MNSW Learning Disabilities Nursing and Social Work course preparation

To help you feel prepared for your university studies, we’ve gathered together a range of course related activities including suggested reading, useful websites and some great things to do right now. Open the links below to find out more:

Important: Occupational Health

You’ll be allocated an Occupational Health appointment at the clinic being held at our Ormskirk campus. The clinics will be held within the first weeks of you starting the course (dates are yet to be finalised).

Please remember that it is 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.

Professional standards and the NMC

The regulatory body for the BSc (Hons) Nursing programme is the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

The NMC 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. 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 the NMC 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

Social Work England (SWE)

Social Work England are the professional regulatory body for qualified Social Workers in England. They do not register any other professions under their regulations.

What do they do?

Keep a register of professionals, known as ‘registrants’ who meet the standards
Set standards for professionals’ education and training and practice
Take action if professionals on the register do not meet the standards

To learn more about the standards that apply to you visit the SWE website.

The standards of proficiency in more detail

Each regulatory body has a set of professional standards that inform both your curriculum and your practice. These are split into defined sections:

Each section has sub-sections which provide specific detail about the requirement of the proficiency. In total the NMC has 103 individual proficiencies and SWE has 50 professional standards and have the professional capabilities framework.

Your task

Take a look at the standards for both nurses and social workers and begin to familiarise yourself with them. Reflect on why nurses/social workers are regulated and why they must adhere to professional standards.

Suggested materials

Before you begin you’ll need:

A fob watch with second hand
Mini Dictionary for Nurses
Access to the British National Formulary (BNF)

Useful websites

Things to do over summer

Working within the Health and Social Care professions is extremely rewarding and unique, as it involves a diverse range of skills and attributes, including being able to work independently and as part of a multi-professional team.

In order to identify the role of a Nurse/ Social Worker, it is essential for you to define:

The role of a Nurse
The role of a Social Worker

It is important to identify the key characteristics and core values of each profession. Please consider the similarities within the two professions.

As a qualified Nurse/Social Worker you will need to be able to demonstrate leadership, management, team work and clinical decision-making skills as well as provide care, support and empower people to make decisions that will change their lives.

Your programme has been designed to give you all of the above skills as well as many others and ensure that upon qualifying you will be fit for purpose and fit for practice at the point of registration, allowing you to begin a career that will be Dynamic, Challenging, Diverse, Rewarding and more importantly a Privilege.

You may want to have a look at both regulatory body’s websites, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and Social Work England which will give you detailed information about the professional codes and standards.

Affiliation to a union body is also recommended, for example: