FdSc Nursing Associate (Higher Apprenticeship Route) - Full-time

Modules listed below are a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules as part of the course.

• Principles of Nursing Associate Practice
• Anatomy and Physiology and the Foundations of Medicines Management
• Wider Approaches to Promoting Health and Preventing Ill Health
• Recognising Acute Physical and Mental Health and Illness for Nursing Associate Practice
• Contributing to Integrated Care for People With Complex Needs and Associated Medicines Management
• Enhancing Skills: Developing Leadership, Knowledge and Evidence Based Practice for the Nursing Associate

The nursing associate role is diverse and multi-faceted, so we use a wide range of teaching and learning methods. These are designed to fully engage apprentices, helping them to develop the skills, knowledge, self-awareness, values and behaviours essential to become a nursing associate, with particular reference to your organisation and their place within it. Learning focuses on your workplace environment, so that apprentices build the competencies demanded by the role and learn to apply this expertise within your organisation. Your apprentices will spend a significant amount of their time in the workplace, with the rest of their time being devoted to off-the-job training and university learning. This balance is designed to meet the requirements of both the Nursing and Midwifery Council and Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

Our tutors are research active and teaching is underpinned by rigorous research. Teaching methods will include lectures, presentations, simulations and practice of skills in our simulation suite, seminar discussions, small group workshops, small group tutorials and one-to-one tutorials.

As well as attending timetabled sessions, apprentices will also be expected to allocate significant time to independent and self-directed studies. For example, background reading, preparing for seminars, working on assignments and revising for exams will support their timetabled learning and help develop the skills required for lifelong learning. Our friendly and supportive tutors will be here to guide them, and will gladly help them devise an independent study regime focused on their individual development needs. Learning will also be supported by the university's virtual learning environment, Moodle.

The assessment strategy for the programme is designed to ensure that apprentices achieve the overall aims and learning outcomes of the programme, as well as the learning outcomes for individual modules. The assessment of practice and theory contributes to the final award. All assessments in practice (practice assessment documentation (PAD) and portfolio) must be passed before an apprentice can progress to the next stage/term/year and completion of the programme. In addition to the assessments associated with the foundation degree programme, apprentices will undertake an end point assessment, at the end of the apprenticeship period.

Apprentices will be assessed using a range of methods, including essays, reports, presentations, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE), traditional examinations and assessment of practice within the practice setting. Some assessments contribute to their final module marks, while others are designed to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses, and where they need to seek extra support from course tutors.

Your organisation will need to provide each apprentice with a workplace assessor to support their development. They will also benefit from regular visits from a university nursing lecturer/clinical educator. The workplace assessor, university nursing lecturer/clinical educator and apprentice will work together to create the individual learning plan required to ensure the apprentice’s progress.

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up to date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.