Modules for the Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing: full curriculum

How is the curriculum for the Bachelor’s degree in Nursing organised?

The programme combines theoretical training and clinical practice from the first year onwards. The proportion of practical training increases progressively each year, until by the fourth year the focus is almost entirely on practical work.

• FB = Basic Training 
• OB = Compulsory 
• OP = Optional

One of the hallmarks of the degree programme is the emphasis placed on the Practicum: 84 ECTS credits in total, spread across four blocks that increase in intensity and responsibility each year.

First year: the fundamentals of nursing

The first year lays the scientific and clinical foundations upon which the entire degree programme is built. The combination of basic sciences (biology, anatomy, physiology) with nursing-specific modules highlights the dual nature of this degree programme from the outset.

Key first-year modules:

• Basic Nursing Care (6 ECTS): from day one, you’ll learn the fundamentals of nursing care: hygiene, mobility, administering medication, dressing techniques and monitoring vital signs. This is the module that most clearly shows you what it means to be a nurse.
• Person-centred care and clinical safety (6 ECTS): you’ll learn to place the patient at the centre of their own healthcare journey and to work with safety protocols that prevent clinical errors. A philosophical and practical cornerstone of modern nursing.
• Practicum I (6 ECTS): your first experience of a real clinical setting. From the second term of your first year, you’ll begin rotating through healthcare centres, applying what you’ve learnt in the classroom under supervision.

Second year: clinical nursing intensifies

The second year significantly increases the practical workload and covers key areas: mental health, ageing, community care and advanced clinical practice. It is the year with the highest number of annual modules in the entire degree programme.

Key modules in the second year:

• Clinical Nursing I (12 ECTS): the module with the most credits in the year. You will study the nursing process as applied to major groups of conditions: cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive and endocrine diseases. The focus is on planning and delivering care independently.
• Practicum II (15 ECTS): the practical placements become significantly more intensive. With 15 credits, you will spend a significant part of the year in healthcare settings applying your knowledge of clinical nursing, mental health and ageing to real-life cases.
• Pharmacology (6 ECTS): the most commonly used drugs in nursing, their mechanisms of action, indications, adverse effects and interactions. Essential for the safe administration of medicines in daily clinical practice.

Third year: specialisation and intensive practical training

The third year has the heaviest practical workload of the first three: 24 credits of clinical placements. In addition, there are specialised modules in palliative care, women’s health and paediatrics.

Key modules in the third year:

• Practicum III (24 ECTS): the most extensive placement module of the first three years. With 24 credits, you spend most of the year in a clinical setting, taking on an increasing level of responsibility under the supervision of mentor nurses.
• Palliative Care and Applied Ethics (6 ECTS): combines the most human aspect of nursing with the ethical rigour of the profession. You will learn to support patients with advanced-stage illnesses and to tackle the most difficult clinical decisions within a sound ethical framework.
• Leadership, Management and Nursing Legislation (3 ECTS): the professional and organisational perspective on nursing. This module equips you to understand how healthcare centres operate, the legal framework of the profession and the leadership skills required to progress professionally.

Fourth year: the year of full-time clinical practice

The final year is the most practical of the entire degree programme. Practicum IV accounts for 39 ECTS credits, more than half of the year’s workload, making the fourth year an almost complete immersion in a real clinical environment.

Key modules in the fourth year:

• Practicum IV (39 ECTS): the centrepiece of the final year. Worth 39 credits, it covers the most relevant departments and specialisms: A&E , ICU, operating theatre, paediatrics, obstetrics, psychiatry and primary care. It is the experience that transforms you into a nursing professional.
• Final-Year Project (12 ECTS): carrying significant weight, the Final-Year Project can focus on clinical research, a systematic review of scientific evidence or a proposal to improve care protocols. It is the academic culmination of four years of training.
• Elective modules (9 ECTS): three 3-credit modules to tailor your profile and specialise in the areas that interest you most.

What elective modules are available on the Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing?

Throughout the degree, you must choose a total of 12 elective credits (3 in the third year and 9 in the fourth) from the following subjects:

Choosing your optional modules allows you to tailor your profile: 

• if you’re interested in teaching, Teaching Skills for Nursing is ideal; 
• if your vocation is community or international nursing, Global Health and Sustainability or Education for Cooperation and Development are very valuable options.

Why is the first year of Nursing so difficult?

The first year takes many students by surprise due to the sheer volume and intensity of what is demanded right from the start. There are several reasons for this:

• The amount of material to be memorised is very high. Anatomy, physiology and biology combined represent an enormous workload, with new and highly detailed technical terminology.
• Clinical placements begin in the first year. Practicum I starts as early as the second term, which means you have to juggle intensive study with hours spent in healthcare settings.
• The emotional impact of your first clinical experience. Seeing sick patients, witnessing invasive procedures or facing situations of real suffering can be quite a shock for someone coming straight from secondary school.

The good news is that the degree programme is designed to support you through this adjustment process, and most students find that this first clinical experience confirms their vocation.

Which is the most difficult year of the Nursing degree?

Most students say the first year is the hardest, due to the transition from secondary school and the early start to clinical placements. But the second year isn’t easy either: the combination of Clinical Nursing I (12 credits), Practicum II (15 credits) and the rest of the annual modules places a very demanding burden on students, both in terms of knowledge and the number of hours spent at healthcare centres.

Which is the most difficult subject in the nursing degree?

There are several subjects that students identify as the most demanding:

• Human Anatomy (1st year): extensive, detailed and requiring a great deal of memorisation.
• Pharmacology (2nd year): drugs, routes of administration, adverse effects and interactions. It requires perseverance and a highly structured study method.
• Clinical Nursing I (Year 2): 12 credits combining complex theoretical content with the practical application of the nursing process across a range of conditions.
• Practicum III (3rd year): not difficult in an academic sense, but the intensity of 24 credits’ worth of practical placements in a single year demands a great capacity for adaptation and emotional management.

What do you need to study Nursing?

To gain entry to the Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, you need:

• A sixth-form qualification with a pass in the university entrance exams ( PAU/Selectividad). The entry mark is usually high at public universities.
• Recommended subject area: Health Sciences, although this is not a strict requirement. A solid grounding in biology and chemistry will make the first year considerably easier.
• Personal requirements: a vocation for service, the ability to work in a team, resilience to stress and good communication skills are key competencies in the profession.
• If your marks are not high enough to gain entry via the conventional route, there are other options, such as entry via Vocational Training (advanced-level courses in the healthcare sector) or through private universities such as UAX. 

If you’re still unsure whether Nursing is the right degree for you, it may help to understand the differences between Nursing and Medicine before making your decision.

Summary

The Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing at UAX is structured over four years, comprising 240 ECTS credits, with one distinctive feature: the practical placement accounts for a total of 84 credits, increasing in weighting each year until it reaches 39 credits in the final year. The most demanding theoretical modules are Anatomy, Pharmacology and Clinical Nursing I. The first year is generally considered the most difficult due to the volume of new information and the early start to clinical placements. Elective modules allow students to specialise in teaching, sustainability or psychosocial care.

Sources 

• Official Curriculum for the Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing — UAX
• Order CIN/2134/2008, of 3 July, establishing the requirements for the verification of official university degrees qualifying graduates to practise as nurses. Official State Gazette
• General Council of Nursing of Spain