Mental Health Nursing with Registered Nurse Status MSc

The Principles of Mental Health Nursing Practice is a Year 1, 20 credit module of the pre-registration Nursing (Mental Health) Programme, delivered across semester 1. This module will provide students with the foundational knowledge, which is fundamental to mental health nursing practice.

Within the module, key elements of nursing practice will be explored, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) professional standards that nurses, midwives and nursing associates must uphold in order to be registered to practise in the UK.
This module is structured around four themes – prioritise people, practise effectively, preserve safety and promote professionalism and trust. Topics also covered will include reflection and health service delivery models, an introduction to health policy and collaborative working practices. Importantly, relevant legal, professional regulatory and ethical frameworks, safeguarding and raising concerns will be incorporated, in order that students have knowledge of the core components of Nursing.

This module also includes anatomy and physiology, genomics and behavioural sciences knowledge to understand human development, commonly encountered mental health conditions and recognising deteriorating health needs to inform person-centred assessments and the planning of care.

In order to set the context for this introductory module of the MSc pre-registration nursing programme, service users and carers will be invited to share their personal healthcare journeys.

Learning and teaching will be delivered via synchronous and asynchronous sessions and assessment will take the form of a written assignment and a video log .

The Developing and Enhancing Skills for Practice is a Year 1, 20 credit module of the MSc pre-registration Nursing (Mental Health) Programme, delivered across semester 1 and will provide students with the knowledge and skills to undertake nursing procedures effectively, in order to provide compassionate, evidence-based person-centred nursing care.

The first practice placement learning opportunity: Practice Placement 1 (10 weeks), scheduled to take place during this first academic year, form part of this module. Students will benefit from practice-based placements across the Cheshire and Mersey region, including Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, whose placement portfolio includes Acute, Forensic (high, medium and low secure), Psychiatric Intensive Care (PICU) and Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Students will be supported in clinical practice by their Practice Supervisor, Practice Assessor and their University of Liverpool Academic Assessor.

The theory and skills taught in this module will develop the student’s proficiency in holistic safe practice, in order to assess patient needs and plan care, provide and evaluate care, and work towards leadership and coordinating care utilising a holistic approach to care planning and provision.

Learning and teaching will be delivered via synchronous and asynchronous sessions, engaging a mix of online and classroom-based activities, encouraging both critical reflection and examination of nursing practice. The acquired knowledge and skills will then be consolidated during the ten week practice placement.

The assessments will take the form of a practical exam and a written piece of work, successful completion of the ongoing achievement record which constitutes the practice placement, coupled with assessments which form part of the practice placement.

The Local and Global Determinants of Mental Health is a Year 1, 20 credit module of the MSc pre-registration Nursing (Mental Health) Programme, delivered across semester 2, and this module will enable students to understand and apply the principles of public health, health promotion and the prevention of ill health when engaging with people at all stages of life.

The module introduces the student to the global determinants of health, illness and health inequalities. Module content will facilitate students understanding of society’s response to health issues and the influence of this on nursing practice. All students will explore common mental health, physical health and intellectual disabilities across the age continuum. This module will enable the learner to critically appraise and apply knowledge, and information of health outcomes when supporting people and families to manage their health care needs.

The module will prepare students for Practice Placement 2 (11 weeks), where the students will benefit from clinical placements across the Cheshire and Mersey region, including Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, whose placement portfolio includes Acute, Forensic (high, medium and low secure), Psychiatric Intensive Care (PICU) and Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Students will be supported in clinical practice by their Practice Supervisor, Practice Assessor and their University of Liverpool Academic Assessor.

The module uses a blended approach to learning, engaging a mix of online and classroom-based activities, encouraging both critical reflection and examination of health promotion practice in relation to holistic, person centred care. Assessment will take the form of a written critical narrative, and the practice placement element.

The Research for Professional Practice module is a Year 1, 20 credit module of the MSc pre-registration Nursing (Mental Health) Programme, delivered across semester 2. It provides the student with the knowledge and skills related to research methods, evidence generation and the utilisation of knowledge in nursing practice and evidence-based practice.
Within the module the theoretical debate around legitimate sources of professional knowledge are explored and students reflect critically on the orthodoxies of what constitutes knowledge in the clinical area and practice-based evidence.

