Mental Health Nursing

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Course Overview
Key Facts
Course Outline
Further Education
Why Choose This Course?
Course Fees
Find Out More

What our lecturers say What our students say

Entry Points (2020)

440

Course Overview

This four-year programme, offered in partnership with the Health Service Executive West, leads to the award of Bachelor of Nursing Science (Psychiatric) and eligibility for registration in the Psychiatric Division of the Nurses’ Register, maintained by An Bord Altranais, the nursing profession’s regulatory body.

Psychiatric Nursing aims to assist in the recovery of people experiencing mental health issues and to promote mental health and wellbeing. At the heart of psychiatric nursing is the development of therapeutic relationships, engaging with patients, their carers and their families.

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 level in the Leaving Certificate, including Irish, English, Mathematics, a laboratory science subject (i.e. Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physics with Chemistry (joint) or Agricultural Science), and any two other subjects recognised for entry purposes.

Additional Requirements

All successful applicants who are offered places on the degree programme will be required to have medical screening and Garda vetting: this will include medical assessment, screening and, if necessary, vaccination prior to the first clinical placement, in accordance with the policies of NUI Galway and the HSE West/Northwest Hospitals Group.

Duration

4 years

Next start date

September 2021

A Level Grades (2020)

nuigalway.ie/alevels

Average intake

Closing Date

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

Award

CAO

GY516

Course code

Course Outline

Year 1 - 3

Biological Sciences
Social Sciences
Nursing Skills
Nursing Practice
Mental Health Promotion
Research

Year 4

Research
Leadership and Clinical Governance in Nursing and Midwifery Practice
Transition to Professional Practice in Nursing and Midwifery Practice
Clinical/Theory instruction - Semester I
Clinical internship which runs over 36 weeks - Semester II

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits: You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module: An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Subject: Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
Optional: A module you may choose to study.
Required: A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Required Core Subject: A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
Semester: Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Required NU185: Principles and Practice of Clinical Nursing 1 - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU184: The Nature of Mental Health Nursing - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU138: Practice Assessment (PY) - 0 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU104: Placement Hours - 0 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU183: Caring for Mental Health Service Users with Enduring Mental Health Needs 1 - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU118: Clinical I & II - 15 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU182: Assessing and Promoting Health 1 - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU116: Social Sciences 1 - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU115: Biological Sciences I - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU1106: Practice Assessment 2 (PY) - 0 Credits - Semester 2

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Year 4 (60 Credits)

Required NU405: Leading & Developing Practice - 10 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU499: Clinical Hours - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU474: Clinical Practice VII - 10 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU470: Practice Assessment - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU488: Internship Assessment 3 - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU489: Internship Assessment 4 - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU475: Research Project - 20 Credits - Semester 8
Required NU471: Clinical Internship - 20 Credits - Semester 8
Required NU486: Internship Assessment 1 - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU487: Internship Assessment 2 - 0 Credits - Semester 7

Further Education

There are a variety of continuing professional development opportunities available to graduates of this programme, in particular postgraduate programmes within the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the Psychiatric Nursing degree programme will be in a position to work in a variety of settings, including:

In-patient mental health services
Community mental health services
Child and adolescent services
Voluntary organisations
Recovery and rehabilitation services
Services for older people
Substance misuse treatment services
Primary mental health care

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Work Placement

Students undertake a 36-week clinical internship in semester two of year four. Clinical practice modules require students to complete clinical placements within the Health Service Executive West region. While on clinical placements, students will be supervised by an appropriately trained nurse. In accordance with An Bord
Altranais regulations, the total requirements of the programme are 144 weeks clinical placement. During the clinical internship period, students are paid a salary.

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€7,330 p.a. 2020/21

Fees: Tuition

€4,106 p.a. 2020/21

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2020/21

Fees: Student levy

€224 p.a. 2020/21

Fees: Non EU

€23,750 p.a. 2020/21

EU Fees 2020/21:

- Tuition: may be paid by the Irish Government on your behalf see - free fee initiative.
- Student Contribution: €3,000 - payable by all students but may by paid by SUSI if you apply and are deemed eligible for a means tested SUSI grant.
- Student Levy: €224 - payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI.

Find out More

The School of Nursing and Midwifery
T 353 (0)91 493 432
F 353 (0)91 494 537
E nursing.midwifery@nuigalway.ie
www.nuigalway.ie/nursingmidwifery

What Our Students Say

Evelyn Mullers | BSc (Psychiatric)

...I was always interested in caring for people, and I had a particular interest in mental health so deciding to be a psychiatric nurse was an easy decision. I chose to study Psychiatric Nursing at NUI Galway, because of the state of the art new nursing building on the campus, the nursing library which has great up-to-date books and accommodating staff; the wonderful new computer suites in the building, and the fact that the university is close to the hospital. Of course the social attractions in Galway were an added bonus!...

Nursing

Midwifery Science