FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NURSING and MIDWIFERY PROGRAMMES
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
GENERAL INFORMATION
How many places do you have?
All of our places are commissioned by Health Education
England on an annual basis. Over previous years we have
had up to 260 Adult Nursing places, up to 70 Mental Health
places and no more than 20 places for Child Nursing and
Midwifery.
What programmes do you offer for 2015/2016?
We will be recruiting for the following undergraduate
programmes (application through UCAS):
BSc Adult Nursing (September 2015 & March 2016)
BSc Mental Health Nursing (September 2015 & March 2016)
BSc Child Nursing (September 2015)
BA Midwifery (September 2015)
What is the duration of programmes?
3 years for undergraduate programmes.
BURSARIES
All students who meet relevant criteria will have their fees paid
by the NHS. A bursary calculator is available at
www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk to give you an estimate. A recent review
of student bursaries has been undertaken and from September
2012, all students have access to the same scheme, irrelevant
of their programme of study.
You can gain further advice from our Student Advice team
regarding any financial issues, including Bursaries and
applying
for
student
loans
by
emailing
studentadvice@ljmu.ac.uk or calling 0151-904 6053 / 6055 .
Would I be a Registered Nurse / Midwife after completion
of any of these programmes?
Yes, upon successful completion, you will become a
Registered Nurse or Midwife, providing you have completed
the required hours. Once you have completed, the NMC will
contact you regarding your Registered Status. For those
wishing to enter employment in the NHS, Registered Nurses
and Registered Midwives enter at band 5 within Agenda for
Change. Current pay for band 5 is between £21,478 and
£27,901 per annum. For more information on pay and careers
within the NHS, please visit: www.nhscareers.nhs.uk
I am already a Registered Nurse but wish to train in
a different Branch / as a Midwife, can I do this?
Not easily. You can only receive pre-registration funding once,
however, you may be able to persuade an NHS employer to
pay for you to do this.
I trained for one year and due to personal reasons had to
give up but still wish to continue my training, is this
possible?
Yes, if you successfully completed your first year you may be
able to transfer or re-start with us. External transfers will
need to apply directly through UCAS (and put year of entry as
‘2’) but your personal statement must state that you are
wishing to transfer. If invited to interview you will need to
provide a transcript of training, attendance record, and a
reference from your previous personal tutor as well as other
information.
Is the course split into Theory and Practice?
Yes, there is a requirement that all courses leading to
Registered Nurse or Registered Midwife must be split into
50% theory and 50% practice.
The requirements for
undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are different
and you should check the individual factfile for further
information.
When will my holidays be?
Nursing and Midwifery courses do not follow the standard
academic calendar and as a student, you will be entitled to 7
weeks holiday per year, set in advance. Due to the amount of
hours that must be completed to register, students are
unable to take any additional holidays. We try to give holiday
dates as far as possible in advance to allow students to plan
holidays.
PLACEMENTS
How are placements allocated?
Each student studying on Adult / Mental Health / Child
Nursing are allocated a Hospital Trust upon commencement
and the majority of clinical based placements will be within
this Trust. Other placements may include nursing and old
peoples homes.
Although it can’t be guaranteed, the
Placement Learning Support Unit try to place students with a
Trust close to their term time address.
Due to the small amount of Midwifery placements, the same
cannot be guaranteed for these students.
How will I travel to my placements?
If you are in student accommodation reserved for Nurses and
Midwives (Marybone III), you are well situated to reach your
placements by public transport. You will be only a 5-minute
walk away from the local rail network and the main city centre
bus stops. Additionally, providing the cost of your journey is
greater than the cost of your normal travel to university, you
.
Faculty of Education, Health & Community
Visit us at: www.ljmu.ac.uk/health
Contact us: (0151) 231-5090 recruitment@ljmu.ac.uk
will have the difference reimbursed each month. We try to
ensure that students do not travel in excess of one hour to
placement.
Who will train me when I am on placement?
You will be placed with a qualified midwife or nurse mentor
who will teach you clinical skills throughout your placement.
You will have a different mentor on each placement.
Will I work shifts?
