Children's Nursing BN (Hons)

This module will introduce you to the principles of evidence-based practice and its role in delivering high-quality, safe, and effective care. It will also examine how socio-economic and environmental factors influence health and well-being across the lifespan

Indicative content 

The cross field content of this module is designed to enable students to meet the needs of service users and carers from all four fields of practice and as such the delivery will include application to all service user groups.

1. Effective verbal and non-verbal communication strategies; communication tools; active listening skills. Individualised person centred care; family centred care; develop and maintain appropriate relationships with service users, families, carers and MDT. Resilience and coping; role modelling; use of the arts & humanities to enhance communication; mental capacity; advocacy; empowerment.
2. Barriers to providing person centred care; safeguarding; cross cultural perspectives, diversity & cultural competence; social policy, environment including urban and rural perspectives.
3. Types, range and strength of evidence used in nursing to provide high quality and safe care, for instance art in health; research, ethics and governance; evidence based practice; links to theory and practice; quality of care; policy.

This module introduces the concept of holistic, person-centred care across the lifespan. You will develop an understanding of human development and recognize the importance of effective communication with service users, their families, and the multidisciplinary team (MDT) across diverse healthcare settings

Indicative content 

The cross field content of this module is designed to enable students to meet the needs of service users and carers from all four fields of practice and as such the delivery will include application to all service user groups.

1. Define person centred care & holistic care across all fields of nursing; historical context of person centred care; models of person centred care; and factors that influence delivery of person centred care.
2. Public health and influences on health and social care - socio-economic, psychosocial, epidemiology. Health inequalities - addressing vulnerability and abuse; lifestyle; environment including urban and rural perspectives.  
3. Human development across the lifespan; physical & psychological development; theories of development; developments of self-esteem; ACEs (adverse childhood experiences); identification of vulnerable groups; safeguarding.

To prepare the student to become an effective nurse for the 21st century

This cross field module will integrate learning-to-learn and reflection into a series of linked sessions leading to personal and professional development, including the following:

1. The context of nursing as a profession, past, present and future, including enhancing resilience, personal awareness, well-being and self- care strategies.
2. Professional identity, social values and multi-professional working in order to provide creative and collaborative solutions to enhance practice.
3. Preparation for lifelong learning in theory and practice, including active listening, note-taking, note-making, effective reading, portfolio writing including reflection to develop awareness of self and others, academic integrity.
4. The use of current practice guidelines, contemporary evidence and political drivers to inform decision making, urban and rural practice differences.
5. How the Code, ethical and legal frameworks underpin the nursing profession in the 21st century.

This module will engage you in a diverse range of practice-based learning opportunities across a variety of clinical fields. It introduces both cross-field and field-specific nursing skills, enabling you to develop a comprehensive understanding of professional practice and demonstrate the essential competencies required in for nursing practice. 

Indicative content 

The cross field content of this module is designed to enable students to meet the needs of service users and carers from all four fields of practice and as such the delivery will include application to all service user groups in theory and practice: 

1. Becoming a professional: NMC code, models of practice learning, legal and ethical frameworks, duty of candour. Self-care including reflective practice, reasonable adjustments in practice plan (RAPP), emotional intelligence, resilience, healthy lifestyle choices and clinical supervision. Advocacy and challenging discrimination. Record keeping, confidentiality, privacy and dignity.
2. Safeguarding and escalating concerns. Capacity and consent. Interpreting routine investigations. Holistic assessment across the lifespan. Risk assessments, reasonable adjustments for service users. Developing person centred care plans, the nursing process.
3. Working in partnership with service users, relatives, carers and other professionals. Lived experience connectors. Role modelling. Working with cognitive, behavioural, mental or physical challenges. Communication strategies across the lifespan. Supporting the activities of daily living across the lifespan including sleep, hygiene, nutrition and hydration and skin integrity. Prioritisation of care. Medication administration and management.
4. Technology for health including manual and electronic recording devices. Team working and data sharing. Evaluation of care. First aid and basic life support (BLS), mental health first aid (MHFA), moving and handling techniques and equipment. Principles of infection prevention and control. Use of personal protective equipment (PPE), barrier and reverser barrier nursing and decontamination practice. Promoting healthy lifestyles in others. Obtaining clinical specimens and interpreting findings.
5. Risk assessment and improvement tools across the fields and life span. Managing a safe environment.
6. Integrated approaches to care, rural and urban perspectives. Promoting independence and recognising challenges for safe nursing care including socio-economic, physical, psychological and socio-cultural differences. Handing of effectively including written, verbal and digital techniques.
7. Medicines management, application in practice of knowledge of pharmacology. Preparation and administration of medications. Accurate documentation for medicines management. Medicines calculations. Recognising and escalating concerns of harm from medication administration and error.

