Nursing - Intellectual Disability Nursing
This Intellectual Disability Nursing course will provide you with excellent opportunities to develop knowledge and skills relevant to professional Intellectual Disability Nursing practice, including independent and critical thinking, and problem-solving. It will enable you to deliver nursing care that is up-to-date and based on the best current evidence.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | National University of Ireland |
| NFQ Level | Level 8 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) | Major | National University of Ireland | Level 8 NFQ |
Duration
4 Years
Specific Subjects or course requirements
Leaving Certificate Requirements
At Least six subjects must be presented. Minimum grade H5 in two subjects and minimum grade O6/H7 in four other subjects. English and Irish are requirements for all programmes unless the applicant is exempt from Irish.
The following are considered Lab Science subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Physics with Chemistry and Agricultural Science.
Applicants will need to meet the following minimum entry requirements:
English O6/H7
Irish O6/H7
Maths O6/H7
A Lab Science O6/H7
Garda Clearance
All students on this programme will come into contact with the public and assume positions of trust through educational and training opportunities. To ensure the protection of the public, and to justify public trust and confidence, UCC is committed to ensuring that only suitable candidates are allowed to undertake this programme.
Garda vetting is carried out by the Admissions Office in UCC once a student has accepted their place on the programme. It involves a police check to establish whether the individual being vetted has had criminal convictions in the past or whether any criminal proceedings are pending. The Garda Siochána provide this information for students who have resided in Ireland for a period of six months or more (including permanent residence).
All students who have resided outside Ireland for a period of six months or more must furnish a Police Clearance Certificate from their country or countries of residence. This certificate should state that the student has had no convictions recorded against them while residing there.
Fitness to Practise
This programme is subject to UCC's Fitness to Practise Policy.
Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP
UCC awards the following points to the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme Link Modules:
Distinction 66 points
Merit 46 points
Pass 28 points
While Link Modules are counted for point scoring purposes they may not be counted as one of the six subjects to satisfy minimum entry requirements.
QQI FET Applicants General Information
Careers / Further progression
Skills and Careers Information
The course aims to provide you with sound clinical nursing skills (and the supporting knowledge base) necessary for starting your professional career as an Intellectual Disability Nurse. These skills will be further developed through clinical experience and further study at postgraduate and in-service levels.
You will also develop skills in independent thinking, problem-solving, and analytical and clinical decision-making, as well as fundamental research utilisation and application skills.
Upon graduation, you may seek employment as an Intellectual Disability Nurse. Intellectual Disability Nurses work in a wide range of areas including acute care, respite care, community facilities, residential facilities, workshops, schools, retirement care, and home nursing.
Traditionally, Irish nurses are highly regarded by other countries, enhancing work opportunities abroad, in particular in the UK, Canada, Australia, and the US.
Further information
Approximate Available Places 8
Find out about the mature entry requirements at https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/undergrad/entryreqs/matureapplicants/
Approximate Available Places Overall 29
Entry 2024
Early online application (discounted): Fee €30 Closing Date: 20 January 2024 at 5pm
Normal online application: Fee €45 Closing Date: 1 February 2024 at 5pm
Late online application - restrictions apply (see page 3 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee: €60 Closing Date: 1 May 2024 at 5pm
Change of Mind - restrictions apply (see page 3 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1 July 2024 at 5pm
Exceptional online late application (see page 34 of the 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee €60 Closing Date: 22 July 2024 at 5pm
Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid making an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all application fees are non-refundable.
LATE APPLICATIONS
Late Applications are those which are received after 5pm on 1 February 2024. The closing date for late applications is 5pm on 1 May 2024, subject to the restrictions listed on page 3 of the 2024 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5 March 2024 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €60 applies.
Exceptional Late Applications (Exception to the timetable)
The exceptional closing date of 22 July at 5pm applies only to applicants who are registered as an undergraduate student on 1 May 2024 in any year in any one of the participating HEIs (subject to the exclusions listed below). In order to avail of the Exceptional Late Application facility you must have entered the HEI through the CAO system. This is an exceptional late closing date and all steps must be completed by 5pm on 22 July. No changes may be made after this date.
If you did not enter your current course through the CAO system, you must first contact the Admissions Office of the HEI to which you wish to apply and they will inform you if you may submit an application direct to the institution.
Exclusions:
You may submit a late application only for entry to courses other than your existing course. If you wish to repeat the year in the same course you must arrange this within your HEI.
Mary Immaculate College Limerick, Marino Institute of Education, Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick and Maynooth University have special procedures in place in the case of current or previous students who wish to apply for entry to another course in the same HEI. Such applicants must contact their Admissions Office to determine the application procedure. However, if you are a student in another HEI and you wish to apply to any of these five HEIs, you should apply through CAO.
Refer to page 34 of the 2024 CAO Handbook on how to make an Exceptional Late Application.
