Course overview

Mental health nursing involves the care of people experiencing mental health problems and their families. As a mental health nurse you become an important member of a multi-professional team working in partnership with adults and children experiencing mental health problems, and their families and carers with a range of complex needs.

As a mental health nurse you are in a unique and privileged position. You play a key role in assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating the wide-ranging care needs of people experiencing mental health problems and their families. This requires hard work, commitment and excellent interpersonal skills.

If you are a motivated graduate with healthcare experience, this course gives you an exciting opportunity to work towards professional registration within two years, and prepares you for a fulfilling and successful career in mental health nursing.

During the course you develop the essential knowledge and mental health nursing skills required to care for people and their families in a variety of diverse mental healthcare settings including hospital and community care. During these placements you are required to participate in shift working to include weekends and night duties.

This innovative course prepares you to be a confident and competent skilled practitioner and, ultimately, demonstrate your ability to lead and manage the care of individuals and their families. This course develops resilient and future-ready nurses who hold strong professional values, are able to exercise clinical judgement, challenge inequality, champion diversity and uphold the integrity of the profession whilst delivering high-quality, person-centred compassionate care.

The course content reflects the changing and challenging nature of providing healthcare in the 21st century and the evolving and diverse role of the registered nurse. Leadership is embedded over two years of the course, recognising the crucial role nurses play in moving practice forward. You study this course full-time with two years of university-based theory, self-directed study and practice placements leading to the award of 180 credits at master’s degree level. The course places a strong focus on you working with students from the child, adult and learning disability fields of nursing to engage in shared learning through experience. In the new nursing curriculum, there is increased emphasis on cognitive and mental health issues impacting on physical health - and vice versa - and the essential need to consider biological, psychological and social care across the age continuum, bridging the existing gaps between healthcare services.

Pre-registration nursing courses are typically three years, so in order to join this two-year master's degree, you need to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). You must produce a portfolio of evidence which confirms that you have a minimum of 500 hours of appropriate healthcare experience, either paid or voluntary. Further details about RPL, including guidance on the development of your portfolio, is sent to you upon successful completion of an interview.

During the course you develop the essential knowledge and nursing skills required to care for people and their families in a variety of diverse settings, including hospital and community care. During these placements you participate in shift work, including weekends and nights.

Professional accreditation

After successfully completing this course you are eligible to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on the nurses' part of the Professional Register (Mental Health Nursing).

How you are assessed

A variety of assessment methods consider different learning styles including written assignments, presentations and timed exams.