PG Dip Nursing (Mental Health)

Overview & facilities

Mental health nursing open day, Saturday 12 May - book here

Please join us on Saturday 12 May from 10am to find out more about careers in mental health nursing and about our courses at Middlesex University. You'll have the opportunity to meet our mental health nursing teachers, meet with employers from Mental Health Trusts and sample a 'taster' lecture.

About Pg Dip Nursing (Mental health field)

Graduate entry programmes are the fastest-growing nursing courses in the United States, and are increasingly important in the UK as the health sector requires nurses to take on higher-level responsibilities.

Nursing work is demanding but you will experience immense satisfaction from working as a team to provide seamless care to people in need.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing (Mental Healthfield) offers graduates of courses other than nursing the opportunity to gain professional registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Mental HealthNurse. This new course has been developed with clinical colleagues and enables you to gain nursing registration in two years (with accreditation).

The course offers flexible entry routes to graduates from health and non-health related subjects, recognising previous academic experience (APL). It also recognises learning from experience within the workplace, for students who may have undertaken graduate studies and continued their learning within the workplace (APEL). See 'Entry and Applying' tab.

You will spend significant time in placement with our NHS Trust partners.

In May 2011, wewere once againrated Number 1 in London by NHS London for the quality and value for money of our mental health nursing courses, recognising the skill, knowledge and personal attributes of our students.

What you bring to nursing as a graduate

Critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills which are embedded in undergraduate education and transfer to nursing education and practice, as well as specific knowledge from your first degree, and possibly work-career experience.

What a career in nursing can do for you

Graduates who have gone into other careers first have told us they come to nursing because they are searching for greater satisfaction and impact from their work. They may be working on tasks or procedures from behind a computer - and the impact of their work is not evident on people. With nursing, your work is evident every day. Nurses care for the whole person. While they perform a number of procedures, the fundamental goal is the needs of the patient. As a nurse you are not only enhancing their health needs, but you are enhancing their ability to care for themselves.

But personal career development and the ability to progress is also important. As a nurse, the experience you will bring to the course will provide opportunity to take advantage of the increasing demand for higher level skills and qualities, enabling you to progress towards senior roles in Nursing as your new career develops. See 'Careers and Placements' tab for more details on career paths and salaries.

Tuition fees are paid for by the Department of Health and are not payable for the student. NHS London provide a non-means tested bursary.

Content & modules

The course consists of 50% theory and 50% practice. The proposed modules are listed below. You will be taught separately from the undergraduate nursing groups.

You will receive APL (Accreditation for Prior Learning)-APEL (Accreditation for Prior Experiential Learning) for the following modules, in recogition of your previous study and relevant experience

• Graduate and Transferable Skills in Postgraduate Studies (30 credits)
• Health and Social Sciences Research Approaches (30 credits)
• Knowledge & Skills for Nursing Practice (30 credits)
• Practice Learning 1 (15 credits)
• Practice Learning 2 (15 credits)

Therefore the modules you will study are shown below.

Year 1

• Advanced Knowledge & Skills for Nursing Practice (30 credits)
• Caring for the Acutely Ill Patient (30 credits)
• Caring for the Patient with Complex Care Needs (30 credits)
• Practice Learning 3 (15 credits)
• Practice Learning 4 (15 credits)

Year 2

• Working in partnership in Healthcare (15 credits)
• Preparation for Professional Practice (15 credits)
• Practice Learning 5 (15 credits)
• Practice Learning 6 (15 credits)

Modules

• Year 1

  Knowledge for Mental Health Nursing Practice (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  This module will provide the graduate with an introduction to the field of mental health nursing practice. It will examine key mnetal health conditions in depth and explore concepts such as health promotion and recovery, and key factors that influence these conditions e.g. social, biological, psychological and politcal. The graduate will be able to identify signs and symptoms of mental illness, aetiology and onset, progression of the condition and prognosis.

  Practice Learning 3 PG (15 Credits) - Compulsory

  This module provides the student with a range of practice learning opportunities across a variety of practice experiences in mental health, in line with the NMC requirements for registration. Students will build on the knowledge and skills developed to date and be supported in meeting the generic and specific field standards for competence in order to achieve the NMC criteria for Progression point 2.

