Mental Health Nursing

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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 (2023)

391

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

Dr Fionnuala Jordan

Dr Siobhan Smyth

Ellie Lynch

Clare Kiely

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 University of Galway and the HSE West/ Northwest Hospitals Group.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Duration

4 years

Next start date

September 2024

A Level Grades (2023)

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

Foundations of Mental Health Nursing
Research and Evidence for Practice 1
Introduction in Mental Health Nursing
Mental Health Nursing 1
Communications & interpersonal skills
Health and Applied Biosciences
Clinical practice 1 & 2
Practice assessment

Year 2

Research and Evidence for Practice 2
Health and Applied Biosciences II
Applied Psychology of Nursing and Midwifery
Sociology of Health and Healthcare
Mental Health Nursing 2
Mental Health Nursing 3
Mental Health Nursing 4
Clinical Practice 3 & 4
Practice Assessment

Year 3

Law and Ethics
Medicines and Clinical Practice
Elective
Mental Health Nursing 5
Mental Health Promotion and Recovery
Mental Health Nursing 6
Clinical Practice 5 & 6
Practice Assessment I and II
Mental Health Nursing 7

Year 4

Leading and Developing Practice
Transition to Practice
Research Project
Clinical Practice 7
Clinical Internship Assessments 1, 2, 3 & 4
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 NU1107: Health & Applied Biosciences 1 - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU1116: Introduction to Mental Health Nursing - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU1111: Foundations of Mental Health Nursing Practice - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU1119: Clinical Practice 1 & 2 (Mental Health) - 15 Credits - Semester 1
Optional RPL005: Recognised Prior Learning - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Optional RPL010: Recognised Prior Learning - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional RPL015: Recognised Prior Learning - 15 Credits - Semester 1
Required NU1106: Practice Assessment 2 (PY) - 0 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU104: Placement Hours - 0 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU138: Practice Assessment (PY) - 0 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU1112: Research and Evidence for Practice 1 - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU1114: Communication and Interpersonal Skills - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required NU1118: Mental Health Nursing 1 - 10 Credits - Semester 2

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Required NU2217: Mental Health Nursing 4 - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required NU2307: Clinical Practice 3 & 4 - 15 Credits - Semester 3
Required NU2214: Mental Health Nursing 2 - 10 Credits - Semester 3
Required NU2200: Health & Applied Biosciences 2 - 10 Credits - Semester 3
Optional RPL005: Recognised Prior Learning - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Optional RPL010: Recognised Prior Learning - 10 Credits - Semester 3
Optional RPL015: Recognised Prior Learning - 15 Credits - Semester 3
Required NU2202: Research and Evidence for Practice 2 - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required NU225: Practice Asessment - 0 Credits - Semester 4
Required NU208: Specialist Placement Hours Module - 0 Credits - Semester 4
Required NU2215: Mental Health Nursing 3 - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required NU2204: Applied Psychology for Nursing & Midwifery - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required SP2118: Sociology of Health and Healthcare - 5 Credits - Semester 4

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Year 4 (60 Credits)

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

€7,106 p.a. (€7,246 p.a. including levy) 2024/25

Fees: Tuition

€4,106 p.a. 2024/25

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2024/25

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. 2024/25

Fees: Non EU

€26,500 p.a. (€26,640 p.a. including levy) 2024/25

*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

Dr Siobhan Smyth, Programme Director
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Aras Moyola, University of Galway.   
E Siobhan.smyth@universityofgalway.ie
T 091 492832

What Our Students Say

Laura Greene | Mental Health Nursing (Final year, 4th year)

I enjoyed the practical side of learning. Throughout the four year degree, I worked in a vast amount of clinical areas. I gained a lot of exposure to various mental illnesses and I was able to gain a true understanding of how to care for someone with a mental illness. I enjoyed the workshops and the different speakers that came to University of Galway to speak to us about their clinical area. I enjoyed the variety of areas you can learn about in mental health from care of the elderly to working with children with mental health difficulties. Each area is so different and specialized and it gives students a great opportunity to branch out.

Ava Fowley | Mental Health Nursing

The Bachelor of Nursing (Mental Health) degree at University of Galway has offered a unique and important foundation for my nursing career. The University has provided me with the opportunity to discover my academic potential as well as enhancing my skills in becoming a qualified mental health nurse. I have met many inspiring people over the four years, both in class; on a student-to-student level and out on placement; on a student nurse-to-service user level. There is a great hub of support from the lecturers and staff in college to the clinical placement coordinators and staff members you meet out in the varied and interesting placement settings.

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