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Highlands, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS The State Hospital) and key partners in the Private Sector, Independent Sector and Voluntary Organisations.

The MSc Adult nursing programme is a 2 year, full time programme and must be completed within 5 years in accordance with the NMC Standards for Pre-registration Nursing Education (NMC, 2010). This innovative post graduate programme is a major modification of the recently validated BSc adult 2012 curriculum. The programme was the result of collaborative working with NHS Partners, Alzheimer Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. The programme was designed with the expressed intention of maximising opportunities for students to experience a contemporary and flexible curriculum that reflects modern nursing.

The MSc Adult nursing programme produces post graduate nurses who are effective, competent and safe practitioners. They meet the requirements of a modern healthcare system, work in a multi-professional team and demonstrate leadership and management abilities. The programme is commensurate with the NMC Standards for Pre-registration Nursing Education (NMC, 2010), Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education statement for degree nursing (QAA, 2009) and Quality Assurance Agency Benchmark statements for MSc degree characteristics (QAA, 2010).

This programme has been prepared in accordance with the NMC (2010) Standards for Pre-registration Nursing Education and the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) Recognition of Prior Learning guidelines (RPL). Students with an appropriate degree can be awarded RPL if they can demonstrate relevant prior learning. This learning is mapped against the MSc Learning Outcomes and enables the full programme (3 years undergraduate) to be completed in a shorter time (2 years).

Post graduate students of the adult nursing field can competently meet the holistic healthcare needs of patients across the lifespan and in particular will have developed a high level of nursing expertise in the complex needs of adult patients. Pre-registration nursing as a benchmark has many similarities across the fields of adult nursing, mental health nursing, learning disabilities nursing and children's nursing. As a consequence generic approaches to all fields of nursing are represented in the adult nursing programme. Educationalists who are expert in their nursing field collaborate to ensure that student learning is of the highest quality and that professional standards are consistent across all nursing fields, thus ensuring that best practice is reflected in the nursing curriculum.

Patient autonomy is central to professional nursing practice and the design of learning, teaching and assessment strategies reflect the real life context of nursing. Holistic nursing care is directed by the NHS Scotland Quality Strategy (Scottish Government, 2010), is culturally sensitive. Students will be engaged in the theoretical evidence base of nursing and will be provided with access to a wide range of Practice Learning Experiences.
 

Aims of Post Graduate MSc Programme;
1. To prepare students who are fit for practice, award and employment.
2. To develop autonomous practitioners committed to personal development and lifelong learning. 3. To develop post graduate level decision making skills, critical thinking skills and the ability to engage with enquiry, evidence and research to influence adult nursing practice.
4. To profile adult nursing within a multi-professional/multi-agency framework and positively influence a collaborative approach to learning and the delivery of healthcare.
5. To equip students with enhanced employability skills and the ability to plan a career pathway in the context of a dynamic and evolving healthcare system.
6. To develop safe proficient and adaptable nurses who can facilitate person centred, values based nursing care considering the needs of the service user, carers and their families across the lifespan.
7. To develop specific skills, knowledge and understanding of interventions in adult nursing practice including holistic care, health promotion, team working and medicine management.
8. To foster a commitment to contemporary practice in adult healthcare and to enable students to critically examine the underpinning models, philosophies and theoretical frameworks in adult nursing.
9. To prepare students with the academic and research skills required for undertaking further post graduate studies including research at doctoral level.

During the programme the student will undertake a range of both theory and practice modules. All theoretical modules will be taught at Hamilton campus and assessed a SCQF Level 11. Practice Learning Experiences will generally be undertaken within the Health Board localities in which the student resides and students must acquire all of the NMC competencies in their chosen field of nursing by the end of the programme (NMC, 2010). 

On successful completion of the programme, students will receive a MSc award and be eligible to enter the NMC Register as an Adult Nurse. 
 

On completion of the programme, graduates will be equipped for further study in a variety of academic and clinical pathways. The following are an example of some further study/progression routes:- Master Degree by Research (MRes), Master of Philosophy (MPhil), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Professional Doctorate, MSc Gerontology, MSc Leading People Centred Integrated Care, MSc Forensic Mental Health, MSc Advanced Clinical Practitoner.  

