Nursing

Adult nursing is the largest branch of the nursing profession, focused on delivering skilled, compassionate care to adults across the full range of health conditions, from acute medical and surgical emergencies to long-term conditions, mental health difficulties, and end-of-life care. Nurses are at the heart of healthcare delivery, working directly with patients and families to assess needs, plan and deliver care, administer treatments, monitor conditions, and advocate for patients within complex multidisciplinary teams. The profession demands both rigorous scientific knowledge and the human qualities of empathy, communication, and resilience.

At the University of the West of England, Bristol, this three-year, full-time degree leads to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as an adult nurse. You will study the biological and social sciences that underpin nursing practice, alongside the clinical skills and professional values that registered nurses need. A significant proportion of the programme is spent on clinical placement, working in NHS hospitals, community settings, and other healthcare environments under the supervision of registered practitioners.

These placements are essential to your development as a nurse and expose you to the full range of patient care contexts in which nurses work.

Graduates register with the NMC and enter the nursing workforce in NHS and independent sector settings across hospital wards, intensive care, theatres, emergency departments, community health, and specialist nursing teams. Many nurses develop specialist expertise in particular clinical areas after registration, including critical care, oncology, cardiology, or district nursing. Senior nursing roles in education, management, advanced clinical practice, and nursing leadership offer further career development, and many nurses also go on to postgraduate study in nursing, healthcare leadership, or specialist practice.