Nursing

Mental health nursing is a demanding and deeply important professional role. Mental health nurses support people experiencing conditions that include depression, anxiety, psychosis, eating disorders, personality disorders and substance misuse, working across inpatient units, community teams, crisis services and specialist clinics. The work requires clinical knowledge, therapeutic skill, resilience and the ability to build trusting relationships with people at the most difficult points of their lives.

It is a profession that calls for both professional rigour and genuine human empathy.

At Dundee, this three-year full-time programme prepares you for registration as a mental health nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The Tayside designation reflects the programme's placement base, which draws on the healthcare settings of Tayside and surrounding areas. You will develop the skills to assess and manage a wide range of clinical presentations, learning to formulate care plans, administer and monitor medications, work in therapeutic relationships with service users, and collaborate within multidisciplinary teams.

Clinical placements are central to your training and run throughout the programme, meaning that you are working with real patients and real clinical situations from an early stage.

Academic study covers mental health theory, psychology, sociology, pharmacology and the legal and ethical frameworks that govern mental health care in Scotland. You will develop critical thinking alongside clinical competence, graduating as a practitioner who can engage with evidence and adapt practice accordingly.

On achieving NMC registration, graduates are qualified to work in a wide range of mental health settings in Scotland and across the UK. Many move into specialist areas such as forensic mental health, child and adolescent mental health, older adult services or substance misuse. Advanced practice, research, education and leadership roles are longer-term career pathways.