Learning Disability Nursing

Learning Disability Nursing is a professional and rewarding career enabling you to make a real difference to the lives of people across all age groups.

During the course you will learn about specialist nursing care for people with learning disabilities and the management of their cognitive, psychological, physical and social needs. The primary aim of being a learning disability nurse is to support the well-being and social inclusion of people with learning disabilities; through improving or maintaining physical and mental health to live full and rewarding lives within their communities. You need to be committed and dedicated with the willingness to give time to others with care and compassion. 

With an excellent reputation and good links with the local NHS trust and other potential employers, you will benefit from our NMC-accredited course when applying for jobs. This course is structured through Inter-professional (IP) learning. Allowing you to collaborate with other allied healthcare students and professionals and gain a wider understanding of issues and debates in the sector. 

During this course – thanks to strong links with service providers across the region – we can offer a range of placement opportunities embedded within all three years of the course. You will find opportunities in areas specific to the field, such as, community learning disability nursing teams, respite and inpatient services, learning disability primary and acute care liaison nursing, forensic and residential nursing. 

Placements are typically provided across the East Midlands, in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and sometimes in surrounding counties. In your placement, you will work alongside practice supervisors and practice assessors to learn the practical application of nursing relevant to your chosen field. During the course, students also have access to updated facilities, utilising simulation suites, Virtual Reality technology and LearningSpace software.

Key features

Study in our purpose-built facilities which comprise clinical skills suites, a moving and handling area, a cardiopulmonary resuscitation room and a sensory room – allowing you to apply theory to practice in a safe environment.

Our strong links and integrated work placements with local health and social care providers allow you to experience real-world situations.

Students have gained valuable international experience as part of their studies with our DMU Global programme.

The teaching team is made up of highly qualified, highly experienced and skilled nurses with many years of both clinical and academic experience, 2 of whom are also Queens Nurses. DMU has more Learning Disability Nurses educated to doctoral level than any other University in the UK.

Uniform policy

All students will be required to adhere to a uniform policy when in practice, in which they must be bare below the elbow. This is non-negotiable as it is an infection prevention requirement to safeguard the health and safety of all students and service users.