This module is designed to equip you with a foundational understanding of human anatomy and physiology, highlighting their connection to the biological principles underlying pharmacology. Learners will also explore how this knowledge is applied in practical, real-world healthcare settings.

Indicative content 

1. Introduction to the human body across the age continuum; characteristics of life; concept of integration and homeostasis. Levels of structural organisation; systems and cross-system concepts, organs, tissues, cells and chemicals. Geographical navigation of the body; anatomical position and directional terms.   Overview of relevant disciplines. Overview of the biological basis of routine investigations.  
   
   
2. Basic principles of pharmacology and their application; concept of keeping an ongoing personal formulary diary.
   
   
3. The internal environment, fluid and electrolyte balance;  homeostatic control; common disorders; principles of restoring fluid and electrolyte imbalance homeostasis.
   
   
4. Human body systems:
   
   - Integumentary system and cross-system concepts; human microbiome; inflammation, introduction to wound healing; introduction to the physiology of pain; principles of pharmacology/ topical route; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Nervous system and cross-system concepts; mental health/learning disability; common disorders; principles of pharmacology and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Endocrine system and cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Cardiovascular system and cross-system concepts; blood; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Lymphatic system and immunity; cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Respiratory system and cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Gastro Intestinal system and cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Muscular Skeletal system and cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Urinary system and cross-system concepts; common disorders and commonly prescribed medicines.
   
   - Reproductive system and cross-system concepts; genetics/ genomics; common disorders and commonly prescribed  medicines.

This module will facilitate you to explore the principles of evidence-based practice in detail. You will consider the value of interprofessional collaboration, and foundational research skills. It explores how integrating research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values improves healthcare outcomes, and prepares students to contribute to service improvement through collaborative, research-informed approaches.

Indicative content 

1. Problem solving within an interprofessional context, including evidence-based decision-making, hierarchies of knowledge and service user perspectives.
2. Interprofessional learning and collaboration: Remit, roles and responsibilities; sharing knowledge in health and social care.
3. Research: literature searching across evidence bases, research appraisal and critical thinking, ethics and governance.
4. Service improvement and innovation methodologies: audit, quality assurance, evaluation, continuous improvement, clinical governance, service user co-production.
5. Drivers influencing interprofessional health and social care: organisational and national policy, socio-political and economic drivers.

This module will provide you with practice learning opportunities which provide a range of experiences across field. The module will build on cross field and field specific skills for nursing. You will actively participate in and work towards increasing confidence and competence to able to provide care.

The field content of this module is designed to enable you to meet the needs of service users and carers in your fields of practice and also deliver cross field care for all service user groups. 

1. Maintaining self-care including reflective practice, reasonable adjustments in practice plan (RAPP), emotional intelligence, resilience, healthy lifestyle choices and clinical supervision. Advocacy and challenging discrimination. Record keeping, confidentiality, privacy and dignity.
2. Assessing lifestyle factors and supporting others to make informed choices to manage health challenges. Assessing motivation and capacity to promote wellbeing recognising the person’s capacity to be a partner in their care. Recognising and acting upon signs of deterioration in mental health and providing evidence based support and skills. Understanding the family in partnership when considering end of life care and supporting treatment and care preferences.
3. Working in partnership with service users, relatives, carers and other professionals to evaluate and monitor care effectiveness to readjust care plan goals, rural and urban perspectives. Using alternative communication strategies such as translator services to be able to provide people, families and carers with accurate information when providing treatment and care. Lived experience connectors. Maintaining clear and legible documentation and using digital technologies in care delivery. Initiate appropriate interventions after making informed judgements on commonly encountered presentations.  
4. Participate in nursing procedures including assessing skin status and hygiene and providing wound care including aseptic technique, product selection and drain management, nutritional assessment and artificial hydration and nutrition including insertion and removal of nasogastric tubes, assessment and promotion of self-management in bladder and bowel continence and removal and insertion of different urinary catheters in all genders, neurological observations and seizure management, supporting mobility and managing falls, respiratory assessment including peak flow, chest auscultation and administration of oxygen via different routes. Nasal and oral Suctioning techniques, blood glucose monitoring, cardiac assessment including ECG and infection prevention and control methods. Social prescribing practice.
5. Interpretation of normal and abnormal blood profiles and venepuncture and cannulation skills. Managing transfusion of blood components, Recognising and treating sepsis, positive risk taking and risk aversion.
6. Safe and effective discharge planning across services and caseloads, negotiation and advocacy of people and making reasonable adjustments to aid assessment, planning and delivery of care. Managing yourself and a team, deescalating conflict and managing concerns and anxieties in others.
7. Medicines management, application in practice of knowledge of pharmacology. Preparation and administration of medications. Accurate documentation for medicines management. Medicines calculations. Recognising and escalating concerns of harm from medication administration and error.

