Nursing (Pre-registration - Mental Health)

Entry requirements

- Applicants should hold an honours degree at 2.2 classification or above.

- Normally 3 GCSEs at grade 4 (C) including English, Maths and Science, or equivalent qualifications. These GCSEs must be obtained prior to submitting an application. Applicants who completed an Access to HE in Health and Social Care will be required to provide evidence of undertaking science units at level 3.

- Evidence of experience in a practice setting to include 650 hours of care related practice experience should be completed prior to application and discussed within your personal statement. Documentation will need to be provided and verified within one month of interview (if successful). Please see below for more information.

Certificates and degree transcripts of all previous qualifications will need to be provided before any offers are confirmed.

All students will be required to sign the subject-specific Fitness to Practise Code of Conduct on entry, details of which will be forwarded with an offer letter.

- Satisfactory completion of an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) (formerly the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). International applicants need to obtain a recent criminal record certificate from their home country and ensure this is still valid by the date of enrolment.

- Entry on to the course is subject to meeting the requirements of a profession specific occupational health screening.

Evidence of Experience in a Practice Setting:

This section of the portfolio relates to the evidence you need to provide to show that you have undertaken 650 hours of care related practice experience. This will ensure that you are able to meet the required 2300 hours of practice at the end of your programme which is a stipulation of the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council).

What do we mean by care related practice?

For the purpose of recognition of prior experiential learning (RPEL), practice can be defined as:

'A place of work that specialises in providing services to people requiring physical or psychological support or care'.

Experience can be in the following:

- A hospital, care home, or community setting and can include people of any age;

- Undertaken on a paid or voluntary basis

- Within an NHS, private or voluntary organisation.

A practice supervisor will be required to verify practice hours completion, but if you have already completed 650 hours of practice, for example as a healthcare assistant, you will not have to complete an additional 650 hours. However, you will still have to ask a practice supervisor to verify that you have completed the required number of practice hours.

You are responsible for ensuring all sections of this document are completed and signed by a practice supervisor. Examples of appropriate supervisors may include the following:

- Line manager
- Registered health or social care practitioner
- Voluntary work coordinator/leader.

Applicants with Disabilities

We take seriously our obligation to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that all students with disabilities can successfully complete their studies. All applicants will be assessed on the basis of the criteria outlined here regardless of any disability. If you declare a disability we will invite you to work with us to explore how best we can support your studies.

Other information:

You must declare all spent and unspent criminal convictions including (but not limited to) cautions, reprimands, final warnings, bind over orders or similar and details of any minor offences, fixed penalty notices, penalty notices for disorder, ASBOs or VOOs.

Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and-barring-service

I am a qualified nurse in my home country. Can I apply for this programme?

You could apply if you were considering changing your field of registration, we could potentially consider this, but we have a limited number of places. This is not a post-registration Master's degree and you could make contact with the Nursing and Midwifery Council should you wish to register as a nurse to work in the UK.

If you would like further information about entry requirements, or would like to discuss whether the qualifications you are currently studying are acceptable, please contact the admissions team on 01522 886097, or email admissions@lincoln.ac.uk.

Months of entry

January

Course content

Mental health nurses support patients with a wide range of issues including anxiety, depression, addiction, and eating disorders. They work in a settings such as in hospitals or the community and help people manage their illness and improve their lives.

This Master's degree enables graduates from a range of backgrounds the opportunity to transfer their skills to become a registered nurse (mental health). The course is aimed at graduates of a degree in a relevant discipline who aspire to qualify for eligibility to apply to the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register.

The course is underpinned by the core values of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and aims to promotes critical thinking skills and the spirit of inquiry.

Over the past few decades the role of the nurse has developed due to the changing context of health and social care, resulting in a wide range of new positions and services. Registered nurses (mental health) hold a significant role in terms of leading and coordinating care provision for people across the lifespan; aware of complex mental, physical, cognitive, and behavioural care needs of those they look after.

This Master's degree aims to develop registered nurses (mental health) who prioritise people by providing safe and effective care, educating those in their care through the use of technology, promoting health literacy to prevent ill health, and supporting healthy choices and lifestyles. The course has been developed to raise the professional values and social conscience of students to prepare them for future healthcare roles.

Nurses translate evidence-based knowledge to improve healthcare delivery while maintaining and emphasising the ethics of person centred care. Modules on this course have been designed with this in mind and aim to stimulate innovation, improve quality, manage risk, and identify areas for productive change.

The University of Lincoln, together with our practice partners, share a vision to prepare students to become dynamic nurses that are fit for practice in rapidly changing and challenging care environments.

Information for international students

Other requirements include:

- IELTS 7.0 with no element below 5.5.

- Successful performance at an interview.

- Knowledge of contemporary health and social care issues, and the role of the Mental Health Nurse in providing healthcare.

- Understanding of written material and can communicate clearly and accurately in written and spoken English.

- "Settled residential status" in the United Kingdom in line with the requirements of the 1971 Immigration Act (for International students only).

Fees and funding

From September 2023, pre-registration undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare students can apply for the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF).

If eligible, you will receive:

- A training grant of £5,000 GBP per academic year.

- Increased parental support of £2,000 GBP, if you have at least one dependent child under 15 years, or under 17 years if registered with special educational needs.

- Increased money back for excess travel and temporary accommodation costs (Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses) while you're on your practice placement.

- Students experiencing financial hardship (Exceptional Support Fund).

For more information and to see your eligibility, visit: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund-lsf

Please note, this government bursary is available to Home students only. Details on scholarships and bursaries available to Overseas and EU students can be found online: https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/scholarshipsandbursaries/

Please note that International students will not be eligible for support for travel and accommodation.