The School of Nursing and Midwifery team has around 700 full and part-time students studying Honours, Foundation and Postgraduate degrees and Continued Professional Development (CPD) courses/study days. To support our students we have 40 academic staff based in Ipswich and across the region, who all have extensive clinical experience, educational expertise and qualifications. The majority of the team hold a professional registration mainly with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and in addition are qualified lecturers in higher education holding postgraduate and doctoral qualifications.
The Head of School, Carol Smith, is supported by two Heads of Division.
The School has very strong partnership links with practice across all health fields, this includes the NHS, private, statutory and voluntary sectors. In addition we work in close liaison with the UCS School of Science, Technology and Health| and the School of Applied Social Sciences|, with for example, a vibrant Service User Forum, Interprofessional Learning programme and CPD provision.
Work-based learning is an integral aspect of all the programmes that we offer and to support this, a state of the art Clinical Skills Centre opened in January 2011 in the James Hehir Building| on the Ipswich Waterfront. This resource is invaluable for learning and assessment, providing a realistic environment in preparation for clinical practice.
The School also prepares nurses and midwives for their role as mentors for pre-registration students, offering the Preparation for Mentorship programme. The UCS Mentorship Strategy, supporting mentors of pre-registration nursing and midwifery students in practice, has been put forward by the NMC as best practice and many initiatives having been described as excellent. The practice learning team and the whole school work in close collaboration with Norfolk and Suffolk Workforce Partnership to ensure programmes are fit for purpose and practice is well supported by the Practice Education Facilitators. Employment post qualification is over 90% in the region and represents our strong commitment to both widening participation and workforce plans.
We welcome new and continuing students to the School and believe that our contemporary approach to education will inspire new learning. The School has extensive development in virtual learning, podcasts and social networking which aid and support a blended approach to education.
There have been exciting developments with research and scholarly activity within the School with increased numbers of staff undertaking doctoral programmes, presenting at conferences, publishing, and involvement with and leadership of external events. Key areas of research within the School focus on Inter-professional learning, pressure ulcers, learning technology, student achievement and assessment methodologies.
To find out more about the facilities available to UCS Nursing and Midwifery students just watch the virtual tour below.
The Division of Nursing
The Nursing Division manages the BSc (Hons) nursing programmes (and outgoing DipHE) that lead to an academic award and eligibility to register with the NMC in the areas of Adult|, Child Health|, and Mental Health Nursing|. Each of these has a strong focus on practice with 50% of the course spent in practice settings, across the county and sometimes beyond. Teaching is combined at Ipswich with additional sites in Great Yarmouth and Bury St Edmunds. The NMC (2010) Standards for pre-registration nursing will be introduced with a new programme commencing September 2013.
For field specific information regarding Pre Registration Nursing please follow this link.|
The Division of Practice Learning and Midwifery
The Practice Learning and Midwifery Division is led by Dr Jane Day and offers a range of provision from Foundation degrees, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. We offer a well established three year BSc (Hons) Midwifery| programme for those wishing to study to practice as a midwife, offering student placements across the county. In addition, for those already qualified as a nurse and wishing to become a midwife we offer the BSc (Hons) Midwifery Shortened programme of 18 months duration. Both programmes lead to eligibility to register with the NMC.
For the pre-professional workforce there are opportunities to extend knowledge and skills with our range of Foundation degrees in Health Care Practice including mental health, dementia, end of life, acute and long-term care. There is also is top-up degree available, BA Care Practice (Hons), for practitioners wishing to gain degree status.
Three successful postgraduate programmes are available within the School: Healthcare Education, Clinical Effectiveness|, and Leadership and Innovation|. These highly evaluated programmes are practice focused and have elements of work-based learning integrated throughout.