Children and Young People's Nursing (pre-registration) MSc

Course overview

Children and young people’s nurses deliver care to people under 25, their families and support networks. They work across a range of services including acute hospitals, community, primary care, schools, and specialised services. Alongside caring for the physical health needs of young people, the role encompasses caring for their mental, emotional and social needs, whilst ensuring they are appropriately safeguarded.

• Gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours to independently address diverse health and care needs across the lifespan. Course content prepares you to analyse, develop and deliver effective care to children from birth to young adulthood, focusing on physiological, mental health, and wellbeing needs, with an emphasis on evidence-informed practice, care and compassion.
• Learn the clinical and personal skills required to provide autonomous, compassionate, and family-centred care. Learn to collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary teams as a children and young people's nurse to coordinate safe, evidence-based care.
• Through recognition of your previous care experience and completion of four practice placements organised by Coventry University during your course, you will achieve the 50% practical placement training needed for registration as a children and young people’s nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The clinical practice experience exposes you to caring for the needs of children, young people and their families across a range of health services^2,5.
• Study one module at a time, with five weeks of learning followed by one week of assessment per module.

Why you should study this course

• The course aims to develop high standards of person- and family-centred care, complex care coordination, decision-making, leadership, and mentoring. It prepares you to be an accountable professional, excel in multidisciplinary teams, and demonstrate leadership through relationship management and emotional intelligence.
• The course is ideal if you have a health-related, psychology, criminology or sociology degree with some experience in health and social care. It is also suitable if you are an existing nurse looking for dual qualification.
• Theoretical aspects of the course will be further developed through simulation and clinical placements which are relevant to the Children and Young People’s nursing field^2,4,5.
• This course should develop your digital fluency, curiosity, critical and reflective thinking.
• All eligible students on this course can apply for a minimum payment from the Government of £5,000 per year, with additional payments for students incurring childcare costs⁶.

Studying in the School of Health and Care

Gain the skills and experience to transform lives, communities and the future of healthcare delivery. We aim to empower you to become a stand-out healthcare professional, capable, competent and confident in your field and role within the wider healthcare team.

While continuously developing your sense of professional identity as a nurse from day one, you'll also collaborate with learners from other School of Health and Care fields, learning in an environment that puts inclusivity, diversity and dignity at its heart.

Careers and opportunities

Successful completion of this course is a strong indication to potential employees that you have both the ability and academic characteristics required for working in a variety of clinical settings.

You could find employment in a variety of clinical and specialist areas across a range of public and private healthcare settings. This could be within Children and Young People's nursing roles or child and adolescent mental health care.

On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• apply for Registration as a Children’s Nurse through the consistent demonstration of the knowledge, skills, level of proficiency and behaviours required to meet the professional standards set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
• act as an autonomous and accountable Children’s Nurse who can apply relevant legal and ethical frameworks and requirements towards ensuring safe and effective care delivery within the scope of their professional practice.
• critically evaluate evidence from diverse sources to inform, rationalise and improve nursing care delivery whilst developing skills to support continued professional validation and life-long learning.
• apply evidenced-based approaches towards sustaining and enhancing the wellbeing of individuals, communities, and populations. Utilise effective communication strategies that enable informed choices to protect and promote health.
• demonstrate the qualities of an influential leader who can pro-actively develop professional relationships, supervise, and work collaboratively with others, towards improving care outcomes.
• lead in the coordination of care across a range of unpredictable and complex environments. To ensure patient safety and high-quality care, graduates must collaborate closely with individuals, their support networks, other health and care professionals, and utilise digital technologies.
• assess, plan, deliver and evaluate culturally competent care that is respectful, equitable, inclusive, sustainable and adaptive towards incorporating people’s health care choices.