Adult Nursing BSc (Hons)

Study level: Undergraduate
Professionally Accredited Programmes
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An Adult Nursing degree can lead to a rewarding career working in settings including hospital or community and a wide variety of other areas where nursing is required.

Year of entry

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)
CU Scarborough (Scarborough)

Study mode

Full-time

Duration

3 years full-time

Course code

B740

Start date

September 2023
January 2024

How to apply
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Available through Clearing

Clearing applications for September 2023 are now closed to international students due to visa and immigration requirements. Check out our January 2024 entry courses.

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Course overview

Fully accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) providing eligibility for registration as a nurse on successful completion of the course (additional costs may apply)1.

  • All home students on this course can apply for a minimum payment from the government of £5,000 per year, with additional payments for students incurring childcare costs6.
  • Study in the state-of-the-art Alison Gingell Building which features hospital wards, operating theatre, critical care settings, community housing and other real-life nursing environments relevant to practice4.
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Joint Top Modern University for Career Prospects

Guardian University Guide 2021 and 2022
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5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities

QS Stars University Ratings
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Top 5 UK Student City (Coventry)

QS Best Student Cities Index 2023

Why you should study this course

If you are a naturally caring and compassionate individual, adult nursing can be considered one of most rewarding professions you could choose to work in, as well as being challenging, varied and with excellent career prospects.

  • Nurses work with people in a wide variety of roles and settings. These include monitoring seriously ill and deteriorating patients, caring for those with long- term conditions, caring for people requiring end of life care at home and in hospital, supporting family members, and promoting the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. The work can be intense but is rewarding. This course has been designed to develop 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 aims to encompass theory, practice, and immersive learning.
  • Our ‘learning through exploration’ approach aims to provide an exceptional learning environment. You will have the opportunity to be taught using a range of scenarios using the latest technology to role play various evolving clinical situations. We believe this approach contextualises your learning and can help you to develop the skills you will need in practice.
  • You will be encouraged to immerse yourself in learning about the needs of populations, individuals, related health, and nursing services with an emphasis on using research to enhance and improve services. This also aims to ensure teaching is current and evidence-based in its approach.
  • We will encourage you to develop an in-depth understanding of the organisation and culture of modern healthcare systems, aiming to equip 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 be asked to 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 or complex care planning and delivery via the multi-disciplinary team. You will also have the opportunity to participate in activities such as group presentations demonstrating your understanding of research underpinning patient care.
  • This course aims to prepare you for the dynamic and fast-changing health and social care system, which should help you to develop into an adaptable, flexible, reflective, competent, and compassionate practitioner. From the outset, you will gain hands-on experience under supervision from qualified practice supervisors and assessors, spending around 50% of your time on clinical practice placements (sourced for you by the university) in a range of healthcare environments within the NHS in hospitals and community placements, at private hospitals and independent care providers5. We have well-established links with local NHS trusts and other healthcare providers, such as private hospitals, hospices, and community settings.
  • 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 can 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.
  • You may have the opportunity to go on field trips within the UK which have previously included visits to the first operating theatre in London and museums capturing the history of nursing and healthcare2.

Accreditation and professional recognition

Nursing and Midwifery Council

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

This degree is accredited1 by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the 2023/24 intake 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 (subject to additional costs).

Hear why Melissa wanted to become a nurse and find out more about the Adult Nursing course at Coventry University.

Nursing at Coventry University

We have an excellent reputation for the quality of the education provided to trainee and qualified nurses.

Learn why you should study with us
We have an excellent reputation for the quality of the education provided to trainee and qualified nurses.

What you'll study

This provides the foundations for nursing practice and university study. After successfully completing year one, you will have developed an understanding of the scientific principles of nursing and the importance of evidence-based practice and putting patients and their families at the centre of care. Practical skills should ensure you are able to perform fundamental care to vulnerable adults whilst on placement.

