MSc Mental Health Nursing

The Nursing & Midwifery Council demand that on qualification Nurses understand the principles of safe and effective administration and optimisation of medicines and they can demonstrate proficiency and accuracy when calculating dosages of prescribed medicines. Through engagement with the virtual learning platforms Script and Safemedicate you will build upon the skills and knowledge gained in part 1; whilst blending experiences from your simulation and clinical practice experience to understand the importance of meticulous medicines management. Intravenous administration will be a core component, you will examine the implications of administering medication via this route, and how to do so safely. You will also explore the role of regulatory bodies concerned with drug prescription and administration and the implications for your practice. Explaining the medications we administer to patients in order to gain consent and concordance is a cornerstone of the nurses role in this area, so you will explore issues around health literacy.

In this module you will develop your knowledge and skills in relation to pharmacology, health numeracy and medicines calculations. You will be introduced to two e-learning platforms SCRIPT and safemedicate

There will be opportunities to explore the types of drug calculations commonly used in practice and engage with them to find areas of challenge. You will examine the base constituents of common drugs and administration routes, to understand how interactions occur. The module will also explore methods to minimise the risk of drug calculation and administration errors. You will have unlimited access to the two virtual platforms to practice calculations formatively.

This module aims to build on your knowledge, experience and skills in a clinical practice setting relating to your field of nursing, with a specific focus upon practical skills, medicines management, multidisciplinary team working, prioritising health needs and managing people with increasingly complex health and social care needs. You will also critically reflect on your own development as a team member within professional practice. You will undertake study related to the underpinning theory around advanced practical skills related to nursing care alongside having the opportunity to develop those practical skills by undertaking simulated practice within the University Skills and Simulation suites. You will continue to develop an understanding of evidence-based practice and the practical skills that are required to fulfil the role of the nurse. This module will prepare you for your final Nursing Care module and enable you to progress to Part 3 of the nursing programme.

This module will introduce you to the concept of compassionate, person-centred, evidence-based nursing care. You will explore the role of the nurse when promoting, protecting and improving health and preventing ill health across the lifespan and understand the relevance of maintaining your own personal health and wellbeing as a healthcare professional. It will enable you to identify key factors that can impact upon health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals, families and communities, locally, nationally and globally and recognise commonly encountered mental, physical, behavioural and cognitive conditions.
You will understand the potential impact that early years and childhood experiences can have on later life and the impact of individual behaviours such as smoking, diet and exercise and substance and alcohol use on health and wellbeing.
You will examine models of health promotion that support health interventions, taking into consideration health literacy and reasonable adjustments. Health protection measures including screening programmes and immunisation and notifiable diseases and infection prevention will be explored within the local health system and globally

In this module you will be given the opportunity to reflect and develop self-awareness to foster an understanding of your own beliefs, attitudes, values, knowledge, attributes and skills. This will enable you gain insight into how others may see the world differently to build and develop your professional identity. You will explore what it means to be a professional within the context of legal, ethical and regulatory frameworks as applied to your professional healthcare discipline.

The principles of courage, transparency and the professional duty of candour will be covered in the context of raising and escalating concerns and whistleblowing in healthcare and social care environments. You will explore the role of the nurse and other health care professionals in managing and improving patient safety, quality of care and healthcare outcomes. Health and safety legislation will be examined, and you will develop your knowledge and skills in identifying, assessing, managing risk when maintaining healthy and safe work environments.

The importance of partnership working and communication with people, their families, carers and other professionals to encourage reflective learning and improve patient safety & quality will also be considered. The process of reporting and critically reflecting on near misses, critical incidents and serious adverse incidents and ways in which both individuals and organisations learn and make improvements will be outlined.

In this module you will learn how to holistically assess, plan, implement and evaluate evidence-based care for individuals, their families and carers across all stages of the lifespan. You will explore a range of evidence-based interventions including commonly occurring medicines and therapeutic approaches.

You will gain insight into pharmacotherapeutics and psychopharmacology within mental health nursing practice and explore the potential adverse effects of mental health medication. Throughout this module you will also build on your therapeutic communication skills and knowledge of non-pharmacological interventions used for the treatment of people with specific complex mental health care needs.

You will develop your clinical judgement and decision-making skills which are core to the role of the competent registered mental health nurse. These skills will enable the management of complex mental health care across the life span in a variety of mental health nursing settings. You will advance your critical thinking, problem solving and team-working skills to manage and provide continuity of person-centred care in partnership with people, their families and carers.

This module aims to develop your knowledge, experience and skills in relation to person centred nursing care, in a clinical practice setting relating to your field of nursing, with a specific focus upon practical skills, medicines management, fundamentals of nursing practice, communication and reflective practice. You will also develop knowledge of body systems, human development and anatomy and physiology. You will undertake study related to the underpinning theory around common practical skills related to nursing care alongside having the opportunity to develop those practical skills by undertaking simulated practice within the University Skills and Simulation suites. You will begin to develop an understanding of evidence-based practice and practical skills that are required to fulfil the role of the nurse. This module will prepare you for future Nursing Care modules and enable you to progress to Part 2 of the nursing programme.