
Bachelor of Nursing (Adult)
Cardiff, United Kingdom
DURATION
3 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
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EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
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STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
Introduction
As a School, we are based at the University Hospital of Wales campus (the 3rd largest University Hospital in the UK). Our placement partners include both Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Aneurin Bevan Health Board; which means you’ll experience placements across different settings and locations in South East Wales.
We provide courses recognised by both the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). This contributes to a vibrant interdisciplinary environment, with opportunities for shared learning, formative assessments with other health professionals and inter-professional education (IPE) not available at many institutions.
We have highly equipped skills laboratories in our Clinical Simulation Suite which enable you to learn in simulated wards, community, home and emergency environments. Lifelike simulations mean you can safely practice and develop essential skills, developing your proficiency and confidence before going out into placement; empowering you to provide leadership in multi-disciplinary care where innovation and technology are rapidly evolving.
A varied placement experience undertaken across the three years of the programme will allow you to integrate academic theory with practice and gain insight as to the wide-ranging employment opportunities available to you upon qualification. You will benefit from placements supported by experienced nurses to help you in becoming the best nurse you can be.
On successful completion of the programme, you will be eligible to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as an Adult Nurse. With this registration, you can work in a range of healthcare settings, both in the United Kingdom and abroad.
Above all else, we strive to ensure that our graduates are ready for the next step in their careers and the many opportunities that await them. That’s why 100%* of our nursing students are in employment or further study after 6 months of graduating (*DHLE and HECSU).
Why Study this Course
Funding Available
NHS bursary funding is available for both UK and overseas students, including support with both tuition fees and living costs (conditions apply).
Ranked 1st in Wales and top 5 in the UK
By The Complete University Guide 2023.
Early Clinical Exposure
You'll spend half of your time on the programme gaining valuable clinical experience on placement, working with real patients alongside supportive and knowledgeable staff
Innovative Use of the Latest Tech
Augmented reality is utilised to teach anatomy and physiology, giving you a unique view of the internal mechanics of the human body.
State-of-the-Art Facilities
Our facilities mirror the healthcare environments in which you will undertake placements and eventually work as qualified professionals.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Loans and Grants
Financial support information for students.
Bursaries
We wish to ensure that financial circumstances are not a barrier to your undergraduate study opportunities.
Scholarships
We wish to recruit the very best students and to help us achieve this, we offer several scholarships.
Part-time Undergraduate Funding
Information about funding for part-time students.
Financial Support for Asylum Seekers
Information for asylum seekers about the financial support we offer undergraduates and options for funding from outside the University.
Curriculum
This a three-year full-time programme consisting of 4600 hours of study, with each academic year divided into two semesters; autumn and spring. There are four core modules in each academic year, these include a portfolio module in each year which is largely taught and assessed in practice and a final year dissertation module. The programme is structured as a spiral curriculum, where modules build on each other with increasing complexity and detail in the teaching, thereby increasing the depth and range of topics learnt. There are assessed practice placements within each academic year. Students must complete 360 credits and pass each of the practice placements to achieve the award of a Bachelor of Nursing (Hons) (Adult) and be eligible to apply for professional registration with the NMC to practice as an adult nurse.
The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed before the 2024/2025 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2024.
Year One
There are four compulsory modules in year one and two clinical practice placements. The modules will either be delivered over one semester or two semesters each year.
Core Modules for Year One
- Person-centred care in adult nursing
- Essential skills in adult nursing
- Becoming an accountable professional
- Applied sciences and health promotion in nursing
Year Two
There are five compulsory modules in year two and three clinical practice placements. The modules will either be delivered over one semester or two semesters each year.
Core Modules for Year Two
- Critical evaluation of evidence-based care
- Global health nursing
- Developing adult nursing practice
- Holistic care of people with complex health needs
Year Three
There are four compulsory modules in year three and two clinical practice placements. The modules will either be delivered over one semester or two semesters each year. The last practice learning opportunity in the programme is 14 weeks, and this is where a sign-off mentor will make a judgment about the student’s achievements of the required competencies for safe and effective entry to the NMC register.
Core Modules for Year Three
- Critical evaluation of evidence for service improvement
- Transition to Professional Practice (Autumn)
- Management and care of people with complex health needs
- Consolidating nursing practice
How Will I Be Assessed?
The curriculum incorporates a diverse and creative range of assessment strategies and methods which are reflective of an inclusive, learner-centred approach and aligned to the intended learning outcomes of the programme.
Each module within the programme incorporates formative assessment and feedback which is designed to support your learning and to assist you in identifying your strengths and areas for development and prepare you for summative assessment which is formally marked and therefore contributes to progression or degree classification decisions. The goal of summative assessment is to indicate how well you have succeeded in meeting the intended learning outcomes of a module and the feedback provided will enable you to identify areas for further development.