The MSc programme embraces students who have already completed a relevant undergraduate degree and are keen to build on their existing knowledge, skills and graduate attributes. The School's approach to the nursing programme is directed by the UWS Education and Enabling Plan (UWS 2015-2020) and is focused on optimising student engagement in learning and the development of personal growth and professional autonomy. The assessment strategy aims to support learning and has been designed to assess students' knowledge of nursing at SCQF Level 11 whilst also ensuring that the professional requirements for competency to enter the NMC professional register are achieved (NMC, 2010). The achievement of the award of MSc adult nursing and the development of professional standards that meet the criteria for entry to the NMC professional register are closely interlinked throughout the programme. The programme has a dynamic mix of blended learning that equips students with crucial transferrable skills, both academic and skills based. The methods employed range from traditional modified lectures, practical skills sessions, debates, student presentations, group work, workshops, self-directed study (including Virtual Learning Environment, eLearning), guided study, personal development planning and clinical simulation mediums. The School is highly commended for its approach to clinical simulation and the adaptation of technology to enhance teaching and learning. The techniques of clinical simulation are optimised through the cognitive apprenticeship model, where the student moves through distinct stages of instruction, modelling, scaffolding, articulation, reflection and exploration. In line with the UWS Quality Handbook (QuEST 2018 - 2019), this programme offers a full range of assessment tools designed to enable student learning, not just to test student knowledge. Summative assessment strategies include the following: - written assignments, unseen examination, presentations, case studies, critical reflections and the final module is assessed by dissertation. Formative assessment will be managed through the use of tutorials, seminars, debates, student presentations, Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and self/peer review in the clinical simulation environment. To ensure both engagement and satisfactory progress with the dissertation process there will be a requirement for the student to meet with their personal lecturer on a regular basis for formative assessment and feedback. The student experience is built logically as increasingly more challenging levels of practice are encountered and the student masters both an effective level of competence and self-confidence. Subject delivery recognises not only nursing theory but also the importance of drawing on that of other disciplines who play a key role in developing and supporting nursing practice. Nursing knowledge is both inductive and deductive as theory informs practice and in reciprocation, practice contributes to theory development. To develop the students' graduate attributes the programme focuses on enhancing the role of research teaching links and the ability to critically reflect and analyse nursing practice (QAA, 2009). At the outset of each of the Practice Learning Experiences, the student will be allocated a named mentor who fulfils the requirements of the NMC (2008) Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in Practice. Mentors shall implement teaching and learning strategies throughout the Practice Learning Experiences in order to enhance student's understanding and application of skills. The cognitive apprenticeship approach will be adopted and strategies employed will include 1:1 discussions and constructive feedback, critical reflection, role modelling, skills demonstration and supervised practice. The student-mentor relationship has primacy and learning will be supported by the Liaison Lecturer and Practice Education Facilitator/Care Home Education Facilitator. Student learning will be facilitated and structured by the use of a Learning Development Plan contained within the Scottish Ongoing Achievement Record (SOAR). Mentors will provide the student with regular, balanced feedback regarding all aspects of their clinical performance at scheduled intervals and recorded within the SOAR. Critical reflection is also integral to the student's learning experience. To satisfy professional requirements of the programme, modules with a practice component have a number of co-requisite, ensuring NMC Progression Point Criteria are met in order to successfully complete the module. Academic credit for practice and theory modules will be evidenced by written assessments at SCQF Level 11 and assessed by academic staff. The programme structure is modular and divided into 3 parts. Parts 1 and 2 each consist of three 20 credits modules and Part 3 has one 60 credit module all assessed at SCQF Level 11. The students must achieve 4,600 hours evenly distributed between theory and practice to meet the mandatory requirements of the NMC (2010). The MSc programme consists of 2320 hours of practice learning and 1500 hours of theory. As the theory hours fall short of the NMC statutory requirement for entry to the professional register, 800 hours of theory will be derived from RPL; the content of which will be mapped to the MSc learning outcomes.

Graduate Attributes, Employability & Personal Development Planning

The nursing curriculum focuses on a learner centred approach which supports and enables the student to take responsibility for the planning and development of their own learning and career development. Personal Development Planning (PDP) is embedded within the curriculum with reference to subject benchmarks, professional standards and Scottish Credit Qualification Framework (SCQF) Level 11 descriptors.

The School of Health and Life Science has developed practice that projects a clear link between employability and PDP as evidence suggests that the concept of career planning is of critical importance to PDP and ultimately to all students. The curriculum makes explicit that the skills for employability and personal PDP are interlinked. This relationship is made explicit in the curriculum through the development of a range of learning, teaching and assessment strategies. Effective engagement with the PDP process provides students with the evidence and understanding of how their learning relates to their employability. Students are also supported in this respect by Careers Advisers from the University Employability Link.

