Nursing

Healthcare providers across Scotland can benefit from the OU’s unique open-access programmes which enable their staff to become nurses.

Helen Kafantari Maciver at Western Isles Hospital. Photo by Leila Angus. Staff at all NHS Boards in Scotland can participate in the OU Future Nurse programme. The funded programme includes routes for those already working in healthcare support worker roles to become registered nurses.

We also work in partnership with employers in the independent healthcare sector to help them to develop their staff.

OU students can remain in employment to ‘earn as they learn’ and employers can retain their workforces.

There are many different routes into nursing, as shown below and in our brochure Pathways into nursing with The Open University in Scotland (.pdf).

OU Future Nurse Programme - Pre-Registration Nursing Degrees:

Bachelor of Science (Honours) Nursing degrees - can enable healthcare support workers to become nurses.

These degrees are approved by the Nursing Midwifery Council and all four fields of nursing practice are offered: adult, mental health, learning disability, and children and young people.

Places are funded by the Scottish Government and the OU’s open access ethos and distance learning approach means that the university is open to everyone, regardless of qualifications or location; no qualifications are required for most OU courses and students can study where and when suits their lives.

Certificate, Diplomas and Postgraduate qualifications:

Courses suitable for healthcare workers also include:

Certificate of Higher Education in Healthcare Practice - this standalone qualification could be a stepping-stone on the healthcare support worker career framework, or to the OU Future Nurse degree programme.
Diploma of Higher Education in Health and Social Care - for those looking to develop their career within a healthcare support worker role but not looking to go on to the OU Future Nurse degree programme.

Courses for registered nurses include:

Postgraduate Certificate in Non-Medical Prescribing - part of OU Master of Science Advanced Clinical Practice.

Employers can sponsor their students for this range of qualifications. Other potential financial support options are on our fees and funding page, including the part-time fee grant for undergraduate students with personal incomes of less than £25,000.

More information

If you would like to find out more about the nursing programme and the entry requirements, you can read our information booklet (.pdf). You can also complete our enquiry form to register your interest and to be sent an application pack when applications open early in 2024.