Overview
An Adult Nursing degree can lead you to some immensely rewarding careers. As an adult nurse you could work with a wide spectrum of service users across a vast range of services and settings – from A&E, critical care, medical and surgical wards to hospices, nursing homes, GP practices and in people's own homes.
Ranked in the UK’s top 5 for Nursing in the Guardian University Guide 2020, Coventry’s ‘learning through exploration’ approach provides an exceptional learning environment. You will learn through a range of scenarios using the latest technology to role play various evolving clinical situations. We believe this approach contextualises your learning and helps you to develop the skills you will need in practice. The facilities in the new Alison Gingell Building include mock wards, ambulance and clinical skills centre with up-to-date equipment and simulators.
If you are a naturally caring and compassionate individual, adult nursing is one of most rewarding professions you could choose to work in, as well as being challenging, varied and with excellent career prospects.
See the facilities available in our brand new Alison Gingell Building.
Why Coventry University?
An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.
To ensure an optimised and continual student experience, the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses. For courses due to start in September 2020, in light of Covid-19, we are currently preparing for courses to be delivered in a variety of forms, subject to Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority will be staff and student safety.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedTeaching Excellence
Taught by lecturers who are experts in their fieldCourse essentials
A degree which offers you more, at no extra costAccreditation and Professional Recognition
The course is currently fully accredited by the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and, providing you also meet the NMC requirements, on successful completion you will be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
Our Facilities
Mock Operating Theatre
Our Alison Gingell building includes a full-size mock operating theatre, containing scrub sinks and theatre lights. We also have a mock hospital ward so that we can study a complete patient pathway.
Ambulance
Our facilities include a mock ambulance, which students can use as part of their studies, to help simulate the patient journey. This gives students the opportunity to learn in situations that mirror real life scenarios.
Hospital Wards
We have two fully-equipped mock hospital wards, each containing 4 beds. The wards are built to NHS standards and contain moveable beds, first aid equipment and patient monitoring tools.
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What our students say
The thing that most attracted me to Coventry was that it was ranked an extremely good university for nursing and is attached to a teaching university hospital with good prospects. I like that we have labs where we practise our skills and can use meti-man to pretend that we are responding to a real patient. All of the tutors have been really good and approachable and always welcome us to email them if we have any queries or if we are struggling on any aspect of our course, we know where to go to for advice and support.
Course information
Nurses routinely have the most frequent and intense contact with patients and must be competent in recognising changes in patient condition so that appropriate action can be taken.
This course has been designed to produce professionals who are not only highly skilled but also caring, compassionate, effective communicators and have the capacity to be emotionally resilient. These principles are at the forefront of our teaching which encompass theory, practice and immersive learning.
In modern health settings nursing students increasingly work towards becoming autonomous practitioners, taking a leadership role in decisions regarding patient care within multi-professional settings
The course has been developed as a spiral curriculum with patient assessment at its core. The Faculty recognises that inter-professional education and practice maximise the strengths and skills of health and social care practitioners enabling them to deliver high quality care to service users, their families and their carers. Therefore this course will be enhanced by inter-professional learning, which will enable you to learn with, from and about other health and social care students, in order to improve patient care.
Equal value is placed on practice and theory, undertaking 800 hours of each per year, you will study a wide range of subjects, including anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, psychology, sociology and research methods.
You will 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.
4th
best UK university for nursing and midwifery
The Guardian, 2020
Modules
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
Average salary six months after the course (DLHE 2014/15)
In more detail...
The aim of this course is to prepare you for the dynamic and fast changing health and social care system, developing you into an adaptable, flexible, reflective, competent and compassionate practitioner.
From the outset, you’ll gain hands-on experience under supervision from qualified mentors, spending up to 50% of your time on clinical practice placements in a range of healthcare environments within the NHS in hospitals and community placements, at private hospitals and independent care providers.
While the course has a clear focus on nursing adults, a key benefit of our curriculum is the notion of collaboration across all areas of health and social care. Your studies will be complemented with significant insights into mental health, learning disability and children and young people’s nursing. Some modules are also studied in conjunction with other health and social care professionals; looking at specific issues and challenges they face to broaden your knowledge and expertise.