Restrictions
As a CAO applicant you may experience one or more of the following restrictions based on your course choices, your category of application, or restrictions imposed by the HEIs that you wish to apply to. Please read the section on 'Restrictions' on page 3 of the 2024 CAO Handbook carefully. This section includes information on:
General Restrictions
1. Making a late application
2. Making changes to your course choices
Restricted Courses
3. Applying for a restricted course
Mature Applicants
4. Mature applicants
Supplementary Admissions Routes
5. Applying for DARE and/or HEAR
Course Outline
This Intellectual Disability Nursing course will provide you with excellent opportunities to develop knowledge and skills relevant to professional Intellectual Disability Nursing practice, including independent and critical thinking, and problem-solving. It will enable you to deliver nursing care that is up-to-date and based on the best current evidence.
This four-year full-time degree course is offered in partnership with Cork's COPE Foundation, and upon completion you can apply to register as an Intellectual Disability Nurse with the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), the profession’s regulatory body. You will then be ready to start work as a qualified Intellectual Disability Nurse in a variety of clinical settings immediately after graduation.
The broad aim of the course is to promote your personal, intellectual and professional development to meet the role dimensions of a qualified practitioner of Intellectual Disability Nursing. Each year, you will study modules in both theory and clinical practice. Clinical practice modules require you to be in supervised clinical practice in hospital, community and other healthcare settings for 35 hours per week for a number of weeks each year.
Theory modules include both nursing, and biological and social science modules, some of which are core (shared with students from other nursing/midwifery branches), while others are discipline-specific (taken by Intellectual Disability Nursing only).
Year 1 Modules
All modules 5 credits unless otherwise stated.
NU1026 Academic Writing, Information Technology and Evidence-Based Nursing Practice
NU1032 Fundamental Knowledge and Skills for Nursing Practice (10 credits)
NU1040 Infection Prevention and Control for Nursing and Midwifery Practice
NU1047 Interpersonal Skills for Nursing Practice and Psychology for Healthcare (10 credits)
NU1049 General Nursing Practice (10 credits)
NU1050 The Foundations of Contemporary Intellectual Disability Nursing
NU1066 Supporting Individuals with a Specific Intellectual Disability I (10 credits)
SC1015 Sociological Concepts for Nursing
Year 2
Health, Life-Cycle - Perspectives on Maternity Care and Child Health Nursing; Health Care Needs of People with Intellectual Disabilities across the Lifespan I & II; Supporting Individuals with a Specific Intellectual Disability; Therapeutic Communication Supports and Person Centred Practice for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
Year 3
Professional Issues, Development of Disciplinary Knowledge, Teaching and Learning; Research for Evidence-Based Nursing and Midwifery Care; Supporting Individuals with a Specific Intellectual Disability; From Childhood to Older Adult: Issues for the Person with an Intellectual Disability and their Family; Health Needs of People with an Intellectual Disability across the Lifespan; Supporting People with Behaviours that challenge and/or Mental Health Issues; Intellectual Disability Nursing Practice.
Year 4
In Year 4, you will take a number of theory modules at UCC in semester one (before Christmas). In semester two (after Christmas), you will undertake a 36-week paid internship with your parent health service provider (HSP). Modules include:
Research for Evidence-Based Nursing and Midwifery Care; The Profession and Discipline of Nursing: including Ethics, Legal Issues, Equality, and Professional Practice; Professional Development and Nurses as Team Members, Leaders, and Managers of the Future; Valuing People with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families across the Lifespan; Therapeutic Interpersonal Skills for Intellectual Disability Nursing Practice; Intellectual Disability Nursing Practice; Elective Module.
Clinical Practice Modules
These require you to be in supervised clinical practice in hospital, community and other healthcare settings for 35 hours per week for a number of weeks each year. In semester two (after Christmas) of Year 4, you will undertake a 36-week paid internship with your parent HSP.
Placement or Study Abroad Information
Clinical Placements
The diversity of placement requirements and their geographical spread will mean that regardless of where you live, or which programme you are registered on, traveling to clinical placement areas will be required throughout various stages of your nursing or midwifery programme. This is to ensure students meet the required clinical instruction, set out by the NMBI (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland).
Typically travel will be within the Munster region. Some of our clinical partners include, but are not limited to, Mallow General Hospital (MGH), University Hospital Kerry (UHK), University Hospital Waterford (UHW) and Tipperary University Hospital (TUH). There are also several elective placements in Dublin and with our Erasmus partners throughout Europe.
The Allocations Office in the School of Nursing and Midwifery and our Clinical Partners use several methods to ensure equity in relation to students travelling eg preferred placement submissions and student rotation.
Study Abroad
The School of Nursing and Midwifery participates in a number of international research and educational programmes which afford you the opportunity to undertake part of your BSc studies abroad. See our Go Abroad with UCC page for more information.
Academic Programme Catalogue
See the Academic Programme Catalogue (https://ucc-ie-public.courseleaf.com/programmes/) for the complete and up-to-date content for this course. Note that the modules for all courses are subject to change from year-to-year. For complete descriptions of individual modules, see the Book of Modules (https://ucc-ie-public.courseleaf.com/modules/)
Anne-Marie Martin
a.martin@ucc.ie
+353 21 490 1451
http://www.ucc.ie/en/nursingmidwifery/
Eimear Corcoran
eimear.corcoran@ucc.ie
+353 (0)21 490 1521