Effective engagement with PDP activities remains an essential component of lifelong learning and continuing professional development. It facilitates the ongoing development of graduate attributes and is fundamentally about empowering individuals, building realistic aspirations and motivating students to reach their full potential.

The developmental process of PDP and the relevance of critical reflection will be introduced to students during the induction week and embedded throughout the programme.

In order to support the PDP process the School uses NES ePortfolio (TURAS). Students must create and assume ownership of their ePortfolio in accordance with programme requirements.

The opportunity to engage in a process of PDP, including support and guidance in the development of a reflective approach to PDP activities, is further supported through the implementation of the School’s Personal Tutor System. Regular meetings with their personal tutor will be arranged to monitor and support the students in their engagement with this process.

"The Learning and Teaching strategies ib this programme are aimed to contribute to the development of UWS Graduate Attributes as outlined in " I am UWS" see link: https://www.uws.ac.uk/current-students/your-graduate-attributes/ "

Work Based Learning/Placement Details

Practice Learning Experience are organised in excess of 2,300 hours and students experience the 24 hour/7 day continuum of care whilst in practice environments in order to capture the patient journey. Practice Learning Experiences represent contemporary healthcare delivery and encompass NHS hospital and community environments, and have widened to include private, independent and voluntary organisations.

In line with NMC Standards (NMC, 2010) students undertaking the programme are afforded supernumerary status during all Practice Learning Experiences.

A crucial feature of the Practice Learning Experience is the supervision and direction of the designated clinical mentor and engagement with other relevant nursing practitioners/specialists, a range of Allied Health Professionals and other agencies involved in health and social care delivery.

Under the supervision of their mentor, students will work towards achievement of the NMC competencies in order to meet the NMC professional requirements to gain entry to the NMC register. Attainment of the NMC competencies is documented within the UWS Scottish Ongoing Achievement Record (SOAR).

If a mentor or student has concerns about nursing care and/or professional approach, they must raise this immediately and have a full discussion regarding the issues identified. This must be noted in the Cause for Concern Record within the SOAR and a realistic action plan agreed to resolve the concern and resolve the issue/s identified. The action plan must be followed up and a final outcome record of resolution (or otherwise) made.
 

Engagement and Attendance

In line with the Academic Engagement and Attendance Procedure, Students are defined as academically engaged if they are regularly engaged with timetabled teaching sessions, course-related learning resources including those in the Library and on Moodle, and complete assessments and submit these on time.

For the purposes of this programme, this equates to the following:

In Line with UWS Regulatory Framework 2018/19 Regulation 1.64 - 1.65 "students will take cognisance of the University's requirements for Academic Engagement and Attendance" and " The programme specification may stipulate additional of specific attendance requirements particularly where these are relevant to programmes with professional body accreditation"

Attendance hours theory 75%, however where a module has clinical skills included attendance must be 100% for this component, which supports NMC Standards(NMC 2010). For Clinical Practice Placement attendance must be 100%

Please refer to the UWS Academic Engagement and Attendance procedure.

Knowledge and Understanding

Practice - Applied Knowledge and Understanding

Communication, ICT and Numeracy Skills

Generic Cognitive Skills - Problem Solving, Analysis, Evaluation

Autonomy, Accountability and Working With Others

Knowledge and Understanding

Practice - Applied Knowledge and Understanding

Communication, ICT and Numeracy Skills

Generic Cognitive Skills - Problem Solving, Analysis, Evaluation

Autonomy, Accountability and Working With Others

Knowledge and Understanding

Practice - Applied Knowledge and Understanding

Communication, ICT and Numeracy Skills

Generic Cognitive Skills - Problem Solving, Analysis, Evaluation

Autonomy, Accountability and Working With Others

Regulations of Assessment

Candidates will be bound by the general assessment regulations of the University as specified in the University Regulatory Framework .

An overview of the assessment details is provided in the Student Handbook and the assessment criteria for each module is provided in the module descriptor which forms part of the module pack issued to students. For further details on assessment please refer to Chapter 3 of the Regulatory Framework.

To qualify for an award of the University, students must complete all the programme requirements and must meet the credit minima detailed in Chapter 1 of the Regulatory Framework.