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A new “world-leading” online nurse degree programme will launch in England next year, with courses open for applications from this autumn, it has been announced today.
The national body leading the initiative said it was hoped the “blended learning nursing degree” option would open the profession up to a wider group of people and help develop a workforce of “digitally expert” registered nurses.
The idea for the degree was first mentioned in the NHS Long Term Plan at the start of 2019 with further information laid out in the interim NHS People Plan in June of that year.
Health Education England today confirmed that seven universities had signed up to run the blended learning nursing degree, the theoretical component of which will mostly be delivered online.
The first students will start their courses in January 2021, said the government arms’-length body in a statement.
According to HEE, the degree would give nurses “easy access to new and emerging technologies and will help them and their employing trusts to meet the requirement for strong digital capabilities”.
It added that the programme would help to widen participation in nursing by “enabling people to learn on their own terms” and removing some of the barriers to education that some experience.
“This world-leading new blended degree will equip the next generation of nurses with that expertise from the get-go”
Matt Hancock
Patrick Mitchell, director of innovation and transformation for HEE, said: “This is a critical and ambitious programme of work, to support the introduction of blended learning degrees in healthcare.
“It shows the way to the future of educating and training our workforce, with the use of existing and emerging learning technologies.
“It signifies how HEE is working in partnership with [higher education institutions], to establish a radical shift in nurse education in England.”
He added that the motivation to establish the blended learning option had been “accelerated” by the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Matt Hancock
Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock said the introduction of the new degree option would help the government deliver on its commitment to expand the nursing workforce, while also offering “innovative and accessible new ways to train” as a nurse.
“This world-leading new blended degree will equip the next generation of nurses with that expertise from the get-go,” he added.
“It will also open doors by providing more flexible learning options to attract a more diverse range of applicants.”
The seven delivery partners for the new degree are Open University & Middlesex University, Open University & University of West of England, Coventry University, University of Huddersfield, University of Sunderland, University of Gloucestershire and Birmingham City University.
Applications can be made from the autumn of this year.
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