I would like to wish you all a warm welcome to the MSc Nursing course and the School of Nursing within the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Social Care at Canterbury Christ Church University. The school brings together the Nursing (adult, child, learning disability, and mental health) staff into one vibrant community.
Ram Reesaul
Course Director
Academic Calendar: Semesters with Professional Learning Block
View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2024-25 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays.
We in the school are looking forward to working with you both at the university and on practice placement to enable you to realise your ambitions to become a registered adult or mental health nurse. It will be a very busy time and we will be here to support you throughout your course, and I am sure you will soon settle back into university life. I am looking forward to meeting you as you start on your post graduate university journey.
We have a vision of the nurse we want you to become. We want to help you become a critically aware, creative, competent practitioner of nursing who gives primacy to the delivery of person-centred care within our local and global economy. You will become a politically aware advocate and health activist. You will work autonomously and be a joint decision maker with service users, their families and other health care providers. You will have a strongly held belief in social justice. You will be a leader and inspiration to others, using expert communication skills, problem solving and personal resilience to improve the health and wellbeing of people and the community.
Over the course of the next two years, you will have the opportunity to study nursing theory and practice and work with people experiencing changes to their physical and mental health and wellbeing in a variety of settings. Through these experiences you will gain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to prepare you to be a practitioner of and leader in nursing care.
We work in partnership with service users and practice partners to ensure our MSc Nursing course puts service users at the centre of all we do and provides you with a positive learning experience to help you achieve your aim of becoming a registered nurse. We hope you enjoy the MSc Nursing course and I look forward to meeting you all.
Please note that timings given in your Welcome Schedule for uniform measure and issue events and occupational health vaccinations are indicative timings only. Please check below for the exact time of your appointment, which will be dependent on your surname (A-Z).
In addition to your course welcome activities, you can also join us at our Health Hub, timings below, where we can help you with any questions you may have or direct you to the most appropriate service.
You are now on your own exciting journey, but you are also part of our community where we support each other to grow and flourish at university and beyond. Drop in and stay connected, meet new friends and your peers. Meet and chat to our placements team, academic course administration team and existing students.
Drop in on the 2nd floor of the Verena Holmes building in VH 2.60 during any of the times below:
Follow us on our CCCU_Health Instagram account to keep up to date with what is happening for students.
Please ensure that you engage with occupational health clearance and DBS processes required by the Admissions Team. Failure to complete this by the time you register on the course may result in you not being able to proceed with your studies. Please also ensure you engage with the Placement Planning Form FoMHSC 2024/2025.
As part of starting your studies here at Canterbury Christ Church University, you will need to attend an occupational health vaccination appointment and a uniform measure & issue appointment during Welcome Week.
Students need to obtain occupational health clearance to ensure they are fit to practice. You will be prompted via your ‘MyRecord’ to complete a clearance check and directed to an online health questionnaire.
Once you have submitted your questionnaire, you are required to attend an occupational health vaccination appointment appropriate to your placement requirements. We use an external company called OH Works for this. Ahead of your appointment, please gather any vaccination documentation (paper or electronic) from your GP or workplace to take to your occupational health appointment.
Click here for your occupational health appointment location and time.
For enquiries about your occupational health clearance please email cccustudents@ohworks.co.uk or phone 01227 286288.
At your measure & issue appointment, you will be welcomed by the CCCU Uniform Team and our uniform suppliers, Alexandra. Once your sizing requirements have been determined, you will be able to collect your uniform which is expected to last the duration of your course. Your uniform is provided to you free of charge.
Click here for your uniform appointment location and time.
Important information regarding your uniform can be found on the uniform policy.
On placement you will be required to wear a placement badge, which will have your course title and preferred first name. This placement badge is provided to you free of charge. You will be supplied with your placement badge once you have started your course. Please note, this is not your Student ID card.
You will receive an email from the Uniform Team regarding important tasks that you will need to action prior to your Welcome Week. If you have any questions about your uniform or placement badge, please email health.uniform@canterbury.ac.uk.
|
Item |
Reason |
Cost |
Compulsory or Optional |
|
Fob watch |
This will be needed both in university and clinical practice |
£1 - £45 |
This is not compulsory to buy before you start as you will be able to buy one at the beginning of your course. |
Preparing yourself to study nursing is not always easy; it is not a traditional academic discipline and has no clear boundaries. There are a few general interest websites available that you could review:
The MSc Nursing is a problem-based learning (PBL) course, and this may be a teaching style you are unfamiliar with. We would strongly encourage you to spend some time reading about PBL so you can come to the course prepared for this more interactive way of learning. We use the Maastricht University model of PBL which you can read about here https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/education/why-um/problem-based-learning or you can watch a general introduction to the PBL process here https://youtu.be/XbH7-Qa9xaU
Finally, you can start thinking about how you will travel and manage your life when you are on your placement. Placements can involve you in travelling for up to 90 minutes each way.
During your first week in university, we will be introducing you to the university generally, the library, student support services and your course. You will be meeting the course team including your personal academic tutor in this first week too. The following week you will begin your first two academic modules and participate in simulation activities. More information on your actual timetable will be coming soon. Your first practice placement will begin in November 2024.
Prior to beginning the course, you will need to have undertaken 750 hours of practice experience. You will then need to submit a Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) application portfolio of evidence that documents these 750 hours and includes a CV, record of application for Disclosure Barring Scheme (DBS) and occupational health clearance and a supporting statement reflecting how these experiences have prepared you to undertake the MSc Nursing. You will be supported in preparing this portfolio by a member of the MSc course team. This portfolio will be assessed using predefined criteria and once successfully completed you will be offered a firm place on the course.
We would encourage you to review the course structure and module options via your course page before you arrive.
Reading a book about Students and Practice Placement Learning will help you to prepare for placements. There are many available, but Learning to Learn in Nursing Practice, by Kath Sharples, printed by the Learning Matters Company, is a good choice.
You may want to look at Catherine Delves-Yates (ed) (2022) Essentials of Nursing Practice 3rd Ed: Sage Publications.
You could also prepare for mental health practice by reading: Wright, K.M. and McKeown, M. (2018) Essentials of Mental Health Nursing: Sage Publications.
Books are a very personal choice so we would recommend you spend some time in the library getting to know the style of writing that suits you best. Each of your modules will provide you with an extensive reading list but to start with you might like to read the following recommendations:
International students: don't miss out! Make sure you register for our international student success programme which provides practical advice on preparing to live and study in the UK.
CourseSupport-health@canterbury.ac.uk