At least one in four people will experience mental distress during their lifetime – and nurses are a vital part of their recovery. Our specialist course will help you develop the unique skill set and confidence to succeed in a challenging yet rewarding career that positively impacts on the lives of patients.
A shortage of mental health nurses in the UK means many of our recent graduates with nursing qualifications were able to secure graduate employment or go onto further study (DLHE 2017).
Nursing education in the mental health field will build on your passion for helping others. You’ll develop a holistic approach to assessing, treating, care planning and supporting people to recover and live the best lives possible. With plenty of hands-on experience throughout your nursing study, you’ll also gain the observation and communication skills to confidently collaborate with service users, families, carers and colleagues. In fact, many of our students secure their first job with a placement host.
Once you’ve completed your course, you’ll be able to get professional status as a registered mental health nurse and gain registration with the NMC.
You’ll spend 50% of your course building your practical experience through a variety of unique clinical placement opportunities with our NHS partners across London. These include the prestigious Barts Health NHS Trust , Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, and many more.
We’ve got state-of-the-art nursing skills labs, professional training equipment and a building set up to deliver high-fidelity simulations in areas such as resuscitation and dealing with the seriously ill.
You’ll have the opportunity to contribute to projects at our research centres, including our Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (DARC), our Research Centre for Transcultural Studies and our Centre for Coproduction.
The unique skillset you’ll develop will open up opportunities within mental health nursing, teaching, research, educational outreach, public health, the voluntary sector and the armed forces.
When it comes to support, you’ll be matched with a Personal Tutor to get the backing you need. You’ll also get support from our Student Learning and Graduate Academic Assistants who have personal experience in your subject.
Our degree is accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
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Our course values practical application of skills in real-life settings as a vital part of nursing training, therefore 50% of your study time is spent on placement. You will develop a detailed understanding of severe and enduring mental health conditions, which include dual diagnosis, psychoses, child and adolescent mental health and dementia.
In year one you will cover the main scientific and biological underpinnings of mental health nursing such as anatomy and physiology and core communication skills. You will also have your first placement experience, for which you will be fully supported and prepared. You will be introduced to the fundamentals of mental health and wellbeing and consolidate your development through the Expansive Learning module which is designed to put your professional learning in a personal and social context.
In year two you will begin to develop your skills in mental health assessment and treatment. You will have the opportunity to put into practice the interventions – such as psychosocial and medication management skills you will be learning.
In your final year we will support your preparation for employment by ensuring you are equipped with leadership and management skills. You will be consolidating the expertise you have built over the last three years and will be prepared for job applications and interviews.
The role of a mental health nurse requires working in multi-disciplinary health and social care teams to jointly examine behavioural, emotional and cognitive responses and you will develop the confidence and communication skills to work effectively in collaboration.
You will have developed the skills needed to be a professional mental health nurse and you will be a qualified professional with registration to work across a variety of settings. You will also be an excellent communicator and to have built a support and learning network. You will develop a holistic method to the assessment and planning of care using an evidence based approach, helping clients to manage their lives independently.
You will be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills in meeting the fundamental care needs of people across their lifespan, with a range of physical, mental, cognitive and behavioural health challenges.
During the module, you'll be able to demonstrate high standards of professional conduct in line with the NMC code in all aspects of practice and be able to carry out a range of procedures, under supervision, that are expected of you at this level, in a variety of health and social care settings.
This module aims to start developing the role and function of the graduate mental health nurse in health and illness.
It will provide the fundamental nursing knowledge required to undertake basic nursing assessment, support and enable people across different life spans in managing and improving physical and mental health, as well as preventing ill health.
Theories, evidence and models to support the art and science of nursing will be introduced to develop knowledge and understanding about the nature of nursing, the person, health, society and the environment.
This module will introduce and expand on the scientific principles underpinning mental health nursing practice.
It is a comprehensive module and introduces principles which draw on scientific areas of biopsychosocial and behavioural sciences as related to all areas of nursing with a focus on mental health nursing.
This module aims to provide the student with a foundation to enable the development of appropriate professional attitudes, values, knowledge, skills and conduct to be a graduate adult nurse.
During this module, you will demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills to meet more complex care needs of people across the lifespan with a range of mental, physical, cognitive and behavioural health challenges, across a range of health and social care settings in line with the new standards of proficiency.
You will be expected to demonstrate increasing independence in your own field of mental health practice whilst maintaining high standards of professional conduct in line with the NMC Code, showing awareness of the implications of The Code for self and others.
This module aims to develop the knowledge and skills required of the graduate mental health nurse to assess, plan and evaluate care across the lifespan during illness that is person centred and evidence-based.
It will focus on interventions to address physical, cognitive, mental, spiritual, behavioural and social health needs during illness.
This module will build upon the scientific module of year 1 to further develop principles and deepen the knowledge and application to all fields of mental health nursing.
On completion of this module, you will be able to:
The module aims to enable you to develop your professional knowledge in Mental Health nursing practice.
You will be facilitated to building on theoretical knowledge to enhance clinical and professional judgements with awareness and sensitivity applicable to the wider perspective of health and social care economics.