Modules

  • This module will introduce the scientific foundations of nursing which apply to holistic care across the lifespan and key concepts that underpin nursing practice. It will enable you to develop your knowledge of relevant human anatomy and physiology. Moreover, principles of microbiology, psychology, sociology and pharmacology will be explored, and an introduction of the common physiological dysfunctions associated to specific fields of practice will be included. Pharmacological treatment associated to common conditions will be examined.

    Compulsory

  • This module aims to introduce you to the fundamental skills required for person- and family-centred practice. You will be introduced to the concepts and theories relevant to the assessment of health and wellbeing across the lifespan, in a range of care settings for the four fields of nursing.

    Compulsory

  • This module aims to develop your academic writing skills, critical-thinking ability and reflective practice in the context of degree-level study. The content will also refer to numeracy skills, which for nursing are crucial in patient safety and wellbeing. Some skills will also relate to developing competence in database searching and subsequently its importance in the utilisation and application of evidence-based nursing practice. The content of the module will also include relevant organisational skills and maintenance of personal wellbeing.

    Compulsory

  • This module aims to introduce you to evidence-based practice and research in nursing. You will have the opportunity to develop understanding of your usefulness and importance in contributing to underpinning nursing knowledge and decisions. You will gain a fundamental understanding of various methodological approaches and the research process. The skills of appraising evidence and research will be explored and developed.

    Compulsory

  • This module aims to develop your knowledge and understanding of the social, politico-economic, cultural and environmental factors that influence individual and community health and wellbeing. The module aims to draw upon key international, national and local initiatives to support learning and will take place within an inter-professional context.

    To achieve this aim, you will explore concepts of wellbeing, disabilities, disease and illness, health inequality and inequity. In addition, you will examine key health and social care initiatives that will enable you to understand the importance of person-centred approaches to wellbeing, prevention, care and support. As you progress through the module you will develop inter-professional capabilities of communication, role clarification, decision-making and team-working enabling you to practice and promote healthy conversations about lifestyle.

    Compulsory

  • This module5introduces you to the foundations of nursing practice in the workplace. The experience will provide you with learning opportunities (under supervision) which will begin to develop the professional values, attitudes and behaviours required to deliver safe and effective holistic person- and family-centred care.

    Compulsory

  • This module5 provides extended opportunity for you to contribute to the foundations of nursing practice in the workplace. This experience will enable you to demonstrate and promote professional values, attitudes and behaviours required to deliver safe and effective holistic person-centred care.

    Compulsory

This year builds on the foundations learnt in year one. Modules become more adult nursing focused and include pathophysiology of common diseases, relevant assessment of patients that informs planning and evaluating care and how practice is based on robust evidence.

Modules

  • This module will introduce you to the underlying principles of healthcare ethics, legislation and social policy. This will include the protection of vulnerable people across the lifespan including those with complex needs. You should be equipped to recognise ethical challenges relating to people's choices and decision-making about their health and wellbeing across care settings. Ability to act within the law to help service users, families and carers to manage needs will be explored.

    Compulsory

  • The aim of this module is to further develop your comprehension and skills acquisition for clinical assessment and the care planning process across the age continuum. The principles learned will be applicable to any care setting. It builds on year one of the curriculum adding to your knowledge of the scientific foundations and the application to nursing practice.

    Compulsory

  • The aim of this module is to further develop your knowledge and understanding in providing and evaluating care across the lifespan. It builds on year one of the curriculum adding further to your knowledge of providing and delivering care through a range of therapies for commonly encountered mental health, physical, behavioural and cognitive conditions.

    Compulsory

  • This module provides you with the opportunity to build further on skills and knowledge related to research and evidence-informed practice acquired in year one. It enables you to develop specific nursing-focused questions to underpin evidence-informed decision-making and practice. You will develop a research proposal to underpin year three work. The processes of literature review and research production, including ethical requirements will be analysed, taking into account global and cultural perspectives.