  Skills Interventions for Mental Health Nursing (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  This module is linked with MHR4050 and aims to develop and enhace the skills required by a graduate mental health nurse to be effective in working wth mental helath service users/carers. The module will develop the graduate s ability to plan holistic care using evidence based interventions/approaches, taking into account underpinning legal and ethical issues in order to promote recovery and social inclusion. Graduates will progress their understanding of partnership working with patients/clients/carers/agencies, and be encouraged to challenge their own values, attitudes and prejudices, in order to develop their capability to respect diversity and challenge inequality in mental health care.

Entry & applying

Applicants will be considered on an individual basis but will normally require a degree with a classification of 2.2 or better in health related subjects such as health studies, biology, psychology, sociology. However graduates from other disciplines can also be considered. Because this programme is delivered in two years all applicants will need to meet Accredited Prior Learning requirements and to do so will need to demonstrate health related experience Please follow the link above to download our FAQ sheet for more detailed information on Accredited Prior Learning and how it is applied.

Applicants will be considered on an individual basis but will normally require a degree with a classification of 2.2 or better in health related subjects such as health studies, biology, psychology, sociology. However graduates from other disciplines can also be considered. Please note that we are not able to accept applications from qualified nurses.

In according with the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), you will also need GCSE maths and English at Grade C or above (or equivalent).

Because this programme is delivered in two years instead of three, all applicants will need to meet Accredited Prior Learning requirements and to do so will need to demonstrate health related experience Please follow the link above to download our  Frequently Asked Questions on Prior Accreditation sheet for more detailed information on Accredited Prior Learning and how it is applied.

Before you apply, see if nursing is the right choice for you. We have listed below some of the personal qualities we expect our nursing students to demonstrate both at interview and throughout the course.

Application and interview process

• Applications should be made via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). The institution code for Middlesex is M80, and the code name is MIDDX. You also need the code for the course you wish to apply for – this is found in the 'at a glance' box above.
• Our admission team will then consider your application, and we will contact you within four weeks to inform you whether you have been shortlisted.
• If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to attend an interview. Invites will be sent by email, so please check your email account regularly, including the spam folders.
• If you are successful at interview, you will then be offered a place on the course subject to academic, health and police check requirements.

If you are invited to interview, we strongly recommend that you prepare well. We would recommend familiarising yourself with the main nursing journals such as Nursing Standard or Nursing, as well as the specific requirements of the branch of nursing you have chosen.

We will be considering the criteria listed below through a variety of methods such as direct questioning and observation. The essential skills and qualities are:

• Basic knowledge and awareness of chosen branch of nursing
• Able to demonstrate non-judgemental approach and cultural awareness
• Evidence of personal awareness, empathy and caring approach
• Clear and coherent communication skills
• Time management skills
• Awareness of challenges during the course and coping strategies.

Additionally, the desired skills and qualities are:

• Experienced gained of caring for others
• Awareness of qualified nurse role and responsibilities in specified branch
• Knowledge of advantages and disadvantages of working in teams.

Fees & funding

Tuition fees are paid for by the Department of Health and are not payable for the student. NHS London provide a non-means tested bursary.

No tuition fees are payable for Pg Dip Nursing.

Pg Dip Nursing students who satisfy the conditions for eligibility are entitled to a non-means tested bursary and may be able to apply for a means tested bursary from the NHS, and a reduced rate student loan from Student Finance England.  You may also be able to get extra money for dependants and help towards childcare costs as well as some money towards travel costs. For more information, please see our Rough Cuts finance leaflet for nursing and midwifery students.

You can apply for your student loan via the Directgov website, but you must remember to tick the box that says that you have applied for an income assessed NHS bursary.

Careers & placements

There are many well-paid nursing jobs within both the NHS and private sector. The skills you will bring into the degree may enable you to progress quicker up the Nursing career ladder.

There are many well-paid nursing jobs within both the NHS and private sector. The skills you will bring into the degree may enable you to progress quicker up the Nursing career ladder. The table below shows a selection of nursing jobs in the NHS and their associated salaries. If you work in the private sector, you may earn even more.