Nursing Child Health
Children's nursing occupies a distinctive place within healthcare. It requires not only clinical competence but also an ability to communicate with young patients across a wide age range, to support anxious families, and to make complex care decisions in environments where patients may not be able to express their own needs clearly. It is both a science and a profoundly human practice, demanding empathy, adaptability, and rigorous professional judgement in equal measure.
At Edinburgh Napier University, this three-year full-time programme prepares you for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a children's nurse. You will build essential theoretical knowledge across the sciences that underpin nursing practice while developing the clinical skills required in contemporary child health settings. Communication, decision-making, and leadership are woven throughout the curriculum, preparing you not only to deliver safe and effective care but to take responsibility and work confidently within multidisciplinary teams.
The programme is designed to foster reflective practice, encouraging you to examine your clinical experiences critically and to continue learning and developing throughout your career. Extensive work placements give you hands-on experience across a range of child health environments, from acute hospital wards to community settings, building your practical competence and professional confidence. The typical tariff for entry is 136 points.
Nursing children and young people calls for particular sensitivity to the developmental stage of each patient and to the central role of parents and carers in the care process. You will develop an understanding of paediatric conditions, family-centred care, safeguarding, and the ethical dimensions of working with vulnerable young patients.
Graduates register with the NMC and go on to work in paediatric wards, neonatal units, community children's nursing, school nursing, and specialist child health services. Many go on to further clinical training or postgraduate study, moving into advanced practice roles, specialist nursing, or nursing leadership. A children's nursing qualification is also a platform for careers in education, research, and health policy.