    Compulsory

  • This module demonstrates how the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Standards Framework for Nursing and Midwifery Education (particularly Part 2- Standards for Student Supervision and Assessment) (NMC, 2018) are applied in practice.

    This module will enable you to understand the role of the practice supervisor (in association with the practice assessor and academic assessor) through reflective practice and the novice to expert model. This module aims to develop your inter-professional learning and working through supporting and supervising fellow students of the multidisciplinary team.

    Compulsory

  • This module5 provides you with opportunities in the workplace to build on your foundations of practice and enable you to work more independently with less direct supervision in an increasingly competent and confident manner to deliver quality holistic person- and family-centred care. It will provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate, through your practice, your potential to become an autonomous practitioner.

    Compulsory

  • This module5 provides you with additional opportunities to display your ability to work more independently, with less direct supervision, in a safe and increasingly confident manner to deliver quality holistic person- and family-centred care. It will provide you with the opportunity to extend and apply your knowledge and skills towards becoming an autonomous practitioner.

    Compulsory

This year aims to consolidate from the previous two years. Drawing on theory and practice you should gain an appreciation of the value of the contribution of other health professionals when making decisions about the needs of patients who require complex care. You will be asked to investigate the contemporary issues relevant to adult nursing and explore the skills commonly required to become an accountable practitioner who is able to co-ordinate a team. Practical skills will mirror those required for a newly qualified nurse.

Modules

  • This module aims to consolidate your ability to identify and respond to the complex needs of an individual. The focus will be on holistically managing, co-ordinating and evaluating optimum complex care packages within the integrated care system. It will develop skills related to co-ordination, delegation and priority of care. Critical consideration will be given to evidence-informed practice and policies that relate to complex needs in the field of adult nursing services. You will examine how these factors impact on family, carers and the service user’s care journey.

    Compulsory

  • This module aims to support the development of the leadership behaviours and management skills required to function effectively as a newly qualified registered healthcare professional working within the multi-professional team in the delivery of high-quality care.

    You will critically examine clinical leadership and ‘followership’ models and the concept of empowerment and distributed leadership, to gain understanding of ethical leadership, culture and values within the delivery of care.
    You will explore the concepts of service improvement and gain experience of leading and participating in projects, using relevant management tools and techniques.

    You will reflect on your observed experience of clinical leadership behaviours and management skills whilst on clinical placement throughout their course, to develop a personal development plan to guide your ongoing leadership development as a healthcare professional.

    Compulsory

  • This module provides you with the opportunity to undertake an in-depth exploration in an area of special interest which will have relevance to nursing practice and which makes clear connections with local and/or national priorities in health and social care. You will establish a specific question upon which to focus and using an appropriate method of enquiry, you will be required to systematically investigate the question and analyse the information generated in order to derive a set of findings or results using a literature-based strategy. On the basis of the study results, you will be encouraged to identify the implications and recommendations for professional nursing practice and collaborative healthcare. On successful completion of this module, you will have an enhanced understanding of the relationship between the research and evidence-based practice and professional nursing care.

    Compulsory

  • The module aims to explore and critically debate contemporary issues related to specialist areas of adult nursing. The broad spectrum of adult nursing and modes of provision increasingly encompasses specialist environments and roles. In relation to this, individual, local, national and international perspectives will be explored. This will enable you to become more politically aware, critically reflective and entrepreneurial in relation to service delivery. You will be exposed to the critical discussion regarding contemporary and dynamic developments in adult nursing and the implications for current healthcare practice in nursing.

    Compulsory

  • This module will critically review the accountability and responsibility of the registered nurse in clinical practice. It will explore the key attributes of accountable practice such as individual accountability, escalating concerns, managerial responsibilities, safety, quality, delegation and clinical decision-making within the context of providing safe, effective, person centred and compassionate care.