Our links with universities in Malaysia, China, Hong Kong and Kenya provide opportunities for student exchanges and, through the University’s volunteering schemes, you may have the chance to work overseas on ‘live’ projects such as orphanage work in Uganda. European links are also in development with the potential for field trips to Finland and Spain to compare health courses and nurse training globally. Please note that such opportunities may be subject to additional fees, application process, and meeting applicable visa requirements.
- Nursing at Coventry is ranked 4th overall and joint first for career prospects in the UK by the Guardian University Guide 2020.
- Fully accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) providing eligibility for registration to practice on successful completion
- Field trips within the UK include visits to the first operating theatre in London and museums capturing the history of nursing and healthcare (subject to additional costs and competitive application).
- Multimillion state-of-the-art Alison Gingell Building provides facilities for teaching and research, featuring an operating theatre, critical care settings, community housing and other real life nursing environments relevant to practice.
- Well established clinical placements, teaching and research links with local partner Trusts within the National Health Service (NHS) and other healthcare providers, such as private hospitals, hospices and community settings.
- High levels of student satisfaction – 96% of our students were happy with the quality of the course, and 98% said the course had given them opportunities to apply what they had learnt - National Student Survey (NSS) 2019.
- Outstanding employability – 98% of our graduates on this course obtained work or began further study after six months (DLHE 2015/16 and 16/17) and 99% of thoseemployed were in professional level roles.
Well established clinical placements, teaching and research links with local partner Trusts within the National Health Service (NHS) and other healthcare providers.
Our main study themes are:
- Nursing practice: Develops the professional values, attitudes and behaviours required to deliver safe and effective, holistic person-centred care. We cover the key concepts of nursing, caring and clinical skills, as well as factors influencing care, for example, National Service Frameworks. Clinical skills acquisition which underpins these care factors will be taught and practiced in the simulated environment of clinical skills laboratories.
- Assessment and care pathways across the lifespan: Develops the ability to assess, interpret and manage a range of care requirements for service users. You’ll be introduced to the concept of health and wellbeing, enabling an understanding of the bio psychosocial needs of your patient group across the life span in all fields of nursing. You should develop an understanding of how assessments support and inform clinical judgement and decision making in practice, explored across primary, secondary and third sector care environments.
- Evidence informed practice and decision making: Explores the principles and strategies of Evidence Informed Practice (EIP) to enable you to apply, creatively, a wide range of sources of evidence for clinical decision making. You will be introduced to research perspectives (methodology and design), audit, health policy and service user participation as methods to evaluate your EIP plans and interventions.
- Communications and professionalism: Communication is highlighted as an essential skill for all health care professionals because it impacts on patient satisfaction. You should develop the key professional attributes incorporating the six ‘C’s model of communication, commitment, courage, care, competence, compassion.
The course can be studied full-time. It offers start dates in January and September.
This Adult Nursing course uses a wide variety of stimulating approaches to teaching and learning to suit individual learning styles. This includes a series of interactive lectures with associated seminars, skills lab activities and practical placements. All modules are mandatory to enable you to exit the programme with the knowledge, values and skills to be able to work within integrated care settings and enhance the delivery of care for service users, their families and carers.
We will encourage you to develop an in-depth understanding of the organisation and culture of modern health care systems, equipping you with the confidence to be able to take a stronger role in the leadership and management of resources in delivering treatment and healthcare options to patients.
Throughout your studies, in groups and individually, you will undertake profession specific health and social care related projects and case studies. These may, for example, include an appraisal of the role of the nurse in ethical and legal decision making, considering service improvement bids or complex care planning and delivery via the multi-disciplinary team. You will also participate in a group poster presentation demonstrating your understanding of research underpinning patient care.
We’ll undertake a range of interesting fieldtrips. Previously trips have been to the Old Operating Theatre Museum at Guy’s Hospital, listed by Time Out as one of the top 101 things to do in London. You’ll make use of our extensive simulation facilities – from basic life support manikins to high tech simulation dummies, which emulate patient responses and test resuscitation skills. You will also use equipment found in the real world of practice, such as medical devices to assist with all elements of care, particularly medication administrations.Please note that fieldtrips may be subject to additional costs.
