STUDY
BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing (Degree Apprenticeship Programme)
Institution code: | S82 |
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UCAS code: | N/A |
Start date: | September 2025 |
Duration: | Four years full-time |
Location: | Ipswich |
Typical Offer: | 112 UCAS tariff points (or above), BBC (A-Level), DMM (BTEC), Merit (T Level) |
Institution code: | S82 |
---|---|
UCAS code: | N/A |
Start date: | September 2025 |
Duration: | Four years full-time |
---|---|
Location: | Ipswich |
Typical Offer: | 112 UCAS tariff points (or above), BBC (A-Level), DMM (BTEC), Merit (T Level) |
Overview
This Nursing Degree Apprenticeship will equip you with the knowledge, skills, and behaviours necessary for registration as a Mental Health Nurse. The course spans a 48-month period. At the University of Suffolk, we employ a block teaching format, completing each module before advancing to the next.
Given that nursing is an ever-evolving profession, a crucial facet of this course involves honing the ability to adapt to new situations and cultivate resilience as a practitioner. The course is divided into theoretical (50%) and practical components (50%). A blended learning approach encompasses both face-to-face teaching and online virtual learning components. Practice learning unfolds across a spectrum of clinical placements within the Suffolk region.
The course's design stems from a close collaborative relationship among the University of Suffolk, local Service Partners, and Service Users. Its objective is to nurture your growth to fulfil the criteria for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Registered Mental Health Nurse. This entails embodying appropriate values, possessing requisite knowledge, and demonstrating essential skills in accordance with the Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship Standard. Moreover, it involves viewing learning as a lifelong commitment and assuming responsibility for professional leadership and management, both in clinical practice and other suitable contexts.
The curriculum has been crafted to adapt to evolving needs, developments, priorities, and requirements, in health, healthcare practice, and education. Graduates will understand the expectation to provide exceptional care within various environments, acknowledging the opportunities and challenges of change. This curriculum also emphasises the leadership role of newly qualified nurses, fostering the necessary skills and motivation.
Students consistently share that they undergo transformative personal journeys during the course. The experiences gained are unique to the profession, granting privileged insight into pivotal moments in people's lives. To excel, you must be willing to challenge assumptions, your own as well as others, and consistently question the rationales behind your practice. University education and placement experiences facilitate the acquisition and application of these skills, eventually preparing you to become an autonomous practitioner.
For more information about the University's affiliation with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), please refer to the Professional, statutory and regulatory bodies.
This Mental Health Nursing Degree Apprenticeship is offered only to students undertaking the course as part of their employment. For more information on how to apply, visit our Apprenticeships page.
WHY SUFFOLK
2nd in the UK for Career Prospects
WUSCA 20243rd in the UK for spend on academic services
Complete University Guide 20254th in the UK for Teaching Satisfaction
Guardian University Guide 2024Course Modules
Our undergraduate programmes are delivered as 'block and blend', more information can be found on Why Suffolk? You can also watch our Block and Blend video.
Each year of study builds on the theory and skills from the previous years learning, working towards becoming an autonomous practitioner by the end of the course. Each module has been designed to provide you the student with the most up to date and evidence based practice. The NMC have set out student nurses standards which mean that certain elements of the course must be included to ensure you are fit for registration. All modules are mandatory and must be completed to register with the NMC at the end of the course. Each year whilst on clinical placement you will have practice documentation to complete. This is mandatory. Your time in clinical placement will also be recorded and monitored to ensure you met the NMC required standard.
Downloadable information regarding all University of Suffolk courses, including Key Facts, Course Aims, Course Structure and Assessment, is available in the Definitive Course Records.
This module is about setting the right foundations for the nursing degree course. You will cover some of the fundamental principles of nursing care.
This module is looking in depth at the physical health needs of our service users. You will spend some time during this module in the skills labs practicing your newly acquired skills. This module highlights the complexity of our service users, how physical health should be equally considered along side mental health.
This module is about provide theory and practice related directly to promoting mental well-being and preventing mental distress; it will inform you the student on how to deliver a mental health first aid kit to a variety of problems in living which can be experienced as a result of mental trauma and can effect a person life style choices. The overall aim being to reduce the impact of mental trauma on an individual leading their live to the full. The module will promote joint working between the nurse and person they are caring for.
This module is about how as mental health nurses we can use creative ways to engage our service user and support recovery.
This is a mandatory module of Year 1 - Level 4.
This module is about developing and practicing your communication skills, digging deeper and thinking about how you can be curious in a sensitive and person centred manner to support hat person with recovery.
Within this module you become familiar with research and the fundamental need for it for the progression of the profession of nursing. All nurses need to develop the skills to understand and appraise research, apply research findings to contemporary practice and contribute to the body of evidence. This module will help to inform your knowledge and understanding of the research process in preparation for the Dissertation module.
This module focuses on medication and its use within mental health. You will be exploring the complex nature of prescribing medication and consider how we support service users to feel empowered.
This module is focused on models of care using within mental health nursing. Thinking about how you care plan and assess needs of individuals, how you evaluate the care delivered.
This is a mandatory module of Year 2 - Level 5.
In this module you will cover the role of the nurse within a leadership position. Considering how role modelling is important within nursing practice, you will explore supervision and delegation, communication skills, team working. These skills are essential in order to deliver safe and effective care that upholds and respects the voice of the service user.
Nurses are educated to think critically and often make life and death decisions and act as an advocate for patients at the bedside and therefore should feel more empowered to shape local and national health and social care policy. Within this module politics and contemporary issues are explored.
This purpose of this module is to start thinking about the complex service uses we have within our care. You will also start preparation for qualify here, thinking about how you might manage your time, support junior staff, teaching others, your future development needs.
This module is about building on your research skills from level 5, you will be expected here to produce a larger piece of written work and whilst this might seem daunting right now you will have been building up to this throughout the course.
This is a mandatory module of Year 3 - Level 6.
Entry Requirements
Career Opportunities
Upon successful course completion, apprentices will receive a BSc (Hons) in Mental Health Nursing and can register the award with the NMC. This enables work across the UK's NHS, private, or voluntary sectors. The Registered Nurse: Mental Health qualification is recognized internationally, with varying requirements. Mental health nurses serve in GP practices, specialist teams, inpatient, and community settings, plus research and education roles. Post-course, you'd start as a BAND 5 nurse for experience, then choose a preferred area. After qualification, preceptorship provides confidence, role-specific training, and high-quality care assurance for service users.
Facilities and Resources
The Health and Wellbeing building provides students with a variety of state-of-the-art clinical simulation facilities, including two simulated hospital wards, a midwifery birthing unit, physiotherapy teaching spaces, a sports and exercise facility and a working radiography imaging suite. The building also hosts the Institute of Health and Wellbeing Research and the Integrated Care Academy.
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