Health Care Nursing Support Worker Education
This course is the product of collaborative working between the University of South Wales and six Welsh University Health Boards
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Key Course Details
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Start Date
September
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Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£785*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
This CertHE Health Care Nursing Support Worker Education course provides a career development pathway for Health Care Support Workers (HCNSW) that, upon graduation, allows you to apply for Band 4 Assistant Practitioner Roles or to continue your professional development.
DESIGNED FOR
The course aims to provide you with knowledge and skills that will transform your practice, improving the quality of care for patients/clients/service users.
Career Paths
- Band 4 Assistant Practitioner
Skills Taught
- Critical thinking
- Reflective practice
- Evidence based practice
- Communication
- Digital literacy
Module Overview
Each module is made up of 50% theory and 50% practice in accordance with the requirements for the BSc programmes (NMC, 2018). The learning methods and processes support a period of introduction to theoretical learning outcomes for each module studied and their application to practice. Theoretical and clinical practice learning outcomes are managed simultaneously throughout the programme.
Year One
Understanding the Human Body and Development Through the Lifespan*
Promoting Health & Wellbeing*
The Essentials of Nursing Practice
*These modules can be studied 100% through the medium of Welsh
Year Two
Developing Confidence in Practice
The Nurses Role in Medicine Management and Administration
Understanding the Human Body and Development Through the Lifespan*
This 10-week module focuses each week on different anatomical systems, enabling your understanding of anatomy and physiology in the context of human development.
Promoting Health & Wellbeing*
This module aims to enable you to explore the concepts of health and factors which influence health and wellbeing across the lifespan.
*These modules can be studied 100% through the medium of Welsh
The Essentials of Nursing Practice
This module aims to provide you with an essential understanding of key areas of nursing practice, and the implications of being a professional.
Developing Confidence in Practice
To enable you to attain a skill set to function with proficiency and develop a growing confidence within the practice learning environment.
The Nurses Role in Medicine Management and Administration
This module focusses on medicine management using the BNF and medicine administration calculations using safe medicate. You will develop an understanding of nurses’ role in both medicines management and medicines administration.
Course Highlights
How you’ll learn
Delivery and assessment are managed to enable enrolment, engagement and assessment of each module consecutively.
The course creates a self-directed, resilient HCSW who is a critical thinker with an ability to contribute to the delivery of safe and effective evidence based, compassionate person-centered care across a variety of settings.
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Teaching staff
- Anitha Livingstone (course leader)
- Stuart Baker (deputy course leader)
- Sam Metcalfe
- Steve Walden
- Katie Spender
- Dawn Hopkins
- Colin Macpherson
- Marcelle Dos Santos
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Placements
All applicants are currently employed as HCSWs working with clients in healthcare settings and will continue to work during the course of the study. They will have a permanent contract in healthcare and have access to a trained Registered Nurse Practice Assessor/Supervisor who will guide their clinical practice.
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Facilities
Simulation Learning: The Clinical Simulation Centre and the Hydra Minerva simulation suite provide immersive learning opportunities to contextualise and apply theories to practical, authentic scenarios.
Face to Face Teaching: There are 8 study days per year during which the students are invited on campus for various synchronous methods of learning such as Lectures, seminars, tutorials, group work and presentations.
Directed study including online learning: USW has excellent online learning resources and students will be directed and supported to make the most of USW online provision most of which will be via the VLE and include discussion group access.
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must:
- Hold an NVQ/QCF Level 3 or equivalent qualification and have a current live portfolio of evidence of continuing development including a selection of the following - Manual handling passport, evidence of basic life support training, POVA and child protection training, infection control and the ability to reflect on practice through reflective writing
- Demonstrate proficiency in English language and have capability in literacy and numeracy skills to meet the course outcomes. This equates to holding a Level 2 qualification in English Language and Maths (equivalent to Maths and English GCSE Grade C or above)
- Currently be working as a HCSW supporting Registered Nurses
- Have a permanent contract in healthcare and have access to a trained Registered Nurse Practice Assessor/Supervisor
- Evidence their practical skills in patient care
- Provide confirmation of support from Line Manager to attend the University mandatory study days and to identify an appropriately trained Practice Assessor/Supervisor in practice.
- Provide a written reference in support of an application
Applicants are also required to demonstrate capability for digital and technological literacy to meet the course outcomes.
Selection occurs through a review of the applicant’s personal statement and confirmation that the applicant meets USW requirements for admission to the course. If these criteria are met, the applicant will be invited to a group interview day with a panel that consists of academic staff from the course team and practice partners. Group interview days are scheduled during the summer term.
Alternative Leave Permissions
Applicants with leave to remain in the UK, may be considered for this course depending on the type and duration of your leave. Please email [email protected] to obtain confirmation of how to proceed.
Unfortunately, this course is not currently open to international applicants who require a Graduate Route visa due to visa restrictions.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
£785
per 20 credits*Additional Costs
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
University Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
Life at USW
Halls are a big part of your student experience and there’s accommodation at all three of our locations. If you don’t want to live near the campus, there are great transport links to keep you connected.
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How to apply
All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS. You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time.)
Advanced entry
If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.
International admissions
International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.