What do Learning Disability Nurses do?

Did you know that over 95% of students qualifying with a degree in Learning Disability Nursing at BCU are in graduate level employment or further study within six months of finishing the course? Currently there is a 16% higher vacancy rate for Learning Disability nurses than any other nursing field. So, if you’re thinking about applying for our BSc Nursing – Learning Disability course, now might be the right time!

So, what do Learning Disability nurses do?

Learning Disability nursing is a very rewarding career with excellent employment prospects. The role of a Learning Disability Nurse is to support individuals and their families to ensure health needs are met and individuals are able to reach their potential and live independent lives. Samantha Salmon, Admissions Tutor for our BSc course, talks us through everything you need to know. Learning Disability nursing differs from other fields of nursing as we do not focus on ‘fixing’ or ‘curing’ the person but on changing the environment, our communication and the perceptions, attitudes and values of others to ensure that person is fully supported to live a healthy and fulfilling life.

Responsibilities:

As a Learning Disability Nurse you will work across the lifespan; working with children through to older adults. This population has a diverse range of health needs, including physical disabilities, neurological conditions and specific syndromes. You will play a vital role working across both health and social care settings and your main roles will include:

Improving and maintaining a person’s physical and mental health.
Reducing health inequalities that lead to the premature death of people with learning disabilities.
Reducing barriers to health and care services to promote an individual’s wellbeing.
Supporting the person in living a fulfilling life.
Supporting individuals to access health and social care services: assessing, planning, delivering and evaluating holistic, person centred care.

Where will I work?

Becoming a Learning Disability Nurse will enable you to work in a wide variety of settings. The employment opportunities for learning disabilities are diverse and you may work:

With a person in their home
Within specialist education provisions
Within acute hospital settings e.g. hospital liaison nurse specialist
Within mental health services
Within short break services (previously called respite)
In the community, supporting people to live with family members or to live independently
Within a secure setting such as a prisons.

In this role, you are also likely work with a range of individuals such as General Practitioners, Psychologists, Social Workers, Teachers, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Healthcare Assistants to ensure that the individual’s needs are met. You may also work alongside an individual’s family and/or significant others.

The characteristics and traits:

If you think you have the skills and qualities to become a Learning Disability Nurse, you will be working with people who have a range of needs, so you will need to be highly organised, flexible and able to prioritise effectively. A good nurse is also highly observant, able to use assessment skills, patient and able to take responsibility for the care provided.

On a daily basis, you will:

Listen and communicate
Problem solve
Use good judgement
Offer advice.

Learning Disability Nursing is a really rewarding role and you need to be person centred – this means putting the person at the centre of everything you do, demonstrating compassion, understanding and creativity to ensure that you are able to meet the needs of the people that you are working with. It’s different to other nursing fields due to the fact that you’ll be supporting people with much more than medical procedures; you will have the privilege to get to know a person and work to develop a therapeutic relationship. It’s a profession that encompasses a truly holistic approach; if you’re looking to become a Learning Disability Nurse, you will need to be devoted to the profession.

What do our Learning Disability Student Nurses think?

“I’ve definitely learnt loads from my course. It’s taught me to look at nursing on a multi-disciplinary level, and see that everyone involved in the care needs a holistic approach; every patient is different and needs a different approach. Nursing is a team effort and everyone needs looking after, including those on the job. It’s also taught me to be very creative in terms of resources. While on the job, you also learn to be an advocate for people with learning disabilities.

The teachers and visiting lecturers here are great. They’re so perfectly allocated to each module and are really passionate about Learning Disability Nursing. They are always there to combat negative opinions about LD Nursing and are positive advocates for why people should study it. They’re also interested in our well-being which is really nice.”

Sarah Kigozi, BCU Learning Disability Student Nurse

“I am halfway through my course now and I have learned quite a lot so far and there is more to come. As someone who had never worked in a healthcare role previously, I have gained a lot of new skills in looking after people with learning disabilities, from supporting them with my own personal care to encouraging them to explore their abilities and empowering them to achieve independence. I have gained skills in communicating with people who cannot communicate verbally, I have learned to use different methods to exchange information with my patients despite that communication challenge. It has been very rewarding.”

Aimable Gasana, BCU Learning Disability Student Nurse.

How do I become a Learning Disability Nurse?

If you’re looking to become a Learning Disability Nurse, it’s a professional qualification so you’ll need to train and study at degree level, whether that’s here at Birmingham City University, or somewhere else. Whether you choose to take on a degree, or an apprenticeship is up to you.

Plus, from August 2020, all nursing degree students will receive at least £5,000 a year with up to £3,000 further funding available.

There’s also a variety of part-time and full-time options to work around your life-style. Entry requirements will also vary depending on how and where you would like to study. Check out our entry requirements.