FdScNursing Associate

Course overview

The FdSc Nursing Associate course is grounded in our experience of the value that nursing associates bring to patients, people who use services, and the multidisciplinary teams in which they work across all four fields of nursing practice.

This foundation degree programme will equip you with the knowledge, skills, and behaviours required for modern nursing associate practice in all four fields of adult, child, mental health, and learning disability. This includes fostering a broad global outlook on health, applied to the neighbourhoods and systems in which nursing associates practice. Awareness of global public health, environmental sustainability, and cyber security are key themes applied to work in clinical placements and through simulated practice learning. You'll be prepared to work in a healthcare environment where electronic health records, telehealth systems, digital medicines management platforms, and data security are already integral to the nursing associate role.

To support and demonstrate the development of our nursing associates in all areas of healthcare, such as digital competence, professional compassion and care, this foundation degree incorporates a range of authentic assessments across both theory and clinical placement settings. These assessments are designed to prepare you for modern professional nursing associate practice and include activities such as practical medicines management assessments, case presentations and debates as well as traditional academic assessments like exams, essays and reflections.

Solent nursing associates are confident in their role as professionals in their own right, with a unique and clearly defined scope of practice within nursing teams. We develop the foundations of evidence-based practice and lifelong learning in our students, enabling them to practise to the fullest extent of the nursing associate role and to succeed should they choose to progress in higher professional training.

Our nursing associates are aware of their responsibilities as registrants and uphold the NMC Code, demonstrating accountability in their practice and acting as positive ambassadors for the profession. We aim to develop both practical skills and underpinning theoretical knowledge through an equal balance of theory and practice-based learning, with simulated practice integrated proportionately throughout the programme. To ensure the needs of patients and people who use services remain central to nursing associate practice, this programme has been co-produced with people with lived experience of healthcare. People with lived experience and carers are also actively involved in teaching and in providing feedback to students throughout the course.

The curriculum is aligned with the Nursing & Midwifery Council Standards of Proficiency for Nursing Associates (2018) and the Standards for Student Supervision and Assessment (2023).