Mental Health Nursing

Expand all

Course Overview
Key Facts
Course Outline
Further Education
Why Choose This Course?
Course Fees
Find Out More

What our lecturers say What our students say

Entry Points (2022)

409

Course Overview

This four-year programme, offered in partnership with the Health Service Executive West, leads to the award of Bachelor of Nursing Science (Mental Health Nursing) and eligibility for registration in the Psychiatric Division of the Nurses’ Register, maintained by Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), the nursing profession’s regulatory body.

The BSc. (Hons) in Mental Health Nursing will provide students with knowledge, skills, attitude, and professional behaviours necessary to provide high quality care and competent nursing practice in an ever-changing health care environment.

Mental Health Nursing aims to assist in the recovery of people experiencing mental health issues and to promote mental health and wellbeing. At the heart of mental health nursing is the development of therapeutic relationships, engaging with service users, their carers and their families.

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Dr. Andrew Hunter MSc, RMN, Dip CBT, PhD

Senior Lecturer and Head of Discipline

http://www.universityofgalway.ie/our-research/people/nursing-and-midwifery/andrewhunter/

Dr. Louise Murphy BSc (Hons), PhD, PG Dip, RPN, RNT

Lecturer and Programme Director

https://www.universityofgalway.ie/medicine-nursing-and-health-sciences/staff-profiles/louiselmurphy/

Dr. Siobhan Smyth RPN, DipCPN, RNT, PG.Dip CHSE, BNS, MSc, PhD

Lecturer

https://www.universityofgalway.ie/our-research/people/nursing-and-midwifery/siobhansmyth/

Dr. Fionnuala Jordan RPN, PG H Dip Clinical Education, PhD

Lecturer

https://www.universityofgalway.ie/our-research/people/nursing-and-midwifery/fionnualajordan/

Ms. Tracey McDonagh BSc (Hons), PG Cert, PhD Candidate, RPN

Lecturer

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 level in the Leaving
Certificate, including Irish, English, Mathematics, a laboratory science subject (i.e., Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physics with Chemistry (joint) or Agricultural Science), and any two other subjects recognised for entry purposes.

Additional Requirements

All successful applicants who are offered places on the degree programme will be required to have medical screening and Garda vetting; this will include medical assessment, screening, and, if necessary, vaccination prior to the first clinical placement, in accordance with the policies of NUI Galway and the HSE West/ Northwest Hospitals Group.

Duration

4 years

Next start date

September 2023

A Level Grades (2022)

universityofgalway.ie/alevels

Average intake

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

2 (More Info)

Closing Date

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

Award

CAO

GY516

Course code

Course Outline

Year 1

NU1111 Foundations of Mental Health Nursing
NU1112 Research and Evidence for Practice 1
NU1116 Introduction in Mental Health Nursing
NU1118 Mental Health Nursing 1
NU1114 Communications & interpersonal skills
NU1107 Health and Applied Biosciences
NU1119 Clinical practice 1 & 2
NU138/NU1106 Practice assessment

Year 2

NU2202 Research and Evidence for Practice 2
NU2200 Health and Applied Biosciences II
NU2204 Applied Psychology of Nursing and Midwifery
NU2205 Sociology of Health and Healthcare
NU2214 Mental Health Nursing 2
NU2215 Mental Health Nursing 3
NU2217 Mental Health Nursing 4
NU2307 Clinical Practice 3 & 4
NU225 Practice Assessment

Year 3

NU3014 Law and Ethics
NU3015 Medicines and Clinical Practice
NU314 Elective
NU3108 Mental Health Nursing 5
NU3109 Mental Health Promotion and Recovery
NU3110 Mental Health Nursing 6
NU3112 Clinical Practice 5 & 6
NU337 & NU348 Practice Assessment I and II
NU3111 Mental Health Nursing 7

Year 4

NU4106 Leading and Developing Practice
NU4108 Transition to Practice
NU4101 Research Project
NU4107 Clinical Practice 7
NU486, NU487, NU488, NU489 Clinical Internship Assessments 1, 2, 3 & 4
NU470 Practice Assessment
Clinical internship which runs over 36 weeks - Semester II

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits: You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module: An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Subject: Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
Optional: A module you may choose to study.
Required: A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Required Core Subject: A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
Semester: Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Required NU185: Principles and Practice of Clinical Nursing 1 - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU184: The Nature of Mental Health Nursing - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU138: Practice Assessment (PY) - 0 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU104: Placement Hours - 0 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU183: Caring for Mental Health Service Users with Enduring Mental Health Needs 1 - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU118: Clinical I & II - 15 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU182: Assessing and Promoting Health 1 - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU116: Social Sciences 1 - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU115: Biological Sciences I - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU1106: Practice Assessment 2 (PY) - 0 Credits - Semester 2

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Year 4 (60 Credits)

Required NU405: Leading & Developing Practice - 10 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU499: Clinical Hours - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU474: Clinical Practice VII - 10 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU470: Practice Assessment - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU488: Internship Assessment 3 - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU489: Internship Assessment 4 - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU475: Research Project - 20 Credits - Semester 8
Required NU471: Clinical Internship - 20 Credits - Semester 8
Required NU486: Internship Assessment 1 - 0 Credits - Semester 7
Required NU487: Internship Assessment 2 - 0 Credits - Semester 7

Further Education

There are a variety of continuing professional development opportunities available to graduates of this programme, in particular postgraduate programmes within the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the Mental Health Nursing degree programme will be in a position to work in a variety of settings, including:

In-patient mental health services
Community mental health services
Child and adolescent mental health services
Forensic mental health services
Voluntary organisations
Recovery and rehabilitation services
Services for the older person
Substance misuse and addiction treatment services
Primary mental health care

Work Placement

Clinical practice modules require students to complete clinical placements within the Health Service Executive West region. While on clinical placements, students will be supervised by an appropriately trained nurse. In accordance with Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland regulations, the total requirements of the programme are 144 weeks of clinical placement. Students undertake a 36-week clinical internship in semester two of year four. During the clinical internship period, students are paid a salary.

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Students undertake a 36-week clinical internship in semester two of year four. Clinical practice modules require students to complete clinical placements within the Health Service Executive West region. While on clinical placements, students will be supervised by an appropriately trained nurse. In accordance with Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland regulations, the total requirements of the programme are 144 weeks clinical placement. During the clinical internship period, students are paid a salary.

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€7,246 p.a. 2023/24

Fees: Tuition

€4,106 p.a. 2023/24

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2023/24

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. 2023/24

Fees: Non EU

€24,640 p.a. 2023/24

*EU Fees are comprised of Tuition + Student Contribution Charge + Student Levy

Student Levy: €140 - payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI. Further detail here https://su.nuigalway.ie/

Find out More

The School of Nursing and Midwifery
T 353 (0)91 493 432
F 353 (0)91 494 537
E nursing.midwifery@universityofgalway.ie
www.universityofgalway.ie/nursingmidwifery

What Our Students Say

Martyna Zdzieblowska | Mental Health Nursing

Choosing a university was an important milestone, and I am glad I chose University of Galway for my university journey. The Mental Health Nursing programme offers a diverse range of clinical placements which provide a vast insight into what you can do with your nursing degree. Moreover, the state of the art building enables students to learn and practice their nursing skills in a clinical environment which is further supplemented by a great selection of books in the university library and the new computer suite. University of Galway has a great location right in the centre of the Galway, which offers great opportunity to have fun and explore the local area. The campus also offers several clubs and societies that allow you to meet with like-minded people and share interests which is an important part of the university experience.

Nursing

Midwifery Science