Professional, statutory and regulatory body (PSRB) accreditation

Students on the Foundation Degree in Science in Health and Social Care: Nursing Associate are bound by the NMC Standards of proficiency for Nursing Associates (2018), The NMC Standards for student supervision and assessment (2018) and The Code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates. (NMC, 2018). On completion of the programme, the Nursing Associate role is new and those students who have completed all elements of their programme are eligible to join a new part of the Nursing and Midwifery register. Please see the We regulate nursing associates section on the NMC website.

Students who have accessed the programme through the Apprenticeship route will also need to meet the requirements of the Apprenticeship Standards for Nursing Associates (Institute for Apprenticeships, 2019).

Review of good health, conduct and character status

The Fitness to Practise Committee will review your records throughout your programme and prior to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). It is your responsibility to notify your supervisor of any changes to your health or character status (e.g. cautions or convictions, pending charges) at the point they occur during your programme of study. You must then indicate that there has been a change to your health or character status or your professional indemnity cover annually whenever you re-enrol.

Towards the end of your programme, the Department is required to consider any issues that have arisen during your programme relating to your health and character which may influence your eligibility to register with the NMC. You and your Personal Supervisor are required to complete the declaration of good health and character process, which is then reviewed by the Fitness to Practise Committee.

If there are any issues of concern about your eligibility to register on either health or character grounds with the NMC, the Fitness to Practise Committee will discuss this with you to seek your consent to disclose information to the NMC and apply the Fitness to Practise policy where appropriate.

For full information visit the Fitness to Practise Committee website.

Working whilst studying

Students/learners on this programme will either be employees and learners on an apprenticeship programme or full-time students on a direct entry programme.

There are 1200 theoretical hours allocated to the programme. You are required to attend university one day per week, as allocated on the course plan. For the remainder of the theoretical programme hours, you are required to participate in private study, directed reading or distance learning in order that you meet the module learning outcomes. 

There are also 1200 practice hours allocated to the programme. Of these total hours, you are required to undertake 480 hours of protected learning time within a variety of external settings to offer a breadth of experience. For the rest of the practice hours (720) you will remain in your base placement to meet the practice module learning outcomes. The responsibilities of Trust and Private, Independent and Voluntary Organisations (PIVO) partners and Department of Health Sciences are identified within the compliance documents that were signed at the start of your programme. Practice placements outside of the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (YTHNHSFT) will be covered by specific agreements between the Trust and each employer organisation.

If you are on an apprenticeship route and an employee of a Trusts or PIVO organisation, you will be on a Student Nursing Associate contract for all of your contracted hours. In order to undertake this apprenticeship programme, you are required to be working a minimum of 30 hours per week in order to ensure sufficient, regular training, sufficient off-the job activity and to document all hours carefully within your e-portfolio (Education and Skills Funding Agency, 2018). The off-the-job training element is a minimum of 6 hours per week and takes place during the apprentice’s paid hours and is for the purpose of achieving their apprenticeship. Examples include being taught in a classroom, private study, being mentored in practice or shadowing others, or reading whilst in placement. 

When recording your practice hours, as you are an apprentice, you are not able to include time taken for breaks. This is because, as an employee, you are not paid for breaks.    

When working in your external placements, you are required to work your full contracted hours for the week, not just the minimum requirement for the external placement. Failure to do so could be interpreted by your Employer as fraudulent

For all students, you may wish to undertake paid work outside of the programme hours, but this should not interfere with your ability to meet the course requirements in theory or practice. Where the Department feels this is having a detrimental impact on your studies you will be asked to discuss this with your personal supervisor and/or Practice Assessor.

Please note that any work commitments should avoid timetabled University study days and when you are on external placement and comply with the Maximum Weekly Working Time Regulations (Gov UK, 1998) which stipulate “You cannot work more than 48 hours a week on average - normally averaged over 17 weeks.” This will include your overall time in practice and include any additional part-time work.

Recording your professional qualification

It is advisable to register with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) as soon as you can after finishing your programme.

If you wait more than 6 months to do this, you will be required to provide additional information to the NMC (Nursing & Midwifery Council) as part of the registration process.

You should register within 5 years of completing the programme. After this time you may be required to complete additional education or training to be able to register.