    Compulsory

  • This module5 aims to extend your ability to practice more independently in a safe and increasingly competent and confident manner. This will enable you to become autonomous practitioners who are responsible and accountable for safe, compassionate, person-centred, evidence-informed nursing that respects and maintains dignity and human rights.

    Compulsory

  • This module5 aims to provide you with opportunities to practice the competencies identified for registration as a nurse which are stipulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2018). This includes demonstrating your competence to:

    • Practice autonomously, compassionately, skilfully and safely whilst maintaining dignity and promoting health and wellbeing
    • Display professional accountability and responsibility by the use of clinical governance processes to maintain and improve nursing practice and standards of healthcare
    • Use management and leadership skills to take the lead in coordinating, delegating and supervising care safely, including the management of risk and ensuring public safety
    • Communicate in a safe, effective, compassionate and respectful manner
    • Exhibit the capability of informed decision making to promote, plan, and prioritise service delivery.

    Compulsory

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.

How you'll learn

This Adult Nursing BSc (Hons) course uses a wide variety of stimulating approaches to teaching and learning to suit individual learning styles. This may include a series of interactive lectures, seminars, online learning, skills lab activities and practical placements. Successful completion of 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.

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 have also used actors or staff to enhance these experiences in scenarios which include breaking bad news, demonstrating emotional resilience, conflict, aggression, teaching, and child protection conferences.

As 50% of the course is practice-based, this requires 40 hours per week in placements in line with NMC requirements – these are sourced for you by the university5. During theory modules, teaching is delivered in a variety of different ways and generally includes seminars, group work, clinical skills sessions and scenario-based learning, workshops, online learning, seminars and lectures.

Contact teaching hours will vary throughout the course, but on average you will have around 21 ‘contact’ hours of teaching per week in year one. In addition, you will be expected to undertake a further 15-20 hours each week of private study which can include self-directed learning and online activities which augment other approaches.

Over the duration of the course, as you become a more independent learner the contact hours will reduce (around 13 in year 2 and 11 in year 3) and independent study will increase.

The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.

As an innovative and enterprising institution, the University may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.

Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.

Assessment methods include:

  • Coursework
  • Practical placements
  • Formal examinations

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

International experience opportunities

Throughout the course, we aim to 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 healthcare today. Some of this is supported by guest lecturers (subject to availability) or simulation facilitators and others through topical issues covered within the course.

We offer participation in collaborative online international learning projects (COIL) with our international collaborators where students learn about international differences in healthcare systems.

Students and visiting lecturers from other countries who can provide an input into the course have previously come from areas such as Hong Kong, Japan and Africa. We also participate in senior staff exchanges (subject to availability), for example, with institutions in India and China, which can provide additional insights for students into international issues2.

Entry requirements

Clearing places available on this course

See if you have enough points (UCAS tariff 2023)

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Additional requirements may apply

Haven't met the entry requirements or don’t have the right qualifications? You may still be able to progress onto a degree you’d love by studying a foundation course.

View our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page. 

Explore our foundation courses

Typical offer for 2023/24 entry.

Fees and funding

2023/24 tuition fees.

Student Full-time Part-time
UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man £9,250 per year Not available
EU £9,250 per year with EU support bursary**
£19,850 per year without EU support bursary**		 Not available
International £19,850 per year Not available

A non-repayable grant of £5,000 and extra payments worth up to £3,000 may be available to eligible home students for each year of study. Read more about this in the NHS Learning Support Fund information booklet.

For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see The University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them. Find out what's included in your tuition costs.

*Irish student fees

The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.

**EU support bursary

Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in-line with that of UK students. Students studying a Degree with a Foundation Year with us are not eligible for the bursary.

  • We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Your fee status determines your tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available to you. The rules about who pays UK (home) or international (overseas) fees for higher education courses in England are set by the government's Department for Education. The regulations identify all the different categories of student who can insist on paying the home rate. The regulations can be difficult to understand, so the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has provided fee status guidance to help you identify whether you are eligible to pay the home or overseas rate.

