Nursing

Children's nursing is one of the most skilled and rewarding branches of the nursing profession, requiring practitioners who combine advanced clinical knowledge with an exceptional ability to communicate with and care for patients who may be very young, frightened, or unable to express what they are experiencing. Children and young people have distinct physiological needs from adults, and caring for them requires a specialist understanding of development across the full age range from newborn to late adolescence, as well as the ability to work sensitively with families under significant stress.

At Swansea University, this three-year full-time BSc (Hons) in Nursing (Child) is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and commissioned by Health Education and Improvement Wales, meaning it is a recognised pathway to professional registration as a children's nurse. You will study child development and physiology, paediatric pharmacology, safeguarding, family-centred care, acute and long-term condition management, and the legal and ethical dimensions of nursing practice. A substantial portion of the programme is spent in practice placements across a range of clinical settings, including paediatric wards, neonatal units, community nursing, and children's mental health services, building the clinical skills and professional confidence that registration demands.

Qualified children's nurses work across the NHS and in independent healthcare, in hospital settings including paediatric intensive care and surgical wards, in community and school nursing, in mental health services, and in specialist units for conditions such as cancer, cardiac disease, and neurodisabilities. Many nurses develop clinical specialisms as their careers progress, and others move into education, research, management and advanced practice roles. The NMC-registered qualification also opens pathways to further postgraduate study and to roles across the UK and internationally.