BSc Nursing (Children's & General Integrated)

The BSc (Honours) in Children’s and General Nursing (Integrated) at University College Cork is a 4.5-year degree that qualifies you as both a children’s nurse and a general nurse, giving you the flexibility to care for patients of all ages. It is ideal for students who want a meaningful healthcare career that combines scientific learning, hands-on clinical training, and the ability to support children, adults, and families through all stages of health and illness.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1 – Foundations of Nursing Practice
In the first year, you build your core nursing knowledge through modules such as Fundamental Knowledge and Skills for Nursing Practice, Infection Prevention and Control, and Therapeutic Interpersonal Skills for Nursing Practice. You also study The Foundations of Contemporary Children’s and General Nursing, helping you understand how professional care, communication, and patient safety come together in everyday nursing practice.

Year 2 – Developing Clinical and Scientific Skills
Year two deepens your understanding of both adult and children’s nursing through subjects like Pharmacology and Medication Management, Research for Evidence-Based Nursing and Midwifery Care, and Growth and Development during Pregnancy, Childhood and Adolescence. Alongside this, you continue supervised clinical placements where you apply theory to real healthcare situations with patients and families.

Year 3 – Caring Across the Lifespan
In the third year, learning focuses on more complex health needs with modules such as Nursing Children, Adolescents and their Families with Acute and Continuing Care Needs and Health, Ageing and the Life-Cycle. You develop stronger clinical judgement and gain experience caring for older adults, people with long-term conditions, and children with complex health needs.

Year 4 – Professional and Leadership Development
Year four introduces leadership, ethics, and professional responsibility through subjects like The Profession and Discipline of Nursing and Professional Development and Nurses as Team Members, Leaders and Managers of the Future. You also care for people with mental health and disability needs, preparing you to work confidently within multidisciplinary healthcare teams.

Year 5 – Clinical Practice and Transition to Work
The final year is built around extended clinical placements, including a 36-week paid internship, where you work full-time as part of a nursing team. This year allows you to bring together everything you have learned and step smoothly into professional practice as a qualified children’s and general nurse.

Focus Areas (in a string)

Children’s and adult nursing, medication management, evidence-based care, therapeutic communication, health across the lifespan, leadership and professional practice

Learning Outcomes (in a string)

Provide safe and compassionate nursing care for children and adults, assess and manage diverse health conditions, communicate effectively with patients and families, apply research to practice, and work professionally within healthcare teams

Professional Alignment (accreditation)

Graduates are eligible to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) as both a Children’s Nurse and a General Nurse, allowing them to practise in Ireland and apply for recognition internationally.

Reputation (employability rankings)

UCC’s School of Nursing and Midwifery is internationally recognised for the quality of its clinical training and graduate outcomes, supporting strong employment prospects for nursing graduates in Ireland and abroad.