To provide you with practice learning opportunities which provide a range of experiences across field. The module will build on cross field and field specific skills for nursing. You will actively participate in and work towards increasing confidence and competence is able to provide care with minimal guidance.

The field content of this module is designed to enable you to meet the needs of service users and carers in your field of practice and also deliver cross field care all service user groups. 

1. Maintaining self-care including reflective practice, reasonable adjustments in practice plan (RAPP), emotional intelligence, resilience, healthy lifestyle choices and clinical supervision. Advocacy and challenging discrimination. Record keeping, confidentiality, privacy and dignity.
2. Assessing lifestyle factors and supporting others to make informed choices to manage health challenges. Assessing motivation and capacity to promote wellbeing recognising the person’s capacity to be a partner in their care. Recognising and acting upon signs of deterioration in mental health and providing evidence based support and skills. Understanding the family in partnership when considering end of life care and supporting treatment and care preferences. Health needs assessments, Global practice experience.
3. Working in partnership with service users, relatives, carers and other professionals to evaluate and monitor care effectiveness to readjust care plan goals, rural and urban perspectives. Using alternative communication strategies such as translator services to be able to provide people, families and carers with accurate information when providing treatment and care. Lived experience connectors. Maintaining clear and legible documentation and using digital technologies in care delivery. Initiate appropriate interventions after making informed judgements on commonly encountered presentations.  
4. Participate in nursing procedures including assessing skin status and hygiene and providing wound care including aseptic technique, product selection and drain management, nutritional assessment and artificial hydration and nutrition including insertion and removal of nasogastric tubes, assessment and promotion of self-management in bladder and bowel continence and removal and insertion of different urinary catheters in all genders, neurological observations and seizure management, supporting mobility and managing falls, respiratory assessment including peak flow, chest auscultation and administration of oxygen via different routes. Nasal and oral Suctioning techniques, blood glucose monitoring, cardiac assessment including ECG and infection prevention and control methods. Social prescribing practice.
5. Interpretation of normal and abnormal blood profiles and venepuncture and cannulation skills. Managing transfusion of blood components, Recognising and treating sepsis, positive risk taking and risk aversion.
6. Safe and effective discharge planning across services and caseloads, negotiation and advocacy of people and making reasonable adjustments to aid assessment, planning and delivery of care. Leadership and management in own field of nursing including advanced leadership and political understanding of the context of practice.
7. Medicines management, application in practice of knowledge of pharmacology. Preparation and administration of medications. Accurate documentation for medicines management. Medicines calculations. Recognising and escalating concerns of harm from medication administration and error.

This module aims to explore health promotion and prevention of ill health in your chosen field of practice. The aim is to demonstrate understanding of enhanced communication to empower and enable service users, and work effectively across the MDT / range of settings.

The field content of this module is designed to enable you to meet the needs of service users and carers in your field of practice and deliver cross field care to all service user groups. 

