Nursing

Child nursing is a profession that requires practitioners who understand not just clinical science but the distinctive physical, psychological, and developmental world of childhood and adolescence. Children are not small adults; their bodies, their communication needs, and the emotional dynamics of their care are different at every stage from infancy through to the teenage years, and nursing them effectively requires a specialised form of knowledge and a particular quality of presence. This three-year full-time degree at the University of Lincoln leads to registration as a children's nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Nurses perform a vital role in 21st-century healthcare in both primary and secondary care settings, restoring and promoting health, supporting patients and their families, and understanding the healthcare needs of communities. As a child nursing student at Lincoln, you will study child development, paediatric anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, safeguarding, family-centred care, and the nursing management of acute and long-term conditions in children. Your theoretical learning will be matched by substantial clinical placements across a range of settings including children's wards, community nursing, specialist paediatric units, and school health services, building the practical competence and professional confidence that safe nursing requires.

On qualifying, you will be eligible to register with the NMC and take up posts in children's nursing across the NHS and independent sector. Newly qualified children's nurses typically begin in hospital or community settings, and with experience can develop specialisms in areas such as oncology, critical care, neonatal nursing, mental health, or complex needs. Advanced practice, clinical leadership, nursing education, and research are all available as career progressions.

The NMC qualification is internationally recognised, and many children's nurses choose to work in other countries at some point in their careers.