FdSc Nursing Associate
Course Overview
Nursing associates support registered nurses to ensure service users and their families receive effective, compassionate, safe and responsive nursing care in and across a wide range of health and care settings.Your studies will balance practice learning experience at one of our partner NHS trusts with study at the University. Attending the University of Bolton will complement your learning in the workplace and support you in developing the core knowledge, skills, values and behaviours that are required to work with patients of all ages in a range of settings covering pre-conception to end-of-life. Our dynamic and multi-disciplinary course team will support you as you learn to deliver high-quality person-centred care that takes account of the perspectives and pathways of individuals, their families and carers. We'll help you learn to provide effective support to the registered nurse in the assessment, planning, delivery and evaluation of care.
To become a nursing associate, you'll need to develop a breadth of knowledge and a flexible, portable skill set that will enable you to serve local health populations. We'll support you as you learn to work across a range of fields of nursing, such as children and young people, adults and older people, mental health and learning disability nursing.
Highlights
- This programme is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Upon successful completion, you'll be eligible to register as a qualified nursing associate.
- Your practice learning experience may be in a range of clinical environments within our partner NHS trusts. We'll ensure you gain relevant experience working with patients of all ages in a range of settings covering pre-conception to end-of-life, supporting you to achieve the core knowledge, skills, values, and behaviours required to qualify as a nursing associate.
- Our expert team deliver teaching across the University's sites, which includes the modern state-of-the-art facilities in Bolton One. We currently have four clinical skills suites and plan to expand this provision further across the University's sites. We take a blended learning approach using a range of different teaching and learning methods, including lectures, seminars, problem/enquiry-based learning, e-learning, and peer learning and assessment. Clinical skills and simulated learning are also embedded throughout the programme.
- You'll be guided by staff with extensive experience in nursing, healthcare and inter-professional education.
- Our focus is on helping you learn to deliver nursing care safely in areas such as administering medication within the scope of the nursing associate, using medical devices, using invasive and non-invasive procedures, and infection prevention and control.
- We'll support you in developing knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, common health conditions and the principles and practice of medicine management, as well as the appropriate decision-making and problem-solving skills that are needed to support the registered nurse.
Key Features
- Our approach to teaching and learning is student-centred, so we'll work with you on an individual basis, providing tailored help and support throughout your studies.
- Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work in advance and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
- Essential values and behaviours are embedded within the programme. We'll guide you as you learn the responsibilities and professional values of a nursing associate and the nursing profession, and encourage you to demonstrate a personal commitment to professional standards and ethical practice.
- We'll support you as you learn to treat people with dignity, respecting each individual's diversity, beliefs, culture, needs, values, privacy and preferences.
- We'll encourage you to develop teamwork, leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, as well as a commitment to lifelong learning.
- By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Manchester, one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, is less than 20 minutes away by train. Not forgetting, the North West of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline and heritage. This makes Bolton an ideal base from which to explore some of the best cultural and outdoor activities the UK offers.
Entry Requirements
- Please note that this course is only available to Home students.
- A level 2 or level 3 qualification in health and social care is desirable, but not essential.
- You must have GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics and demonstrate the academic aptitude to undertake this programme. Functional Skills Level 2 in Literacy and Numeracy are accepted as equivalent to GCSEs. Please contact the University for other GCSE equivalent qualifications that would be accepted for entry onto this course.
- Each candidate will be considered and selected on an individual basis by both the partner NHS trust and academic staff.
- Qualifications gained outside England and Wales will be assessed on an individual basis according to guidance by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
- If your application is successfully short-listed, then you'll be asked to attend an interview. The interview process will involve face-to-face interviews with academic staff, practice staff and service users. You'll also be assessed on your values, behaviours, communication and problem-solving skills, and undertake a numeracy and literacy assessment. We're seeking students who can demonstrate commitment to a career as a nursing associate, who have excellent communication skills and who are caring, compassionate and courageous.
- If you're successful at the interview stage, you'll be asked to undergo occupational health screening and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
- You'll be required to satisfactorily pass occupational health screening.
- You'll need to demonstrate that you're of good health and good character prior to enrolment and on an on-going basis throughout your studies and career.
- This course involves working unsupervised with children and/or vulnerable young people and adults and applicants must gain an Enhanced Disclosure certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) before starting their studies. Charges are payable to cover the cost of the DBS Enhanced Disclosure application and annual registration with the online Update Service.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
- The University of Bolton recognises prior learning, whether gained through academic credit and qualifications or through your professional and employment experience. Previous learning may be used towards meeting the entry requirements for this programme or for exemption from part of this programme. It is your responsibility to make a claim for recognition of prior learning, and each claim will be considered in accordance with the University’s policy and regulations for the recognition of prior learning.
