Nursing Associate

Our Nursing and Midwifery Council validated course places equal value on clinical practice and theory. During your two-year foundation degree you’ll have four main placements, on hospital wards (surgical, medical, general, child, A&E), with the mental health team in the community and specialist clinics.

On placement, you’ll be working shifts. This can mean early, late and night shifts, as well as working weekends and bank holidays. You’ll be supported by practice supervisors and assessors as well as staff from ARU.

Each year, you’ll get allocated annual leave at set points to support you in balancing your course and relaxation time.

When you’re in university, teaching usually takes place between 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday.

We want to make sure you experience a variety of placements and that you graduate as an effective practitioner. Our placement maps will help you plan your travel before you start on the course.

Find out more about nursing placements.

You’ll be linked to one of our NHS healthcare trust partners for your placements in hospitals or community settings:

• if you study in Cambridge, you’ll do your placements in Cambridge, Huntingdon or Peterborough
• if you study in Chelmsford, you’ll do your placements in or around Chelmsford, Southend, Basildon, Harlow or Colchester.

Throughout the course, we'll assess your progress to make sure you're meeting learning outcomes and engaging fully with each module. These formative assessments help you to monitor and improve your performance as you advance through modules. They might include self-completion questionnaires, group exercises (discussion forums), and practical tasks and activities.