Nursing at The Open University

It’s hard to imagine a more dynamic, fast-changing sector than health in the UK. Innovations in practice, policy developments and new standards for treatment and care provide constant challenges and opportunities to professionals working in different care settings – and none more so than Nurses, who are in a unique position to make a difference.

The Open University offers exciting learning opportunities with various programmes of study within Nursing and Healthcare – whether you are a Healthcare Support Worker (HCSW) or a Registered Nurse looking to progress your career. Flexible study arrangements fit in with your work and home life, so you can carry on earning while you learn:

• The Nursing Associate Higher Apprenticeship supports health and social care employers to develop their HCSW’s in this new generic role, leading to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a Nursing Associate.  
• Our Nursing Degree Programme is a unique work-based route to registration with the NMC as a Registered Nurse. From October 2020, our new Future Nurse curriculum will lead to a qualification in either Adult, Children and Young People, Learning Disabilities or Mental Health Nursing. 
• The Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship supports employers to develop their healthcare support workers towards registration with the NMC.  From October 2020, the apprenticeship will also be available in the four fields of nursing; Adult, Children and Young People, Learning Disabilities and Mental Health. 
• Learning beyond registration opportunities for Registered Nurses and other Allied Health Professionals include a Postgraduate Certificate in Non-Medical Prescribing and an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice, which is also available as the Advanced Clinical Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship route in England.

Our curriculum is developed and delivered by an expert multi-disciplinary team in partnership with service users and carers. You’ll study alongside other students from a wide range of backgrounds and hear from many more as you work through the rich multi-media learning materials. And at the heart of everything you learn will be the people who use health services, ensuring maximum impact on practice and patient care.

Benefits for individuals:

• Stay in your job while you study - online learning means you can study at a time that is convenient for you.
• Work-based learning helps you apply your studies to real life practice.
• Helps you develop in your current role, increasing job satisfaction and confidence, and opens up opportunities for career progression.

Benefits for employers:

• ‘Grow your own’ workforce
• Address training needs while minimising time away from the workplace
• Staff apply their new knowledge and skills to their own practice as they learn
• Workforce development attuned to organisational priorities and needs
• Increased employee satisfaction and retention
• Maximise use of the apprenticeship levy