Gaining experience using simulation across a range of care settings is aimed at building your confidence and knowledge about how to act in these situations. You can practise and develop your clinical and interpersonal skills in a safe but realistic environment. We also use actors to enhance these experiences in scenarios which include breaking bad news, demonstrating emotional resilience, conflict, aggression, teaching and child protection conferences.
The course is underpinned by an approach to professional care which is characterised by empathy, respect, dignity and kindness towards patients and their families.
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module. Assessment methods include: coursework, practical placement and formal examinations. This course is predominantly assessed by coursework and practical placement.
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes. Assessments may include exams, individual assignments or group work elements.
On successful completion, you will have knowledge of:
- The implications of current legislation, professional regulation, standards of performance and the NMC Code.
- The nurses’ role in the enhancement of public health and biological, psychological and social wellbeing of service users.
- The biological, physiological, pharmacological, psychological and sociological knowledge which underpins all nursing practice across the lifespan.
On successful completion, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate effective individual and team leadership skills and apply quality monitoring initiatives.
- Discuss service user and carer needs in respect of equity, fairness, antidiscrimination, rights, values, customs, culture, beliefs, sensitivity, diversity, lifestyle and environment.
- Utilise and disseminate current research findings and other forms of evidence that underpin nursing practice.
- Transfer knowledge and skills to a variety of settings and adapt practice to meet varying, unpredictable and complex circumstances.
- Seek clinical supervision to develop safe and effective nursing practice.
- Critically evaluate relevant research, possible interventions and the most up-to-date technology to support quality care delivery.
- Critically analyse situations and incidents through reflective practice activities.
- Conduct a comprehensive and systematic health assessment of service users’ needs across the lifespan using a range of appropriate assessment tools.
- Plan, implement and monitor nursing care, involving service users and carers.
- Evaluate and revise expected outcomes, nursing interventions and priorities in accordance with changes in the individual’s condition, needs or circumstances across the lifespan.
- Demonstrate a range of essential nursing skills and seek supervision to develop safe, compassionate, skilful and autonomous nursing practice.
- Consult with service users and carers to identify and respond to their need and desire for health promotion advice, education, support and the development of services.
- Co-ordinate the delivery of nursing and healthcare within one’s sphere of professional accountability, including people with complex and co-existing needs.
- Provide safe and effective immediate care to all people.
Fully accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) providing eligibility for registration to practice on successful completion.
As 50% of the course is practice based, this requires 40 hours per week in placements. In a typical teaching week, you will have up to 21 ‘contact’ hours of teaching. This generally breaks down as:
- Personal tutorial/small group teaching: 2 hours each week of seminar preparation or group work per week.
- Medium group teaching: 10 hours of workshops or activity led seminars per week.
- Large group teaching: 9 hours led lectures per week.
In addition, you will be expected to undertake a further 14 hours each week of private study which can include syndicate learning and online activities which augment other approaches.
Throughout the course, we provide key insights into cultural diversity and global issues of significance to public health and all fields of nursing practice. For example, we look at what it means to be culturally competent within health care today. There are also opportunities to study specific issues of interest to you, such as people trafficking, working in war torn or developing countries. Some of this is supported by guest lecturers or simulation facilitators and others through topical issues covered within the course.
For students who have performed well in their academic studies, it is possible towards the end of the second year to plan a short placement abroad within Europe or beyond – typically three to four weeks’ duration. We have existing links with universities in Malaysia, China, Hong Kong and Kenya, as well as agreements with several European institutions which have been utilised for incoming and outgoing student exchanges. Please note that such opportunities may be subject to additional costs, competitive application and/or meeting any applicable visa requirments.
Students and visiting lecturers from other countries provide an input into the course have come from areas such as Hong Kong, Japan and Africa. We also participate in a number of senior staff exchanges, for example, with institutions in India and China, which can provide additional insights for students into international issues.
Global ready
Did you know we help more students travel internationally than any other UK university according to data from the experts in higher education data and analysis, HESA?
In 2016/17, we were able to provide a total of 3,482 experiences abroad that lasted at least five days.
Much of this travel is made possible through our Global Leaders Programme, which enables students to prepare for the challenges of the global employment market, as well as strengthening and developing their broader personal and professional skills.