    If you meet all the criteria required by any one category, including any residence requirements, your institution must charge you the home rate. You only need to find one category that you fit into.

Facilities

Our multi-million-pound Alison Gingell Building features a range of mock healthcare settings, including hospital wards, ambulance, therapy suites and community houses, giving you the opportunity to replicate real-life situations before you go on placement4.

You’ll have the opportunity to make use of our extensive simulation facilities – from basic life support manikins to high tech simulation manikins, which emulate patient responses and test resuscitation skills. You will also use healthcare devices found in the real world of practice.

Students and a tutor with a manikin in the hospital ward

You will use equipment found in the real world of practice, such as medical devices to assist with all elements of care including medication administration, to help build confidence before you go on placement4.

Students in the hospotal ward around a mannequin in a hospital bed

Careers and opportunities

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), additional costs apply1. Successful registration enables you to practise immediately.

Coventry University is committed to preparing you for your future career and aims to give you a competitive edge in the graduate job market. The university's Talent Team provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your career.

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.

Some of our recent graduates have taken up roles including staff nurses in the NHS, working in Africa in the Ebola Crisis with the Red Cross, and working in neonatal ITU.

Coventry University nursing student Jessica Vaughan pictured holding her Nursing Times Student of the Year award for the adult nursing category

Coventry University student wins national nursing award

A nursing student at Coventry University who has juggled being a mum, a learner and volunteering in Africa has won a national award.

Find out more

How to apply

  • Full-time students applying to start in September should apply for this course through UCAS. Part-time students should apply directly to the university. Read our application pages to find out your next steps to apply.

    How to apply
    Apply via UCAS

    If you'd like further support or more information about your course get in touch with us today.

     +44 (0)24 7765 2222

     ukadmissions@coventry.ac.uk

     Chat with our admissions team

     Complete our contact form.

    If you’d like to apply for this course at our CU Scarborough campus then visit our application pages for further information. Find out what life is like as a CU Scarborough student on our dedicated website.

  • International codes:
    HLSU195

    Full-time students applying to start in September should apply directly to the university. Read our application pages to find out your next steps to apply.

    How to apply

    For further support for international applicants applying for an undergraduate degree view our International hub.

    You can also download our International guide which contains lots of useful information about our courses, accommodation and tips for travel.

    Get in touch with us today for further advice and guidance.

    +44 (0)24 7765 2152

    ioadmissions@coventry.ac.uk

     Chat with our admissions team.

     Complete our contact form.

    If you’d like to apply for this course at our CU Scarborough campus then visit our application pages for further information. Find out what life is like as a CU Scarborough student on our dedicated website.

     

  • 1Accreditations

    The majority of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships shall be renewed in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the university maintaining the same high standards of course delivery.

    2UK and international opportunities

    Please note that we are unable to guarantee any UK or International opportunities (whether required or optional) such as internships, work experience, field trips, conferences, placements or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (which could include, but is not limited to, equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable travel COVID and visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the visa requirements, please contact the International Office.

    3Tuition fees

    The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For Home Students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, the University 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.

    For International Students, we may increase fees each year but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.

    4Facilities

    Facilities are subject to availability. Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.

    5Placements

    Satisfactory health clearance and enhanced criminal record disclosure is also required. As part of the health clearance checks you will be required to provide information about your immunity and vaccination status. You will also be required to provide information about your COVID-19 vaccination status. We therefore recommend that you are fully vaccinated including the COVID-19 vaccine. The information you provide will be used to determine your eligibility to go on placement(s). Placements are provided at the placement provider’s discretion. The University is therefore unable to guarantee the provision of placements or the location and type of placement offered.

    6NHS payment

    The rules may be subject to review by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in the future and as a result may change. Please therefore check the NHSBSA website for up-to-date information before applying.

    Student Contract

    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 2023/24 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.

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