The module uses a blended approach to learning, engaging a mix of online and classroom-based activities, and assessment will take the form of an unseen exam and the completion of an ethics application.

The Skills for Registration module is a Year 2, 20 credit module of the MSc pre-registration Nursing (Mental Health) Programme, delivered across semester 1. This module will build on the existing skills module from first year to provide students with the knowledge and skills to undertake nursing procedures effectively, in order to provide compassionate, evidence-based, person-centred nursing care.

The theory and skills taught in this module will further develop the students’ proficiency in holistic safe practice, in order to assess complex needs and plan care, provide and evaluate care, and work towards coordinating and directing care utilising a holistic approach to service provision.

The module uses a blended approach to learning, engaging a mix of online and classroom-based and practical activities to assist in the development of advanced clinical skills and communication. Simulation will enable safe practice of these skills and will be supported by staff from the nursing team and with the assistance of service users to provide an active learning experience and an element of authenticity to the student’s learning process. The acquired knowledge and skills will then be consolidated during the practice placement.

This module prepares students for 2 practice placements learning opportunities (5 weeks each), where students will benefit from practice-based placements across the Cheshire and Mersey region, including Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, whose placement portfolio includes Acute, Forensic (high, medium and low secure), Psychiatric Intensive Care (PICU) and Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Students will be supported in clinical practice by their Practice Supervisor, Practice Assessor and their University of Liverpool Academic Assessor as they become increasingly autonomous proficient practitioners.

The assessments will take the form a practical assessment, an unseen exam and assessments conducted within the practice area.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the professional regulator for Nurses, Midwives and Nursing Associates in the UK. The NMC set standards of education, training, conduct and performance to ensure that nurses are educated to a high standard in order to deliver safe and effective care at the point of entry to the professional register (NMC, 2018 available at https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards/code/ ).

Leading in Mental Health Nursing is a Year 2, 20 credit module delivered across semester 1.
This module will introduce students to the professional context of leadership within Mental Health Nursing, with reference to relevant current policy. Leadership styles and skills including models of leadership, gender issues, motivation, developing effective communication, awareness and critical analysis of current health and social care leadership literature will be explored. The concept of complex health care needs in care planning and delivery, and appropriate interventions/referrals will be explored including common complexities and specialisms, for example, Alzheimer’s Disease, Children Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Secure Services, trauma informed care, end of life and palliative care.

Learners will extend their knowledge of risk management and aversion, legislation, national frameworks and health policies which relate to national collaboratives and partnerships. In addition, students will be equipped to confidently take leadership and management decisions in measuring, evaluating and managing risk, vulnerability and patient safety. Learners will demonstrate consistent application of partnership in nursing care, shared assessment, decision making and goal setting when working with people, their families, communities and populations of all ages.

The module incorporates Practice Placement 5 (final placement) which is 12 weeks long. Students benefit from clinical placements across the Cheshire and Mersey region, including Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, whose placement portfolio includes acute, Forensic (high, medium and low secure), Psychiatric Intensive Care (PICU) and Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Students will be supported in clinical practice by their Practice Supervisor, Practice Assessor and their University of Liverpool Link Tutor.

Assessment will take the form of a written assignment (3,000 words written as a Patchwork Text), a 20 minute presentation on a clinical scenario and the practice placement element.

The Dissertation module is a Year 2 60 credit module delivered across semesters 1 and 2.
The focus of this module is to provide the student with the opportunity to expand their knowledge in an area of interest to themselves, and to be able to evaluate the evidence base which underpins their selected topic.
The teaching approaches used in this module are designed to enhance students’ capabilities and capacity for self-direction and independent study. E-Lectures via Zoom or MS Teams will be used to support the student by suggesting study strategies and to enhance the skills needed for database searching.
A key focus of the approach for this module is individual supervision and support. Students will be allocated a supervisor who will work with them in developing their research project, in the execution of the study, and the writing of the project report.
The assessment is a dissertation proposal and the dissertation.