1. Communication – developing therapeutic relationships with infants, children, young people, their families and carers; empower and enable young people to lead & manage their own care; assessing capacity; partnership working with child or young person, family and MDT; working in teams; MDT communication; documentation; handover & sharing of information; the use of play, distraction, art & music, alternative forms of communication and education to enhance communication and understanding in children and young people.
2. Application of public health and health promotion to children, young people and families. Prevention of ill health; health inequalities; life experiences & choices including impact of family choices on children and young people; risk taking behaviours and suicide prevention in young people. Socio-economic factors; impact of spirituality, culture and cultural competence and brief interventions. Rural and urban perspectives.
3. Person centred care; child & family centred care; integrated care; collaborative working. Prioritisation of care; care planning; evidence based practice in relation to providing high quality & safe person centred care for a range of field specific conditions; therapeutic activities and the use of arts and humanities in children’s nursing.

This module will focus on child field specific nursing conditions with increasing complexity and service users with co-morbidities. The module will explore identification and management of risk and factors which influence this.

The field content of this module is designed to enable you to meet the needs of service users and carers in your field of practice and deliver cross field care to all service user groups. 

1. Field specific conditions; co-morbidities; coordinating complex care; recognition and management of deteriorating patient, including identification of appropriate investigations, interventions & escalation.
2. Recognition and management of risk to ensure safe care – risk assessment tools; impact of human factors; hierarchy; role modelling; team work; communication; working across different clinical & professional services.
3. Discharge and transition planning – simple and complex discharge; inter & intra hospital transfer including paediatric critical care transfer; transfer between teams; rural and urban perspectives; service transition across the lifespan including transition from child and young people’s services to adult services; interagency team work, collaboration and child & family centred care; accurate communication and documentation.
4. Role modelling and the impact of self on service users including children and young people; MDT outcomes; emotional intelligence; leadership; motivation; ethical considerations.

To apply knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, principles of pharmacology and how these are applied in child field specific nursing practice.

This will include:

1. Relevant anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, homeostasis and the application to field specific nursing: field genomics, respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, MSK, skin, endocrine, gastro intestinal and renal. Epidemiology and demography of field specific manifestations. Altered pathophysiology including signs of deterioration and sepsis. Example child: Revision of anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system, explore the conditions which are specific to neonates, children and young people.
2. Impact of ageing on field specific groups, altered pathophysiology and psychosocial factors affecting homeostasis, including physiological and psychosocial impact of pain, anxiety, stress and discomfort. Example: Using family centre care and specific assessments for children and young people to understand the effects of pain, anxiety, stress and discomfort from the conditions outlined.
3. Advancing pharmacology field specific knowledge, introduction to and the impact of poly pharmacy, medication usage and treatments, continued completion of personal formulary, knowledge of pharmacology and the ability to recognise the effects of medicines, allergies, drug sensitivities, side effects, contra-indications, incompatibilities, adverse reactions, prescribing errors and over the counter medication usage in field specific nursing. Application of mental capacity in medicines management. Example: Analyse the specific requirements of licensed a non-licensed drugs with children and young people.
4. Application of the principles of pharmacology and pharmacokinetics relating to a range of field specific conditions and related to management of interventions as applied to field.

Preparation for the year abroad will take place in Chester during level 5 and will include:

• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Host-country orientation, study methods– economic, political and social reality of the country
• Orientation specific to exchange – health, education, gender issues
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Practical matters relating to living and studying in the wider world

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Critical thinking skills, experiential learning and models of reflection

Personal and placement-related transversal skills

• Effective self-motivation and independent resourcefulness
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development

Whilst abroad:

You will undertake study at one of the University of Chester's partner universities or undertake and approved work placement or virtual placement. If you are a student,  it is expected that you will choose a series of modules at the university abroad which must be agreed by the host institution and the Module Leader. you must supply details of you modules on a learning agreement within 4 weeks of arrival at the host university.

This module will support you in your transition to professional registration by fostering leadership and teaching skills essential for delivering safe, effective, and forward-thinking care in 21st-century nursing

Indicative content 

The cross field content of this module is designed to enable students to meet the needs of service users and carers from all four fields of practice and as such the delivery will include examples and application to all service user groups. 

1. Continuing professional development and accountability: the role of practice supervisor, practice assessor, academic assessor and practice clinical supervision, delegation, action planning for personal development and principles of lifelong learning.
2. Supporting learning: preparation for a teaching role; learning and teaching strategies; peer supervision; skills of teaching and facilitation; Inter-professional Learning (IPL), coaching.  
3. Developing leadership through an examination of effective leadership traits, intelligent kindness, compassionate leadership, role modelling and reflection. Consideration of delegation and team working.
4. Nurturing the future generation of nurses through compassion, empathy, prevention of burnout, time management, self awareness.

This module aims to develop your understanding of the processes involved in creating a service improvement proposal, with the goal of enhancing care delivery in 21st-century healthcare settings and supporting your transition to professional registration.

Indicative content 

The cross field content of this module is designed to enable students to meet the needs of service users and carers from all four fields of practice and as such the delivery will include examples and application to all service user groups. 

1. Continuing professional development: Understanding the political drivers for 21st century healthcare, decision making strategies, types of power used in managing teams.
2. Supporting innovation: preparing the culture for innovation; change theories and models; quality and governance.  
3. Developing leadership potential: Leadership theory and styles, positive and negative leadership traits, using emotional intelligence.
4. Development of service improvement artefact.
5. Developing a business case for innovation, using evidence to support innovation, pitching and rationalising innovation. 

This module will enable you to critically examine the complexities of human anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology in preparation for professional registration and readiness to prescribe

Indicative content 

1. Revision of anatomy and physiology, relevant pathophysiology, homeostasis across field specific nursing and beyond.
2. Consolidate understanding of pharmacological principles in order to become prescribing ready, completion of personal formulary. Use of BNF. Application of how illness affects pharmacology, adverse drug reactions, polypharmacy, Drug Interactions - Pharmacokinetic and Pharmaco-dynamic Interactions, prescribing errors and management of field specific issues which includes the individual variation for people of all ages.
3. Understanding the role of the nurse prescriber, developing consultation skills apply knowledge of pharmacology to the care of people, the role of generic, unlicensed, and off-label prescribing and the potential risks associated with these approaches to prescribing. and consideration to the psychosocial impact. Knowledge of how prescriptions can be generated, consent, concordance, adherence and duty of care in prescribing with consideration to the psychosocial impact. Influences on prescribing including organisational and pharmaceutical companies. Preparation to progress to a prescribing qualification following registration.

To provide you with practice learning opportunities which provide a range of experiences across fields. The module will build on cross field and field specific skills for nursing. You will actively participate in and work towards increasing confidence and competence to be able to provide care with minimal guidance.

The field content of this module is designed to enable you to meet the needs of service users and carers in your fields of practice and also deliver cross field care all service user groups:

1. Maintaining self-care including reflective practice, reasonable adjustments in practice plan (RAPP), emotional intelligence, resilience, healthy lifestyle choices and clinical supervision. Advocacy and challenging discrimination. Record keeping, confidentiality, privacy and dignity, promoting professionalism in others. Mentoring and supervising others. Being a professional role model.
2. Completing whole body assessment using different strategies and technologies to assist. Assessing capacity and making reasonable adjustments when a person lacks capacity, Referring to other health and social care professionals and services. Rural and Urban perspectives.
3. Recognising deterioration in mental, physical, and emotional health and recognising vulnerability and reducing harm from others. Keeping accurate and legible records, symptom management with increasing complexity including pain, distress, anxiety and confusion. Working with families in partnership and using digital technologies to assist. Using advanced communication techniques and strategies    
4. Participate in nursing procedures including assessing skin status and hygiene and providing wound care including aseptic technique, product selection and drain management, nutritional assessment and artificial hydration and nutrition including insertion and removal of nasogastric tubes, assessment and promotion of self-management in bladder and bowel continence and removal and insertion of different urinary catheters in all genders, neurological observations and seizure management, supporting mobility and managing falls, respiratory assessment including peak flow, chest auscultation and administration of oxygen via different routes. Nasal and oral Suctioning techniques, blood glucose monitoring, cardiac assessment including ECG and infection prevention and control methods. Social prescribing practice.
5. Interpretation of normal and abnormal blood profiles and venepuncture and cannulation skills. Managing transfusion of blood components, Recognising and treating sepsis, positive risk taking and risk aversion.
6. Safe and effective discharge planning across services and caseloads, negotiation and advocacy of people and making reasonable adjustments to aid assessment, planning and delivery of care. Leadership and management in own field of nursing including advanced leadership, commissioning and political understanding of the context of practice.
7. Medicines management, application in practice of knowledge of pharmacology. Preparation and administration of medications. Accurate documentation for medicines management. Medicines calculations. Recognising and escalating concerns of harm from medication administration and error.