MSc Nursing (Mental Health)

This module equips you with the skills to find, appraise and utilise research, as well as plan and design a piece of research work. It prepares you to define a suitable research question and to use this as a basis for identifying appropriate research methodologies for a small-scale research project or dissertation.

This module enables you to gain insight into how the diverse experiences of people and their families inform all stages of the nursing process,in the integration of physical and mental health care. This module will further extend and deepen the foundational knowledge about person and family centred-care, self-awareness and therapeutic relationships provided in year 1.

You will be supported to critically reflect on the concept of therapeutic use of self and approaches to working collaboratively with people and their families, who may be at any stage of life and who may have a range of mental, physical, cognitive or behavioural health challenges, to support the provision of evidence-based and ethical care through health and illness. The knowledge provided in this module will enable you to take account of individuals’ physical, psychosocial and developmental stages in order to inform the communication and relationship management skills used in practice.

This module aims to provide you with an opportunity to critically develop knowledge and skills necessary to assess, plan and evaluate the care of people experiencing mental health issues across the lifespan. You will be given the opportunity to develop and critically apply a range of evidence based interventions designed to meet the holistic care needs of service users and carers. Additionally, this module will enable you to critically explore the importance of measuring outcomes in care and evaluating the clinical effectiveness of your own performance through reflective practice.

This module enables you to critically explore health promotion approaches and how these contribute to improved social inclusion and might support the recovery process, for people with mental health needs. Recovery will be considered in the context of statutory requirements and local/national policy drivers, and considered through the framework of some common treatment approaches.
You will be able to critically analyse with national public health resources that will inform mental health nursing practice, moving from universal prevention campaigns to targeted approaches. You will explore and critique health promotion theory, and examine how such theory sits within wider public health agendas and evidence regarding the social determinants of health.
You will critically explore how to engage with people, their carers, families, other health care practitioners, social care practitioners and other agencies, to promote shared decision making in their health promotion and recovery approach. This module builds upon your learning in years one and provides application of theory from modules; ‘Mental health and wellbeing’

This module gives you the opportunity to build upon and acquire new knowledge and skills for clinical practice that will further explore ethical concepts and professional standards to support the care and self/family management of people within varied clinical settings.

This module will enable you to identify and critically analyse issues related to the nursing care of people with mental health needs of all ages with multiple health problems
It will particularly consider the assessment, care management planning and interventions for a range of complex disorders encountered in mental health nursing practice across the lifespan. The module encourages you to critically reflect on your own attitudes towards mental health issues and to develop critical self-awareness as to how these attitudes, and those of society, might impact on individuals, their carers and families' experience.

This will include identifying actual and potential problems and discussing how collaborative working with other professionals provides optimal care. You will gain knowledge and understanding of the impact of comorbidity on a range of outcomes, such as mortality, health-related quality of life and functioning in the complex clinical management of mental health patients.

This module aims to provide you with the opportunity to consolidate the skills, knowledge, and strategies required to be an effective independent mental health registrant. Not only will it aim to provide you with the ability to develop and manage your own professional practice, but it will equip you to support, supervise and manage others; and lead and develop the mental health nursing profession.

You will consider the future career, lifelong learning, and the role, identity and scope of practice of the mental health nurse. You will also consider strategies that promote teaching and learning and will be prepared to be Practice Supervisors. You will explore how effective leadership qualities can be used to work in partnership with diverse teams/agencies across professional and organisational boundaries. The political context and key drivers of health care will be explored. You will engage with change management theory leading to the development of their own service improvement project proposal.

The aim of this module is to draw together and enhance the student's ability to utilise the knowledge, understanding and skills developed previously across the whole programme, in a piece of investigative or literature-based research or a service improvement project. You will be expected to demonstrate the ability to define a clearly focused research issue, as well as a wide appreciation of the context of the chosen topic. Research methods may vary considerably and you will work with an individual supervisor to evolve a methodology appropriate to the chosen topic. The subsequent inquiry should be based on systematic reading and data collection (as appropriate) or a service improvement project and be accompanied by an awareness of the direct implications of the research to professional practice and policy as well as other research in the area.

Through a combination of simulation based education and direct care, this module will allow you to develop a relevant knowledge base, skills and behaviour’s to fulfil the professional requirements for the mental health nursing programme and ensure you are eligible for nurse registration. Placement experience for this module will usually include 2 placements during the year. Completion of this module will contribute to the achievement of Part 3 of your programme.