Description
This qualification is only available until 31 December 2017.
To claim this qualification, you must complete the required 360 credits by this date.
If you have any questions about your eligibility for this qualification, please contact the Centre for Qualifications and Ceremonies on +44 (0)1908 653003 or by email.
If you’re a registered nurse, the BSc (Hons) Nursing Practice offers a practical way to take your career forward – enabling you to step up to an honours degree while continuing to earn. Its flexible, modular approach is designed to meet the needs of nurses working across a range of settings and specialities, in both the NHS and independent sectors. Study options focus on key areas for contemporary nursing – leadership; ageing and the life course; and public health. As you study, you’ll reflect critically on your own practice; cultivate a person-centred approach to work with service users, their carers and families, and explore how your learning can contribute to evidence-based practice improvement. By the end of your studies, you’ll have enhanced your professional expertise to meet the complex challenges of contemporary health care practice.
You’ll need to provide evidence of current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). See Entry requirements below.
Depending on the qualifications you currently hold, you may need to do some additional study at Level 2 before you can complete your degree.
Planning your studies
1. If you have a Diploma of Higher Education in Nursing or equivalent 240-credit qualification(s):
- If your DipHE was awarded by The Open University, you can declare your intention to study for this degree when you register on individual modules.
- If your DipHE in Nursing or equivalent was awarded by another Higher Education Institution, you will need to apply for credit transfer towards the Level 1 and Level 2 requirements of this degree – see ‘Credit for previous study elsewhere’ section below.
- You will need to provide evidence of current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (pin number).
- You must successfully complete 120 credits from Level 3 modules listed below.
2. If you have a Registered Nurse qualification but not a Diploma of Higher Education in Nursing, and you may also have credit to transfer from other health-related study:
- You will need to apply for credit transfer towards the Level 1 and Level 2 requirements of this degree – see ‘Credit for previous study elsewhere’ section below.
- You will need to provide evidence of current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (pin number).
- Your claim will be assessed and if there is any shortfall of credit at Level 2, you will need to devise an appropriate study plan derived from the list of eligible Level 2 modules (see below)
- You must successfully complete 120 credits from Level 3 modules listed below.
You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 120 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you (with the exception of an undergraduate-level qualification of less than 120 credits). If you have graduated with an OU BSc degree without honours and are continuing your studies on to honours, this minimum requirement is reduced to 60 credits. Before being awarded any intermediate qualifications on the way to your OU honours degree, we advise you to check that you’ll have sufficient new credits to qualify for your degree.
Career relevance and employability
The BSc (Hons) Nursing Practice enables registered nurses to enhance their career prospects by moving to a degree-level qualification. As nursing careers move towards graduate-only entry, it will help you develop your understanding of the nursing role and strengthen your future employability.
This qualification will be of particular interest if you want to build on your current knowledge and experience in the setting in which you work. It will provide the understanding and skills you need to take the lead in practice development and innovation. You’ll also have the opportunity to improve your IT skills – particularly in relation to researching and analysing the evidence base for practice and collaborating with others to enhance your continuing professional development.
Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.
Modules
1. If you hold a Diploma of Higher Education in Nursing or equivalent 240-credit qualification(s)
You require 120 credits to top up your qualification to this 360-credit honours degree:
60 credits from one of the following Level 3 options:
Option 1 |
Credits |
Next start |
- Exploring practice (K316)
|
60 |
|
Option 2 |
Credits |
Next start |
- If you have successfully completed the discontinued 30-credit module K343 you can combine it with either the discontinued 30-credit module K342
-
|
- or
-
|
- The discontinued 30-credit module K320
|
Option 3 |
- The discontinued 20-credit modules K330, K331 and K332
-
|
60 credits from the following optional modules:
Level 3 optional modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- Adulthood, ageing and the life course (K319)
|
60 |
|
- Leadership and management in care (K313)
|
60 |
|
- Promoting public health: skills, perspective and practice (K311)
|
60 |
|
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued modules K303, K320, K333, K334, K335, K336, K337, K338, K339, K340, K341, K342, K344, K345, K346
2. If you hold a Registered Nurse qualification but have fewer than 240 transferred credits (see Planning your studies above for details):
You will need to devise an appropriate study plan derived from the list of Level 2 modules below*:
Level 2 optional modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- Adult health, social care and wellbeing (K217)
|
60 |
|
- Business organisations and their environments (B201)
|
60 |
|
- Communication and information technologies (T215)
|
60 |
|
- Counselling: exploring fear and sadness (D240)
|
30 |
|
- Death and dying (K260)
|
30 |
|
- Dementia care (K235)
|
30 |
|
- Health and illness (K213)
|
60 |
|
- Making it happen: leadership, influence and change (B204)
|
60 |
|
- The law and social work in England and Wales (K270)
|
60 |
|
- The law and social work in Scotland (K207)
|
60 |
|
- Welfare, crime and society (DD208)
|
60 |
|
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued modules D218, DD201, DSE212, E243, K202, K203, K204, K221, K225, K257, K269, K272, SK277, T209, T210, U205, U212, W200, W201, W221
* You can also count the discontinued K320 towards the Level 2 credit requirement for this qualification, if you do not intend to count it as part of your Level 3 study. You can also count the discontinued K309 towards the Level 2 credit requirement for this qualification.
As well as successful completion of the Level 2 requirement of a minimum of 120 credits from credit transfer or gained through further study, you will need 120 credits at Level 3 to complete the requirements of this degree – see list 1 above.
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:
- Knowledge and understanding
- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
- Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.
Credit for previous study elsewhere
If you have already completed some successful study at higher education level at another institution we may be able to give you credit for this study that you can count towards this Open University qualification. You can find out more on our Credit Transfer site. If you make a successful claim for transferred credit it may affect your choice of modules so you are advised to investigate this option as soon as possible.
Classification of your degree
On successful completion of the required number and type of modules you will be awarded a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Nursing Practice entitling you to use the letters BSc (Hons) Nurs Prac (Open) after your name.
Your honours degree will be classified either as first-class honours, upper second-class honours, lower second-class honours or third-class honours.
You will have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
How to register
If you want to study for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of
our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the
module you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that module.
During the registration procedure you will be asked to declare which qualification you are studying towards.
See a full list of modules available for this qualification