Contemporary Nursing introduces contemporary nursing practice and explores the values and behaviours that underpin professional nursing practice across all fields. The module will familiarise you with the many factors that influence the health and social wellbeing of all individuals across the lifespan. You will explore the fundamental principles of health and wellbeing and gain an understanding of the skills, knowledge and values essential for the development of person and family-centred care. You will also gain key skills in the holistic assessment of individuals across the lifespan and all fields of nursing.

Contemporary Social Work introduces you to social work as a concept and an activity and locates it within both historical and contemporary frameworks. Core concepts underpinning the practice of social work are introduced as a means of providing you with both theoretical and conceptual frameworks within which to locate your practice. You will develop knowledge and understanding of the settings and contexts within which practice takes place and explore issues regarding inter-agency and inter-professional collaboration. The module introduces you to issues relating to social justice, structural inequality, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice. The importance of values and ethics, the nature of society and the range of practices undertaken by social workers and other professionals in identifying and responding to social need will also be considered.

Foundation Science, Theory and Method in Nursing and Social Work provides an introduction to the life sciences that underpin nursing and social work. The focus of the module will be on the theory of biological, psychological, social sciences and the pharmacological contexts of contemporary practice. Developing your understanding of anatomy and physiology, as well as knowledge of the key psychosocial concepts that affect individuals, families, groups and communities, is essential in order to underpin the principles of safe and effective practice. A recognition of diversity and the need for anti-discriminatory practice will also be emphasised.

Foundations for Integrated Practice prepares you to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to meet the needs and expectations of people across a range of health and social care settings. The module develops a variety of practice skills in preparation for your first placement experience. On every placement, you will be encouraged to seek feedback from service users and their carers in order to inform and enhance your practice and to gain an understanding of the health and care experience from the service user’s perspective. In preparation for registration with the professional bodies, personal development planning and portfolio development will be a key component of this module.

Adults Within an Integrated Health and Social Care Context provides you with the knowledge relating to current practice with adults within and across a diverse range of contexts and settings. It is a primary focus of government policy and professional practice to promote and support the wellbeing of adults, many of whom are vulnerable, and to ensure that their needs are addressed and that they are protected from harm. Practitioners need to understand the range of theories, legislation, policies and other structures that both frame and guide practice and must be able to transfer knowledge and skills across a range of contexts involving adults within different settings across the health and social work landscape. Inherent within this module is the need for you to engage critically with issues appertaining to agency and capacity, to consider the importance of critical awareness, working with uncertainty and in ethically challenging situations, and to gain effective and robust assessment skills.

Children, Young People and Their Families Within an Integrated Health and Social Care Context provides you with the opportunity to develop your subject specific knowledge and a range of critical abilities to be able to deal confidently and competently with the complexities of children, young people’s health and social care needs. In doing so, you will consider the range of ethical and other dilemmas faced by practitioners operating within the arena of integrated health and social work provision. A case study approach will be used throughout the module as a means of providing you with the opportunity to work with real life scenarios facilitating effective linkage between theory and real world practice.

Developing Capability for Integrated Practice enhances your knowledge, skills and behaviours in preparation for professional practice. Practice experiences, which include a 70 day social work placement, enable you to explore the challenges of working as part of a team with the opportunity to apply your learning to practice in nursing and social work environments. In accordance with the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, you will develop an understanding of the needs of pregnant and postnatal women and build a range of skills that will support your developing competence and confidence in practice. Personal development planning is an additional, key component of this module.

Law and Policy in Nursing and Social Work builds upon knowledge of the legal and social policy frameworks within which social work and nursing practice is located. The module will enable you to examine some of the tensions and contradictions in the relationship between professional practice, the law and social policy. You will consider the relationship between legal rules, organisational context and professional practice, in addition to the professional duties and responsibilities of legal systems and their application to various practice settings. Exploring the relationship between law and professional practice, you will also examine the ethical and moral dimensions of applying the law in specific areas. The module will also enable you to build up your portfolio of relevant skills and provide a safe learning environment in which to rehearse these.

Aspects of International Health and Social Care encourages you to examine your own notions of ethnicity, race and culture and develop knowledge of diverse cultural groups and culturally sensitive health and social care. You will examine the impact of political, societal and geographical influences on the health and social care provision to groups of people and will explore health and social care systems from an international perspective.

Enhancing Confidence and Capability for Integrated Practice provides an opportunity to evaluate the current challenges that inter-professional teams are facing, thereby also developing confidence in your own approach to integrated practice. The aim is for you to demonstrate the ability to work more independently, with less supervision, and the potential to work autonomously. In addition to nursing and social work placement experiences, there may be an opportunity for you to choose a national or international placement experience.

Research Methods in Health and Social Care equips you with an understanding of the core philosophies, paradigms, methods and procedures that underpin quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research design and practice. In addition, the module emphasises the importance of the applied nature of research and other forms of enquiry.

Working with Complexity in Health and Social Care addresses the management and support of individuals with acute and complex care needs. The term ‘complex needs’ encapsulates a variety of conditions including congenital disorders, chronic health conditions, psycho-social issues, communication difficulties, behavioural challenges, as well as palliative and end-of-life care. The module will enhance your knowledge and understanding in terms of early recognition of the deteriorating person and managing the holistic care of individuals with complex care needs. The aim is for you to reflect on the core values, skills and knowledge frameworks required to work as an integrated practitioner in responding to complex situations. The module will also focus on the legal and ethical issues that underpin complex care and develop your ability to critically analyse potential dilemmas. The importance of providing quality, person-centred care and packages of support will be focused upon, along with the need for effective communication with individuals, their carers, families and members of the multi-disciplinary team.

Achieving Competence and Proficiency for Professional Registration is a module that is predominantly facilitated in practice. It enables you to consolidate and apply your acquired integrated knowledge skills and values, with a focus upon leadership and decision-making. Integrated practice experiences in this module, which include 100 days in social work practice, will enhance your confidence to meet the more complex and co-existing needs of people within nursing and social work practice. You will undertake work of increasing complexity in order to achieve the professional competence required of a newly qualified social worker and registered nurse. The expectation will be for you to consistently demonstrate and promote evidence-based care with compassion, confidence, competence and appropriate attitudes as you take increasing responsibility for care delivery.

Leadership in Integrated Health and Social Care prepares you to understand and inhabit the leadership role required of qualified professionals in contemporary health and social care. The module equips you with a critical understanding of professional, service and organisational leadership and the essential contribution of the professional in the process of managing change. Consequently, the module examines core theory and the research of leadership, organisations and change within a context of the evolving role and value base of the integrated practitioner in health and social care. You will develop the skills that produce and promote safe, responsive and efficient services for people in need of health and social care support and foster the commitment to professional accountability, practice research and continuing development that underpin effective practice.

MNSW Dissertation enables you to develop and demonstrate research mindedness and evidence-based knowledge relevant to current nursing and social work practice and the wider practice context. You will be expected to focus on a specialist area of integrated nursing and social work theory and practice and work independently to develop advanced understanding of the role of research and of your particular area of enquiry. The module will enhance your comprehensive understanding of research methods and their application in order to advance scholarship in your discipline. Working autonomously in planning, implementing and producing an extensive piece of research that demonstrates self-direction and originality, you will carefully consider the dissemination and implementation of your research project.

GCSE English Language and GCSE Mathematics at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or equivalent, remain part of the entry criteria but Edge Hill equivalency tests can now be sat by those prospective students who do not have GCSEs (or nationally recognised equivalents) in either or both of these subjects at the required grades.