Nursing (Adult) with Health Care Foundation Year

This module introduces you to the world of health care and its policies and guidelines necessary for people wanting to work in any health care setting. You will have the opportunity to work and learn with health care staff in class and be invited to visit a local hospital. The module assessment is a 1,500-word reflective essay, looking at your own experience of health services. This allows you to reflect on one of the important themes in health care today; the subject of user empowerment and choice.

This module has been designed to promote a positive and supportive transition from further to higher education, focusing initially on the importance of wellbeing to successful study.  The module will provide a firm grounding in the key skills required to be able to read, write and present in the academic world.  You will embed your learning through a series of large and small group activities using a problem-based approach.  Small group work will allow for regular, tailored feedback specific to small group tasks and group dynamics with a focus on your future chosen vocation. Following the completion of the module, you should feel very prepared for your journey at level 4 and beyond.

This module will provide a firm grounding in the key applied sciences needed to study for a degree in a range of professions. You will be provided with a focused review of key biological, biomechanical and anatomical principles, allied to key applications in the vocational setting. A grounding in these applied sciences will ensure you are able to cope with the transition to level 4 studies. The assessment for this module will be a two-hour multiple choice exam.

This module will introduce you to the concepts that underpin physical and mental health.  It will ask the questions of ‘What is mental health?’ and ‘What is physical health?’.  By looking at different models of mental health and how the body functions physically the  module will focus on examining the relationship between maintaining good mental and physical health, the impact of this on health and wellbeing and how to promote this in your own life and when working with others.  Mental and physical health are closely linked and by studying both areas together you will learn to appreciate the relationship between the two.  This is a 40 credit module which runs across two trimesters and assessments for the module will build on each other, creating a theme throughout the year.

Introduction to Exploring Evidence will build on the knowledge and understanding acquired in trimester one and will prepare you for your Level 4 studies and beyond. You will consider what is meant by scientific evidence, exploring the many different types and effective methods of searching for evidence. You will be introduced to the concept of appraising evidence and handling data.

Through small group work, tutorials and peer feedback you will apply your learning to a clinical or practical scenario that you observe in your chosen discipline.

The ability to understand anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology, and the ways in which our biological systems interact with our environment, our behaviour and the social systems we live in are integral to your interprofessional work as a student nurse.  You will begin in year one with a dedicated module to develop foundational knowledge in transdisciplinary science and evidence based practice.

You will acquire the essential knowledge, skills and professional attitudes needed to provide personalised care and support planning for service users, carers and significant others. You will develop knowledge of strength-based approaches to assessment and care planning (salutogenesis), including an awareness of political, legal and socioeconomic factors that influence the voices and choices of people you work with.

You will demonstrate the required NMC proficiencies commensurate with your stage of learning and development in year one in relation to your chosen field of practice and interprofessional practice (NMC part 1 progression). This will include developing skills in self-awareness/assessment and personal and professional development planning, working with different professions/non-professional groups within clinical placements.

This follows on from year one and you will deepen your knowledge of the key principles which underpin healthcare and begin to apply these to your chosen field of practice. This will be achieved through the exploration of case examples and the participation in simulated scenarios, providing you with the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge, skills and behaviours you are developing as a nurse of the future.

A key component to ensuring that your future practice stays up to date is your understanding and interpretation of the best available evidence.  During this module you will develop your ability to be able to find, evaluate and apply a range of different types of evidence to support both your own practice, and that of the multi-professional teams within which you work. Further to this you will also explore strategies to ensure that the personal preferences and needs of the patients and carers you are supporting are still maintained during your interactions with them.

You will demonstrate the required NMC proficiencies commensurate with your stage of learning and development in year two in relation to your chosen field of practice and interprofessional practice (NMC part 2 progression). This will include developing skills in looking outwards from one’s own profession to consider relationships with other professional/nonprofessional people and the impact this has on care delivery.

You will develop the knowledge, skills and professional attitudes to facilitate the critical, systematic and contemporary application of the evidence base required to demonstrate autonomous nursing practice. This will be achieved through the delivery of a blended learning approach by way of seminars, master classes, action learning sets, simulated practice and guided independent study. A feature of this module will be that some of the master classes will be delivered by specialist clinicians focusing upon quality, safety and personalised care across health and social care.

You will build upon your developing knowledge, skills and professional attitudes to facilitate the critical application of the evidence base required to demonstrate inspirational nursing practice. Aspects of leadership, management, team working and exploration of evidence-based nursing practice, linked to both pathogenesis and salutogenesis will be implicit throughout.

You will demonstrate the required NMC proficiencies commensurate with your stage of learning and development in year three in relation to your chosen  field of practice and interprofessional practice (NMC part 3 progression). This will include developing skills to enable you to practice independently and confidently, as a role model, and in so doing demonstrate systematic critical understanding of accountable, safe, compassionate, person-centred, evidence-based, nursing care which represents and maintains dignity and human rights and promotes this through reflection within recognised professional/inter professional, ethical, socio-political and legal frameworks.