Welcome to your course
Welcome to the children’s nursing programme at the University of Cumbria. You are part of a larger programme of other fields of nursing and will spend some time with these other fields of nursing in addition to time with your Children’s nursing colleagues from the other campus.
We know that arriving at University is an exciting time and we hope that you enjoy it. Your welcome week will be filled with activities both programme specific and social so try to make the most of this time as you settle in to University life! You’ll meet lots of people during that week but we don’t expect you to remember everything so you’ll get lots of written information too!
Timetables
Choose your campus below to download your Welcome Week timetable.
Carlisle - Fusehill Street
Lancaster
Student support systems
As you begin your career in nursing, it is important that you feel supported, both academically and personally. You will undoubtedly be exposed to a wealth of experiences, some of which will be personally challenging and it is for this reason you need to be aware of the support mechanisms available to you.
At the University of Cumbria, we have been commended nationally by the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) for the level of support on offer. This support can be accessed via a number of sources:
- Lecturing staff;
- Practice staff on clinical placements;
- University of Cumbria student support services;
- Professional organisations;
- Chaplaincy staff.
Support from lecturing staff: The focus of student support is the Personal Tutor (PT). You will be assigned a PT within the first few weeks of your programme and will be expected to attend regular meetings to review your personal, academic and professional development. Your Personal Tutor will be one of the lecturing team - all of whom are children's nurses. In addition you will also have a year co-ordinator who has the responsibility of managing the day to day delivery of the programme - in Lancaster this is Alison Buckley and in Carlisle this is Jean Longrigg.
Support for students on practice placements comes in the first instance from a practice/based mentor or supervisor with support from a Link Tutor. The Link Tutor is a member of the lecturing staff who will liaise with you during your placement time to address any issues you may have. In addition, you will have access to a Practice Education Facilitator who supports practice-based learning on behalf of the Trust.
Support from Professional Organisations: Students are entitled to join professional organisations such as the Royal College of Nursing or UNISON and to receive support and benefits through these channels. You will have an opportunity to meet with representatives from a number of health care unions during Welcome Week. You are strongly recommended to join a Union/Professional Organisation.
Course Attendance
During the welcome week the site year co-ordinator will provide you with details of the programme and discuss attendance requirements. The University day is primarily from 09.00-16.00 hours although some lectures may finish at 18.00 hours. There is an expectation that you attend all lectures and fully embrace the learning opportunities available to you.
During placements you will adopt the shift patterns of the placement setting. It is therefore important that you make provision to accommodate for any personal responsibilities eg. child care arrangements, transport, during this time.
Clinical Placements
The campus-based work will help prepare you for placement. We arrange all the clinical placements for nursing students for the duration of their course, except for enrichment placements later in the programme. Account is taken of a student’s base site and home area, however students need to be aware that our placements cover a large geographical area and many students will be required to travel to a placement which is outside their home area. Students can be reassured that the placements that are used by the University are audited to ensure that they meet the student’s educational requirements (i.e. that students will be able to meet their learning outcomes in a safe and supportive environment).
Placements will not be altered once they have been organised (except in exceptional circumstances). Whilst on placement, you will be allocated to a registered nurse or suitably qualified and experienced health professional to act as your mentor or supervisor. This person will be someone to relate to, a role model, adviser and teacher. In order to facilitate this valuable educational function, your duty rota will be closely aligned with that of your mentor who will also be in a good position to assess your progress on the placement. As discussed above, a system of link tutors ensures that there will be a University member of staff acting as a point of contact and support for you.
During your first year you will spend some placement time on a children’s ward in addition to experiencing care in the community setting.
Pre-course Preparation
Most of you have experience of working with children in some capacity and if you have a chance to get involved in summer play schemes or with groups of children of all ages then you will find this beneficial. Don’t forget to have some holiday time though!
If you have any questions about your course, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our Admissions team.
Contact Us
Need more information? Feel free to get in touch! You can send an email to Ros Sanders, or for application related queries, please contact the Admissions team.