Yes, there is a requirement for students to work the full range
of shifts as would be expected once qualified, this means
nightshifts and weekend working as well as normal early and
late shifts. The University does ensure however that students
are not taken advantage of and used to ‘fill in the gaps’ on
shifts. Students are supernumerary to the staffing structure in
place and for the majority of the time you will work shifts the
same as that of your mentor. Shifts are set in the practice area
and are not set by the University.
Midwifery students need to provide antenatal care to 100
women and postnatal care to 100 women and their babies they
also need to complete 40 normal births and attend 10
complicated births, there may be times therefore that you will
work beyond the hours of your shift to enable you to become
clinically competent.
APPLICATIONS & SELECTION PROCESSES
(including mature applicants, convictions and
medicals)
How do I apply?
Applications must be made online through UCAS
www.ucas.ac.uk for undergraduate programmes and through
JMU’s online application for postgraduate courses. For those
applying through UCAS, you can apply for up to 5 courses on
one application and UCAS forwards it to the relevant
universities. When you apply, you will become registered to
use UCAS Track, this is an online tracking system to enable
you to find out the status of your applications. Universities will
update the system at various stages, i.e. if your application is
rejected, if you are invited to interview or you are made an offer
- and is your first port of call in finding out what is happening to
your application. UCAS Track also allows you to accept or
decline your offers online and is the only accepted way of
doing so.
I want to apply for nursing / midwifery but am
apprehensive as a mature student of being at university
with school leavers, would this be the case?
Our age range of new students onto all of our Nursing and
Midwifery programmes is quite broad in each new intake. In
previous years the youngest student has been 17 while the
oldest has been 55.
We have the highest number of
undergraduate mature students than any other Faculty in the
University. We appreciate the contributions that both mature
and younger students alike can make, as normally students will
have different perspectives and outlooks and we regard this as
a valuable learning tool.
Are there any age restrictions?
There is no minimum or maximum age limit to apply,
however, we would expect you to be able to work after
completion of the programme, before reaching the normal
retirement age of NHS nurses.
What is the qualification criteria?
Criteria for each programme is different, however, there is
detailed information on each course factfile which are
available on the LJMU website www.ljmu.ac.uk/courses.
Is there any other criteria?
Yes, any offer will be made subject to meeting the residency
criteria set by NHS Student Grants Unit, further detailed
information regarding this criteria is available at
www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk
Additionally, all applicants will be
required to undertake a satisfactory medical examination and
DBS Enhanced Disclosure and must agree, as a requirement
of completing a professional award, to the Faculty
transferring data to third parties regarding progress,
attendance, placements etc. If you are made an offer then
you will be contacted separately in relation to DBS and
medical clearance.
I don’t have English or Maths GCSE at grade C or above,
do you accept equivalents?
At present, we accept other Level 2 qualifications for Mental
Health Nursing to ensure that you still meet the Nursing and
Midwifery Council minimum standards. (these must be held
at the point of application). However, for Adult and Child
Nursing plus Midwifery you must hold GCSE maths and
English grade C+ at the point of application unless an
equivalent has been awarded through an Access course. For
further details please refer to individual course factfiles which
contain detailed qualification criteria.
How do you make decisions on applications?
We will shortlist your application, initially from current
qualifications and actual or predicted grades, if you meet our
qualification criteria we will then look at your personal
statement and reference.
What is the interview process?
Each programme’s selection process will vary but details will
be conveyed to you via UCAS Track should you be selected.
What support is there for students with dyslexia sitting
an essay and what do I need to do if I have other support
requirements to attend my interview?
Providing you inform us in advance, we can make provisions
to ensure that your requirements are considered. For
example, students with dyslexia may be given additional time
or IT support, or, for students with hearing difficulties, we may
ensure there is a signer available for your interview.
How do I find out if I have been invited to interview?
Undergraduate applicants will receive notification through
UCAS Track. You should ensure that you check your Track
account and emails regularly as it is not always possible for
us to rearrange interviews due to the volume of applicants we
invite per course. If you don’t attend and have not informed
us, your application will be withdrawn via UCAS.
Faculty of Education, Health & Community
Visit us at: www.ljmu.ac.uk/health
Contact us: (0151) 231-5090 recruitment@ljmu.ac.uk
When will I be informed of the decision?