- You'll need to ascertain if you're eligible for a student loan via Student Finance England or will need to be able to self-fund.
- Please note that this course is subject to the University of Bolton's Fitness to Practise procedure.
Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.
Career Opportunities
The nursing associate role is a support role that sits alongside existing healthcare support workers and fully qualified registered nurses to deliver hands-on care for patients. After successfully completing the foundation degree, you'll possess a range of transferable skills, such as study skills, communication and interpersonal skills, self-awareness and teamwork. During your studies, you'll also become familiar with ideas such as reflective practice, managing stress and change management and their application to healthcare contexts, ready for your future employment as a nursing associate.
Once qualified and registered, you'll be well-prepared to gain employment as a nursing associate and give care to people of all ages in a range of settings across health and social care. Like nurses and other health professionals, you may expand your scope of practice through further education and experience.
What can I do with this qualification?
As a nursing associate, you'll work under the direction of fully qualified registered nurses. Following your training as a nursing associate, you'll be qualified to undertake some of the duties registered nurses undertake. If you wish to take on further responsibilities and your ambition is to become a registered nurse, you'll be able to apply for further study in pre-registration nursing. You could consider programmes such as the University of Bolton's BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult) or BSc (Hons) Nursing (Children), and you may be eligible to apply for year 2 entry.
Alternative career options
Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. Some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Some of these careers include:
- Counselling
- Dietetics
- Writing and journalism
- Occupational therapy
- Mental health
- Social work
- Teaching and education
- Health promotion
- Mentoring
- Armed forces
- Community support
- Youth work
- Care home management
- Health services management
- Child protection
- Early years
Professional Recognition
The course is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
On successful completion of the foundation degree, you'll be eligible to apply for professional registration with the NMC.
Fees & Funding
Home/EU Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
International Fees
International applications are not possible for this course
As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.
We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.
Bursaries
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2025-26 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.
The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.
How to apply
Home Applicants
If you wish to apply to multiple institutions or courses for September, then apply through UCAS
You can apply for up to 5 courses through UCAS (at the same or different institutions) for a fee of £27. Alternatively, if you only wish to apply for a single course at a single institution then a reduced applicant's fee of £22.50 is applicable.
The online application form and guidance notes are available on the UCAS website.
You will need the following information to complete your UCAS application form:
Institution Code Name: BOLTN
Institution Code Number: B44
Tel: 0870 1122211
Web: www.ucas.com
International Applicants
International applications are not possible for this course
As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.
We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.
Partner Organisation Applicants
Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk
Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom
Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk
Teaching & Assessment
The nursing associate role is diverse and multi-faceted, so we use a wide range of teaching and learning methods. These are designed to help you develop the skills, knowledge, self-awareness, values and behaviours essential to becoming a nursing associate. Learning focuses on the workplace environment so that you build the competencies demanded by the role and learn to apply this expertise across a wide range of care settings.
Our tutors are research-active, and rigorous research underpins our teaching. Teaching methods will include lectures, presentations, simulations, and skills practice in our simulation suite, seminar discussions, small group workshops, small group tutorials and one-to-one tutorials.
In addition to attending timetabled sessions, we'll expect you to allocate significant time to independent and self-directed studies. For example, background reading, preparing for seminars, working on assignments and revising for exams will support your timetabled learning and help you develop the skills required for lifelong learning. Our friendly and supportive tutors will be here to guide you and will gladly help you devise an independent study regime focused on your individual development needs. The University's virtual learning environment, Moodle, will also support learning.
The assessment strategy for the programme is designed to ensure that you can demonstrate your achievement of the programme's overall aims and learning outcomes, as well as the learning outcomes for individual modules. The assessment of practice and theory contributes to the final award. All assessments in practice (practice assessment documentation (PAD) and portfolio) must be passed.
We'll employ a range of assessment methods, including essays, reports, presentations, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE), traditional examinations and assessment of practice within the practice setting. Some assessments will contribute to your final module marks, while others aim to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and where you need to seek extra support from course tutors.
Modules
The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.
- Mandatory Training and Preparation for HE4 Placement
- Principles of Nursing Associate Practice
- Anatomy and Physiology and the Foundations of Medicines Management
- Wider Approaches to Promoting Health and Preventing Ill Health
- Recognising Acute Physical and Mental Health and Illness for Nursing Associate Practice
- Mandatory Training and Preparation for HE5 Placement
- Contributing to Integrated Care for People With Complex Needs and Associated Medicines Management
- Enhancing Skills: Developing Leadership Knowledge and Evidence Based Practice for the Nursing Associate
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Coursework 80% Written exams 20% |
| Level 2 | Coursework 33% Practical exams 67% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 29% Placement/study abroad 50% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 21% |
| Level 2 | Guided independent study 29% Placement/study abroad 50% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 21% |
The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.