This module will support you to develop your skills in understanding your own learning needs and respond professionally to those of others. Support you as a student learner to creatively evaluate, investigate and respond to complex problems. And will provide you with in-depth knowledge of a subject of your choice and to encourage critical, questioning and socially engaged nursing practice.
Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to work autonomously in the mental health field of practice caring for all people across the lifespan with a range of physical, mental, cognitive and behavioural challenges. The student will display advanced clinical skills and have the ability to integrate leadership in all aspects of care management. Students will utilise a critical and reflective approach in delivering high standards of professional conduct in line with the NMC Code as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
The aim of this module is to enable the student to critically engage with the coordination and management of care delivery for those individuals who are severely ill with life-threatening or limiting illness, or have complex physical/mental health needs requiring long-term care in a range of healthcare settings, working in partnership with the individual, their families where relevant and the multi-disciplinary team to evaluate whether the care is effective and meets desired outcomes. It will focus on encouraging the student to build on prior learning in relation to critically applying nursing knowledge, evidence/research and the nursing process in the planning and co-ordination of care for the individual with complex needs.
This module will build upon the scientific module of year 2 to consolidate scientific principles and deepen the knowledge and application.
It also aims to extend knowledge and application of pharmacological principles especially to underpin mental health nursing care within your own field of practice and future potential prescribing practice.
The module aims to build upon and consolidate knowledge and skills to manage and lead as an accountable, responsible, emotionally intelligent registered Mental Health nurse within health and social care environments.
The module will facilitate critical examination of key concepts and theories of effective leadership and management.
See the course specification for more information:
Optional modules are usually available at levels 5 and 6, although optional modules are not offered on every course. Where optional modules are available, you will be asked to make your choice during the previous academic year. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, or there are staffing changes which affect the teaching, it may not be offered. If an optional module will not run, we will advise you after the module selection period when numbers are confirmed, or at the earliest time that the programme team make the decision not to run the module, and help you choose an alternative module.
We maintain strong partnership relationships with NHS and independent health and social care organisations so that you’ll have access to excellent placement opportunities as a nursing or midwifery student. We have approximately 500 pre-registration students out on placement at any one time, with over 400 placements being utilised.
Our main placement providers are:
In addition to a number of placements in both community and hospital environments in the NHS Trusts and independent sector that are highlighted above, we also have a range of placements in the following areas:
We also work with a number of other London NHS Trusts in supporting a range of pre-registration pathways. These include (but not limited to):
In addition to students accessing a range of placements in the London region we have excellent partnerships with European Universities and you will be offered opportunities to undertake a period of exchange (depending on availability). These include placements in Finland, Malta, Denmark, Portugal, Spain and Belgium. To find out more, please view our study abroad pages.
New students in England studying pre-registration nursing and midwifery courses will have access to the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). This includes a £5000 bursary for all new students from September 2020 entry.
For more information on funding arrangements for studying nursing and midwifery pre-registration courses and what it means for you, visit The NHS Business Services Authority website or check out their FAQ.
Nursing today is more flexible and varied than ever, mental health nurses have the opportunity to work across a broad range of fields and the skills that make you a good mental health nurse are transferable to many other areas.
You can work as a mental health nurse across the age-range. Nurses work in services for children and adolescents right up to the groundbreaking work that is going on in dementia care. Mental health nurses are needed in secure facilitates like prisons and special hospitals, in specialist mental health wards, across a host of community settings and in health settings like GP surgeries and Emergency Departments in general hospitals.
There are specialist roles for mental health nurses which range from nurse prescribers, managers and consultants. Mental health nurses are involved in teaching, research, educational outreach, public health, and work with a range of employers from the voluntary sector to the Armed Forces. You can also travel and work abroad as a mental health nurse and some nurses' work in social care and set up their own businesses. Nursing is a 24hr profession; many nurses have flexible hours and shift patterns may include early, late, night, weekend and bank holiday working – with planning you can shape your career to suit your needs and ambitions.
You will need to remain up to date to be an effective practitioner and you may continue your education after you graduate with CPD (Continuing Professional Development). This expectation helps with career progression as nurses have the opportunity to specialise in areas such as dual diagnosis, dementia or child and adolescent mental health.
Nursing is a profession requiring shift work throughout the 24 hour period. Duty rotas may reflect this and will include early, late, night, weekend and bank holiday shift patterns.
Find out more about mental health nursing careers by watching this video by NHS Careers.
Our degree is accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). On successful completion of the programme you will be eligible to enter the NMC's professional register as a mental health nurse. You will also receive career guidance from your professional development tutor to help you begin your career.
This course will also help you to develop on a personal level. Over the three years you are with us at Middlesex University you will be supported to increase your confidence and communication skills.
Being a student nurse at Middlesex will enable you to build on your skills, learn valuable critical thinking skills. and become an effective problem solver. You will achieve proficiency in working with information technology and in the academic and practice setting you will be part of teams that will build your expertise in understanding leadership and management. These accomplishments will stay with you throughout your career and support your continued success.
We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.
Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.
Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.
At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.
Start: September 2023
Duration: Usually 3 years full-time
Code: B730
Start: September 2023
Duration: 3 years full-time
Code: B740
