Nursing Adult and Child

Nursing is a profession of extraordinary breadth and depth, requiring scientific knowledge, clinical skill, ethical reasoning and a quality of human attention that is central to patient experience and outcomes. Adult and child nursing together span the full range of human life from infancy through to old age, addressing very different physiological, developmental and communication demands but sharing a common commitment to compassionate, evidence-based care. Qualifying to practise in both fields gives you a distinctive professional profile and the flexibility to work across a wide range of clinical settings.

At the University of Southampton, the four-year full-time MNurs Adult and Child Nursing programme leads to dual registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as both a Registered Nurse (Adult) and a Registered Nurse (Child). The degree-level programme develops the theoretical and clinical foundations of nursing practice in depth, with clinical placements forming a central part of the learning throughout all four years. You will study anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, the principles of evidence-based practice, safeguarding, mental health, long-term conditions, acute care and the legal and ethical frameworks that govern professional nursing.

The dual field training gives you exposure to both adult and paediatric care environments from early in the programme. Typical entry is around 152 UCAS tariff points.

Graduation with dual registration opens employment in a particularly wide range of settings: adult wards, paediatric wards, neonatal care, community nursing, school nursing, health visiting, emergency care and specialist clinical roles across both fields. Career progression in nursing leads to advanced clinical practice, specialist nursing roles, nurse leadership, education and research. The four-year MNurs programme, with its additional year compared to a standard three-year nursing degree, provides additional depth of academic and clinical preparation.