MSci Nurse Paramedic (Adult) course preparation
To help you feel prepared for your MSci Nurse Paramedic (Adult) studies, we’ve gathered together a range of course related activities including suggested reading, useful websites and some great things to do right now. Read on to find out more.
Pre-course events
If you were unable to attend the events in July and September, you can view the welcome presentation and the the finance presentation online. You can also take a look at the slides from the induction timetable review event that took place on 5 September.
You’re also invited to the following online event before your course begins:
Your final Q&A
Friday 22 September. AM and PM event options.
Two time slots are available for this session. You only need to join one session if you have any questions.
Important: Occupational Health
You’ll be allocated an Occupational Health (OH) appointment at the clinic being held at our Ormskirk campus. The clinics will be held within the first weeks of when you start the course (dates are yet to be finalised).
Please remember that it’s a condition of entry to the programme that you’re cleared and immunised by OH. If you don’t meet this requirement your place on the programme could be jeopardised. It’s also important to remember that if you’re not fully cleared by OH, you won’t be able to fully enrol on your course. This could then mean you can’t access your maintenance loan via Student Finance England.
So, to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible, you’ll need to provide details of your immunisation record to the OH Team when you complete the questionnaire.
If you’re unable to attend your allocated time slot, you must contact us, preferably giving at least 24 hours notice. If you’re unable to give 24 hours notice or have an issue on the day of your appointment, please email [email protected] or call the team on 01695 650946. The OH and School team will try to provide another appointment, but this is likely to be at the OH department based in Wigan and you will need to make sure that you attend.
Most of our placement settings will also require you to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as a condition of placement. If you’re not vaccinated or are part way through vaccination, please let us know as soon as possible. It’s likely that this will be included on your immunisation record which will be sufficient to confirm your clearance.
We routinely collect data on short notice cancellations and non-attendance. Unfortunately, if this happens more than once, the University will charge you the full cost of the appointment.
Suggested texts
You’ll be given lots of information about which textbooks to read and introduced to the University Library, as well as the many ebooks we have for you to access, when you begin your studies in September.
In the meantime, there are a couple of books you might like to read before starting your degree if you can. We don’t recommend rushing out to buy texts before you arrive. But if you can pick some up second hand, borrow from a library or access online, we suggest the following:
- BLABER, A., 2019. Foundations for paramedic practice: a theoretical perspective. 3rd ed. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
- BOYD, C. and DARE, J., 2014. Communication skills for nurses. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
- BROOKER, C. and WAUGH, A., 2013. 2nd ed. Foundations of nursing practice. London: Mosby.
- COTTRELL, S. 2019 The Study Skills Handbook. 5th ed. London: Bloomsbury Publishing
- NETTINA, S.M., 2018. The lippincott manual of nursing practice. 11th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health
- PERRY, A.G., POTTER, P.A., and OSTENDORF, W., 2022. Clinical nursing skills and techniques. 10th ed. Missouri: Elsevier.
- TAYLOR, C., LILLIS, C., LYNN, P., LEBONE, E, 2014. Study Guide for Fundamentals of Nursing: The art and science of person-centred Nursing care. 8th Ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
- POLGAR, S. 2019. Introduction to research in the health sciences. 7th ed. London: Elsevier Health Services.
- WAUGH, A., GRANT, A., CHAMBERS, G., and ROSS, J.S., 2018. Ross and Wilson Anatomy and Physiology in Health and Illness. 13th ed: Elsevier.
Suggested materials for your course
Before you begin you will need:
- A fob watch with second hand
- Mini Dictionary for Nurses
- Access to the British National Formulary (BNF)
- Access (if free) to the Joint Royal College Ambulance Liaison Committee Clinical Guidelines JRCLAC app
Useful websites to visit
Professional Standards
The two regulatory bodies for the Nurse Paramedic Programme are:
- Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
- Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Both of these have produced standards of proficiency that have to be met in order for you to be able to register, practice and remain registered as a Nurse Paramedic. Below you will find more information about the two regulatory bodies along with some tasks that will help you to become familiar with the standards of proficiency before you start your programme.
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
The HCPC is a regulator of 15 different health and care professions. These include:
- Art Therapy
- Dieticians
- Occupational Therapists
- Paramedics
- Operating Department Practitioners
- Speech and Language Therapists
What do they do?
- Keep a register of professionals, known as ‘Registrants’ who meet the standards
- Set the standards for professionals’ education and training and practice
- Take action is professionals on the register do not meet the standards
To learn more about the standards that apply to you visit the HCPC website.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
The NMC are the professional regulatory council for Nurses and Midwives in the UK and Nurse Associates in England. They do not register any other professions under their regulations.
What do they do?
- They maintain the register of Nurses and Midwives who meet the requirements for registration in the UK
- Set the requirements of professional education that supports people to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for entry to, or annotation on, our register
- Investigate serious concerns about nurses, midwives and nursing associates fitness to practice and take action if needed
- Shape the practice of professionals in developing and promoting standards including the code, and lifelong learning through revalidation
To learn more about the standards that apply to you visit the NMC website.
The standards of proficiency in more detail
Each regulatory body has a set of proficiencies or platforms that inform both your curriculum and your practice. These are split into defined sections:
NMC Platforms
- Being an accountable professional
- Promoting health and preventing ill health
- Assessing needs and planning care
- Providing and evaluating care
- Leading and Managing nursing care and working in teams
- Improving safety and equality of care
- Coordinating care
HCPC Proficiencies
- Be able to practice safely and effectively within the scope of practice
- Practice within the legal and ethical boundaries
- Able to maintain fitness to practice
- Practice as an autonomous professional, exercising their own professional judgement
- Be aware of the impact of culture, equality and diversity on practice
- Be able to practice in a non-discriminatory manner
- Understand the importance of and be able to maintain confidentiality
- Be able to communicate effectively
- Be able to work appropriately with others
- Be able to maintain records appropriately
- Be able to reflect on and review practice
- Be able to assure the quality of their practice
- Understand key concepts of the knowledge base relevant to their profession
- Be able to draw on appropriate knowledge and skills to inform practice
- Understand the need to establish and maintain a safe practice environment
Each section has sub-sections which provide specific detail about the requirement of the proficiency. In total the NMC has 103 individual proficiencies and the HCPC has 98 individual proficiencies.
Questions based on proficiencies
Take a look at the standards for both nurses and paramedics and begin to familiarise yourself with them. Which HCPC and NMC standards could you identify with in each of the following situations? We have provided you with the answers to each scenario, however to make sure you get the most out of this task please do not look at them until you have your answers.
Scenario 1. You are looking after a polish speaking patient and feel that there is a communication barrier.
Scenario 2. You have been involved in a traumatic death and are asked to attend a debrief about the situation.
Scenario 3. You have been asked to participate in a campaign for vaccination uptake but have personal doubts about the vaccine effectiveness.
Scenario 4. You have been asked to undertake, under supervision an assessment of a 74 year old patient who has attended the walk-in centre where you are on placement with their daughter.
Other things to do now
Affiliation to a union body is also recommended, for example: