Are you passionate about meeting the needs of people with a learning disability? Are you looking for an interesting and exciting career working to support people’s health, wellbeing and independence? Our Nursing (Learning Disability) BSc(Hons) degree regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) could be a great place for you to take the first steps towards making a huge difference to people’s everyday lives.

• You'll be supported by a team who really understand what it’s like to be a learning disability nurse and will learn through lectures, seminars, group work, simulation and role play.
• You'll practice and develop your skills through a variety of clinical placements in a range of statutory, private and voluntary services, in order to prepare you to pursue your career.
• You'll learn how to work in partnership with service users, their families, carers and other professionals to promote health and wellbeing.
• You’ll have the opportunity to hear the experiences and viewpoints from service users and carers, who are part of the Public Partnership Group.
• You’ll also learn how to respond to the physical, cognitive and mental health care needs of all patients and service users across their lifespan.

Learning disability nursing is an exciting and rewarding career where you can support people from a range of backgrounds to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. Learning disability nurses provide hands on care, as well as emotional and educational support in order to promote an individual’s independence. They work in people’s homes, schools, respite units, hospitals and secure services to empower individuals to achieve their potential and have more choice and control over their lives. Working in partnership with the individual and their families, learning disability nurses work independently and with other professionals, learning how to respond to individual needs.

The course is designed to help you become a competent, caring and compassionate nurse who can work confidently with a high level of personal and technical skills to improve the quality of life of people with a learning disability. You'll spend half of your time undertaking theoretical study and the other half in practice as you develop your knowledge and skills in order to empower, advocate and protect the rights of marginalised people. These will include communication and interpersonal skills, person centred working, leadership and management, evidence-based decision making and team working.

The Government has announced that from September 2020 new and existing students studying this course will be eligible to receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 each year. Further information is available on the Government's website and the Council of Deans Frequently Asked Questions.

Placements

Nothing can really replicate working in the real-world, which is why practice placements are essential and a compulsory part of the course. The Nursing and Midwifery Council require you to complete the minimum of 2300 hours over the three years in order to obtain registration. Each year you'll complete two blocks of placement.

You'll have the opportunity to complete your practice learning experiences in a diverse range of health and social care settings, reflecting the diversity of the services accessed by people with a learning disability. This may include community teams, nursing and residential homes, supported living services, schools, short break services, day opportunities or hospitals and clinics. You may also have the opportunity to work within forensic services, prisons, palliative care and youth offending services.

In order to provide you with the broadest professional experience possible, practice experiences are generally offered across West Yorkshire and beyond, covering 24 hour care including evening, weekend and occasional night shifts. For more information visit our placements page. You'll be required to travel to and during your placements.

Your Career

Our graduates have gone on to work as nurses in local healthcare trusts, charities and short-term care providers.** 

Other careers could also include high profile leadership roles supporting people with learning disabilities and specialist needs or roles within specialist assessment and treatment areas.

After qualification there is an extensive range of training and career opportunities, which include becoming a manager for local service providers, epilepsy nurse, safeguarding nurse, behavioural specialist or forensic care nurse. Other opportunities include working in dual diagnosis services or specialist services for people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, specialist nurse for drug management, consultant nurse specialist or nurse lecturer, as well as a policy maker and advisor at a national or local level.