1st for
international experiences
Sending more students overseas than any other UK uni (HESA 2016/17)
3,482
Student experiences
The number of student trips abroad for at least 5 days in 2016/17
21,000
and counting
The number of students we’ve helped travel internationally so far
12
global programmes
As well as trips, we offer other opportunities like language courses
What our students say
The thing that most attracted me to Coventry was that it was ranked an extremely good university for nursing and is attached to a teaching university hospital with good prospects. I like that we have labs where we practise our skills and can use meti-man to pretend that we are responding to a real patient. All of the tutors have been really good and approachable and always welcome us to email them if we have any queries or if we are struggling on any aspect of our course, we know where to go to for advice and support.
Entry Requirements
What our students say
The thing that most attracted me to Coventry was that it was ranked an extremely good university for nursing and is attached to a teaching university hospital with good prospects. I like that we have labs where we practise our skills and can use meti-man to pretend that we are responding to a real patient. All of the tutors have been really good and approachable and always welcome us to email them if we have any queries or if we are struggling on any aspect of our course, we know where to go to for advice and support.
Tuition Fees
We pride ourselves on offering competitive tuition fees which we review on an annual basis and offer a wide range of scholarships to support students with their studies. Course fees are calculated on the basis of what it costs to teach each course and we aim for total financial transparency.
For more information, please visit our Finance pages.
Course essentials at no extra cost
We're committed to communicating study costs clearly to make sure you're not faced with having to make any unexpected payments.
This is why our ‘Flying Start’ package provides you with a few course essentials. Your full-time fee for an undergraduate degree will cover the following:
UK field trips
Any mandatory site visits and trips within the United Kingdom.Key material
This can include core textbooks, software and equipment.Laser prints
1,000 A4 sides of black and white laser printing credits per year.Optional year
Pay no tuition fees for optional work placements or study abroad trips.EU student fees
EU nationals and their family members starting in the 2019/20 academic year remain eligible for the same fees as home students and the same financial support. Financial support comes from Student Finance England, and covers undergraduate and postgraduate study for the duration of their course, providing they meet the residency requirement.
For tuition fee loans
EU nationals must have resided in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
For maintenance loans
EU nationals must have resided in the UK and Islands for the five years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that five year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
What our students say
The thing that most attracted me to Coventry was that it was ranked an extremely good university for nursing and is attached to a teaching university hospital with good prospects. I like that we have labs where we practise our skills and can use meti-man to pretend that we are responding to a real patient. All of the tutors have been really good and approachable and always welcome us to email them if we have any queries or if we are struggling on any aspect of our course, we know where to go to for advice and support.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
On graduating successfully from this course, and providing you also meet the NMC requirements, you can apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Succesful registration enables you to practise immediately.
As well as helping you to find suitable work placements and give you advice on how to get the most out of them, the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences’ Employability and Placements Unit will support you when you are ready to begin your professional career. We have an excellent track record with 94% of our September intake students in work or continuing their studies in the most recent destinations survey (DLHE 2014/15).
Coventry University is committed to preparing you for your future career and giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market. The University's Careers and Employability team provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your career.
97%
student satisfaction with the quality of this course.
National Student Survey (NSS), 2016
Where our graduates work
Many of our graduates find employment as qualified nurses in the NHS with a growing emphasis on community settings, in acute hospitals, military nursing, in the private and independent healthcare sector, in private hospitals, nursing or care homes. As your career progresses a number of options may open to you for example as a lecturer or specialist practitioner, advanced nurse practitioner, consultant nurse or manager.
Our recent graduates have taken up roles including staff nurses in the NHS, working on cruise ships as students, working in Africa in the Ebola Crisis with the Red Cross, and working in neonatal ITU.
of graduates in work or further study after six months (DLHE 2014/15)
What our students say
The thing that most attracted me to Coventry was that it was ranked an extremely good university for nursing and is attached to a teaching university hospital with good prospects. I like that we have labs where we practise our skills and can use meti-man to pretend that we are responding to a real patient. All of the tutors have been really good and approachable and always welcome us to email them if we have any queries or if we are struggling on any aspect of our course, we know where to go to for advice and support.
Disclaimer
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2020/21 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.
