Nursing Studies (Top-Up)

Final Year

Compulsory modules

• Semester one

• Study Skills for Professional Practice

  This module will support you and help you to develop the knowledge and skills needed for successful study, preparing you for future postgraduate level continuing professional development or further academic programmes.

  You'll focuses on enhancing up-to-date study techniques, foundational numeracy and IT skills, as well as improving your analytical and critical thinking. You'll also look at information technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), to support your learning and communication.

• Health promotion in Nursing practice

  You'll be introduced to the foundational concepts, theories and models that underpin effective health promotion practice. You'll look at major theories and models of behaviour change, and explore how effective communication strategies support individuals and communities in making informed health decisions. You'll engage with current UK public health frameworks and priorities to understand how national policy shapes practice. 

  You'll also also examine the wider determinants of health and the impact of health inequalities, with a particular focus on cultural competence and inclusive practice. 

  By drawing on evidence‑based strategies and ethical considerations, you'll learn to design, implement, and evaluate person‑centred health‑promoting interventions aligned with professional standards for nursing.

• Enhanced Communication and Supportive Relationships

  You'll explore verbal and non-verbal communication and the development of supportive relationships within a healthcare related context. You'll build on your existing clinical or professional skills to develop them further in practice. 

  You'll take a critical approach to sources of knowledge about therapeutic and/ or professional communication and relationships, drawing from nursing, allied health, social care and psychotherapy.

• Semester two

• Recognition and Care of the Deteriorating Patient

  This practice-related module will provide you with the opportunity to develop your knowledge, skills, and understanding of the recognition, assessment and management of the deteriorating patient. 

  You'll enhance physical assessment skills, within a discrete aspect of a patient's care, enabling practitioners to recognise changes in a patient’s clinical condition. It will also support practitioners in communicating findings effectively within the multidisciplinary team and applying non-technical skills to enhance patient safety.

• Leading change in practice

  You'll develop your knowledge, skills, and confidence as emerging clinical leaders by exploring the key theories, principles, and evidence that underpin effective leadership in contemporary healthcare practice. 

  You'll examine how leadership behaviours influence patient care, teamwork, communication, and clinical decision‑making, and you'll learn to critically apply these concepts within your own professional context. Also you'll look at quality improvement methodologies and the role of nurses in driving safe, person‑centred, and evidence‑based change. Through engagement with current research, policy, and real‑world practice examples, you'll develop the ability to identify areas for improvement within your clinical environment and propose small‑scale, evidence‑informed initiatives that contribute to better outcomes for patients and services.

• Facilitating learning in practice

  This module will develop your ability to facilitate effective learning within healthcare practice by introducing key educational theories and approaches relevant to clinical settings. You'll build skills in:

  • supervision
  • coaching
  • teaching
  • and providing constructive feedback, 

  while exploring strategies for supporting and evaluating your progress. A collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to education is promoted on this module, enabling you to contribute confidently to high‑quality, evidence‑based practice through effective teaching and learning support.

• Semester three

• Dissertation in Nursing Studies

  This is your opportunity to undertake an independent, practice‑focused project supported by academic supervision. You'll develop a research question relevant to your area of nursing practice and explore it through a review of the literature. 

  You'll build confidence and capability in research literacy by being guided through each stage of the research process, from formulating a focused question to searching, appraising, critically evaluating and presenting evidence. Your completed dissertation will demonstrate your ability to apply research skills to inform nursing practice.