In practice, you will be assessed according to the NMC (2018) standards for student supervision and assessment. Each year your achievements in practice will be recorded in a Practice Assessment Document.
Program Outcome
What Skills will I Practise and Develop?
The Learning Outcomes for this Programme describe what you will be able to do as a result of your study at Cardiff University. They will also enable you to understand what is expected of you.
The Learning Outcomes for this Programme can be found below:
Knowledge & Understanding
On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:
- A comprehensive understanding of the philosophical and theoretical concepts that underpin and inform nursing practice and the importance of adherence to the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code.
- A sound knowledge of body systems, anatomy, physiology, genomics and human development underpinned with relevant theory and applied to health and illness
- A critically evaluative approach to the socio-political factors and relevant policies that influence individual, local, national and global health, well-being and illness and inform decision-making in practice
- An in-depth understanding of the core principles and values that underpin collaborative practice in health and social care, including how the role of the adult nurse contributes to interdisciplinary working in ensuring the provision of high-quality, person and family-centred services
- A sound appreciation of regulatory and professional body standards concerning, continuing professional development and reflective practice, leadership, research and evidence-based care to develop, deliver and evaluate safe, high-quality family and person-centred adult nursing care
Intellectual Skills
On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:
- Proficiency in the selection, analysis, synthesis and critical evaluation of information from a wide range of sources, drawing logical and reasoned conclusions in the formation of sound decisions and professional judgements
- A creative and innovative approach to problem-solving in the academic and practice environment, including imaginative thinking and the development of innovative solutions and ideas that will enhance health outcomes and people's experience of nursing care
- Proficiency in contributing to a professional knowledge base through the selection, justification and application of ethically sound research design and methods and the identification of effective dissemination strategies
- Enhanced professional reflective and reasoning skills that promote critical review of care provision and wider organisational values and practice
Professional Practical Skills
On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:
- Established professional values and behaviours in keeping with professional body expectations as described in the NMC Code
- Effective and appropriate collaborative working practices with users of services, other team members and partners, drawing upon enabling, empowering and consultative approaches and valuing diversity of experience and perspectives
- Promotion of people’s safety and well-being through prioritising their legal rights, best interests and needs using effective risk assessment and risk management
- Sound assessment and reasoning skills in identifying and planning appropriate, evidence-based interventions and care delivery, respecting the rights, culture, spiritual needs and preferences of the people, carers and families involved and evaluating effectiveness
- Advocacy and leadership in promoting and protecting the health and well-being of individuals and communities in preventing ill health and recognition of a need for organisational change and service improvement
Transferable/Key Skills
On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:
- Active engagement in continuing personal and professional development underpinned by critical reflection and a commitment to developing resilience and lifelong self-directed learning skills
- Effective prioritisation and management of time, working within given resources throughout the problem-solving process and assuming leadership, responsibility and accountability for management and development of self and others
- Enhanced communication skills and an ability to teach, supervise and motivate others, drawing upon leadership skills in identifying methods and strategies for effective teamwork and high-quality service delivery
- Accurate record-keeping, and responsible engagement with a range of digital technologies to communicate and collaborate with others and produce documentation that conveys and justifies actions.
- Application of the core professional beliefs and values of professional conduct, accountability, risk management and duty of candour
Career Opportunities
Career options for nurses are varied and plentiful, ranging from hospital, primary care or community settings - including being based within GP surgeries - to industry or research in the UK and internationally, making this an exciting degree to embark upon.
As a School of Healthcare Sciences, we are proud that 100% of our nursing graduates are in employment and/or further study six months after graduating (UNISTATS).
Career destinations include:
- Adult Nurse - The main point of contact for adult patients (aged between 16 and 110+) and their families, you’ll play a vital role in a multi-disciplinary team
- Advanced Nurse Practitioner – A role for nurses who have done extra education and academic qualifications to be able to examine, assess, make diagnoses, treat, prescribe and make referrals for patients
- Health Visitors – Nurses who have chosen to gain additional education and qualifications as specialist community public health nurses. The additional training in public health enables you to assess the health needs of individuals, families and the wider community
- Research Nurse - Crucial to delivering research. You’ll provide and deliver high-quality patient care, and deal with data collection, follow-ups, patient groups and industry
- Ward Manager – You’ll provide leadership and visibility at the ward level important to the delivery of safe, high-quality care to patients
- Consultant Nurse – You’ll ensure that nurse departments are following legal constraints and protocol
- Lecturer - Becoming a nurse lecturer could offer you the opportunity to make sure the next generation of nurses are competent and confident in the practice setting.
Program Admission Requirements
Show your commitment and readiness for Grad school by taking the GRE - the most broadly accepted exam for graduate programs internationally.