Nursing Studies

Learning disability nursing is a specialism that focuses on supporting people with intellectual disabilities, including conditions such as Down's syndrome, autism, and acquired brain injury, to live healthy, independent, and fulfilling lives. Learning disability nurses work in partnership with individuals and their families to promote autonomy, support inclusion, and reduce the significant health inequalities that people with intellectual disabilities often face. They work across a wide range of settings, from community learning disability teams and supported living to NHS inpatient services and schools, and they bring a combination of clinical knowledge, relationship-building skill, and commitment to rights and dignity that is central to the profession.

At Glasgow Caledonian University this four-year full-time Nursing Studies programme leads to registration as a Learning Disability Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. You will develop the knowledge, skills, and professional values needed for this specialist nursing role through a combination of academic study and substantial supervised clinical placements across a range of learning disability and health services in Scotland. The programme prepares you to overcome barriers to care, advocate effectively for the people you work with, and achieve the best possible quality of life outcomes for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Registered Learning Disability Nurses work across NHS community and inpatient services, local authority social care, independent and voluntary sector providers, and supported living and residential care settings. The profession offers significant career development opportunities, with routes into advanced practice, specialist clinical roles, education, management, and policy work. Scotland has a particular commitment to the rights and inclusion of people with learning disabilities, and graduates from this programme are well placed to contribute to the ongoing development of services in that context.

Postgraduate study in learning disability, clinical practice, or education is a further path for those wishing to develop specialist expertise.