The UCAS Code of Practice means that we have to give all ontime applicants equal consideration (applications received by
15th January), therefore, due to the high volume of applications
and the relatively small amount of places available, you may not
receive a decision until we have had an opportunity to interview
all applicants.
I have a medical condition, will I still be able to study
Nursing / Midwifery?
The competence standards for nursing and midwifery are set
by the Department of Health and the Nursing and Midwifery
Council. The University Occupational Health Service undertakes health screening for all healthcare students in accordance with current guidance from these regulatory bodies.
BSc Adult Nursing
This health screening includes assessment of any medical
conditions and any mental or physical impairments which are
relevant to the core competencies. Adjustments to the training
course, which are needed on medical grounds, are possible
in most circumstances. There are very few medical conditions
or functional impairments which would prevent a student from
training altogether. Further information can be obtained from
the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Department of Health and
the Occupational Health Service.
We will start to make offers Dec 2014/Jan 2015 once we have
received our commissioned numbers from the Strategic Health
Authority. A number of offers will then be made following each
interview day.
BSc Mental Health Nursing
Offers will be made after every few interview dates. This will be
end of January, February and March 2015.
BA Midwifery
Offers will be made once all interviews have finished. We aim to
have all decisions made by mid-April 2015.
I have been informed by UCAS Track / email that I have
been rejected, can I find out why?
Your rejection decision will give you basic information, e.g. that
you have been rejected for qualification purposes. Please check
the criteria on our website before requesting further feedback if
you feel you have been rejected but meet the criteria.
We request that applicants email us for requests for feedback as
soon as possible after you have received the decision. The
email address to use is: health@ljmu.ac.uk .
After rejection, can I apply again?
Yes, you can apply again in the following application cycle. We
will not reconsider applicants in the same year.
I have a criminal conviction, will that go against me?
It will depend on the circumstances. If you are successful at
interview, you will be sent a declaration form asking you to follow
the Faculty’s internal processes should you have any bind-over
orders, prior or current investigations by the police or employer /
suspension by an employer or regulatory body / reprimands or
final warnings. The information you provide will be treated
confidentially and considered by a panel of senior academic and
NHS staff. If you fail to provide this information and it is then
discovered that you have not declared something to us, your
place will be withdrawn. Unfortunately we are unable to provide
advice regarding individual circumstances.
LEARNING SUPPORT
I have a disability, what support will JMU provide?
If we are aware of your disability, i.e. you have identified it on
your UCAS form, we will let our Welfare Disability Team know
once you have accepted an offer from us. The Faculty Inclusion and Diversity Officer will also contact you directly. If you
have not informed UCAS of a disability please contact us so
that we may record this information and inform the relevant
parties. For more information on the support that can be provided, please visit the Disability Advice Team pages at
http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/disability
What support will I receive when I am at university and
on placement?
At commencement you will be allocated a personal tutor, who
you will have meetings with a few times a year, or ad-hoc if
the need arises. It is with this tutor that you can discuss any
issues you may have. Each module you study has a module
leader who will provide guidance and support throughout your
modular learning. Some modules are theory only, but some
are theory with a practice element.
Whilst on placement you will be allocated a qualified mentor
and will be visited by an academic at least once on each
placement to ensure that you are not experiencing difficulties.
In addition to this, the Faculty has a Student Mentorship programme and all new starters will be given details of this at
commencement to enable them to gain support from other
students on similar courses. There are a number of social networking sites that can facilitate meeting students before the
course begins. These include LJMU twitter and a Facebook site
just for student nurses called Preppies.
Will I need to buy anything for the course?
Students are advised to purchase a pair of comfortable
black leather, flat shoes with a filled front. A fob watch will
be needed for placement and black pens and a notebook.
Course Factfiles
Our website has detailed factfiles for all of the courses mentioned in this document. Visit www.ljmu.ac.uk/courses and
choose either the undergraduate or postgraduate link to find
the course of your choice.
Faculty of Education, Health & Community
Visit us at: www.ljmu.ac.uk/health
Contact us: (0151) 231-5090 recruitment@ljmu.ac.uk