Overview

NFQ Level 9, Major Award

The MSc in Nursing programme comprising of 7 clinical pathways is structured into 2 parts and will typically be completed over 2 years from the date of first registration for the programme (i.e. 60 credits in Part 1 and 30 credits in Part 2).

All students will be registered for a Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing in their First Year and will be registered for a MSc in their Second Year. Students who opt to exit at the end of the first year will be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing upon successful completion and passing modules to the value of 60 credits (applicable to all pathways - see below).

A student who subsequently wishes to continue progression for the degree of Master must complete the programme within 5 academic years from the date of successful completion of the Postgraduate Diploma Examinations, subject to the programme being available.

Note - Recognition of prior learning: Applicants who already have completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Nursing programme to the value to 30 credits will be granted exemptions for these modules in the relevant MSc/Postgraduate Diploma exit pathway (applicable to pathways 3, 8, and 11). For Pathway 2, applicants who have already completed NU5098 or equivalent to the value of 10 credits may be eligible for an exemption for NU6171.

Programme Pathways

There are 7 clinical pathways to the degree of Masters in Nursing, all of which have an exit route available for the award of a Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing. The pathways to degree of Masters including Postgraduate Diploma exit route are as follows:

Pathway 1: Trauma and Emergency Nursing
Pathway 2: Intensive Care Nursing
Pathway 3: Gerontological Nursing
Pathway 5: Specialist Mental Health Nursing Practice
Pathway 6: Neonatology Nursing
Pathway 8: Medical and Surgical Nursing
Pathway 11: Oncology Nursing

Pathways 4, 7, 9 and 10 have been discontinued.

For the MSc in Nursing, students choose one of the available pathways and complete modules to the value of 90 credits in total comprising 60 credits in Part 1 (typically over one year) (and may opt to exit with a Postgraduate Diploma award) and 30 credits in Part 2 (typically over 2nd year of programmes).

Note: For students who complete the programme without opting to take an exit route award, the Academic Transcript of Examination Results will state the cumulative nature of the award as relevant to pathway speciality.

Programme Requirements

For information about modules, module choice, options and credit weightings, please go to Programme Requirements. 

Programme Requirements

Module List

Code	Title	Credits
Students take 90 credits as follows - 60 credits from their chosen pathway in Part 1 and 30 credits in Part II.
Part 1 1
Students take 60 credits from one of the following pathways:		60
Pathway 1: Trauma and Emergency Nursing
or
Pathway 2: Intensive Care Nursing
or
Pathway 3: Gerontological Nursing 2
or
Pathway 5: Specialist Mental Health Nursing Practice
or
Pathway 6: Neonatology Nursing
or
Pathway 8: Medical and Surgical Nursing 3
or
Pathway 11: Oncology Nursing
Part 2 4
Students take 30 credits as follows:
Core Modules
MH6014	Advanced Research Methods for Healthcare Professionals	10
NU6073	Dissertation in Nursing	20
Total Credits		90

¹

Part 1, typically completed in the first year of each programme pathway consists of theory modules to the value of 50 credits and a clinical practicum/practice module to the value of 10 credits. These modules (both shared and pathway specific) are listed on the corresponding pathway page.

²

Students who have successfully completed 30 credits from the Postgraduate Certificate in Nursing (Gerontological Nursing) and transfer into the MSc/Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing Programme must take theory modules to the value of 25 credits from NU6070, NU6079, NU6117 and one Clinical Practice/Practicum module to the value of 5 credits (NU6131).

³

Students who have successfully completed 30 credits from the Postgraduate Certificate in Nursing (Medical and Surgical Nursing) and transfer into the MSc/Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing Programme must take theory modules to the value of 25 credits from NU6070, NU6085, and NU6152 and one Clinical Practice/Practicum module to the value of 5 credits (NU6131).

⁴

In order to progress to Part 2 students must pass modules to the value of 60 credits in Part 1.

Examinations

Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards Book and for each module in the Book of Modules.

Programme Learning Outcomes

Programme Learning Outcomes for MSc in Nursing (all pathways) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Practise as a learned member of the multidisciplinary team in the delivery of quality healthcare for individuals and families across a variety of contexts with greater insights into the research-base, ethical, and professional underpinnings of nursing/midwifery and healthcare in Ireland;
  
• Demonstrate high levels of judgement in the practice of nursing/midwifery through the generation of knowledge for innovative nursing or midwifery practice;
  
• Act as innovators and leaders in a chosen area and contribute to practice development and best practice;
  
• Teach others from a broad and in-depth knowledge base, derived from critical reflection on practice and the development of critical inquiry of disciplinary knowledge base in nursing or midwifery;
  
• Enhance specialist nursing or midwifery practice through the application of well-assimilated knowledge and clinical skills;
  
• Exercise accountability and autonomy within the clinical and professional boundaries of the role of nursing or midwifery;
  
• Promote excellence in assessment and implementation of research based practice, within agreed inter-disciplinary protocols in specialist areas of nursing or midwifery practice;
  
• Evaluate the effectiveness of individual outcomes against specialist intervention plans for individuals and families in their specialist area of practice;
  
• Synthesise health related issues for the development of intervention/service responses appropriate to the needs of individuals and families in their specialist area of practice.