Abstract

The BSc (Hons) Nursing programme at the University of Sunderland (UoS) provides students who have been educated to diploma level and hold registration as an internationally educated nurse to ‘top up’ to a UK equivalent degree.

Our student population generally originates from Africa, Asia and Europe. Due to the diverse student population, it is important to recognise and consider theoretical approaches such as intersectionality, to underpin our teaching, learning and assessment and couple this with a trauma-informed pedagogical approach (Stromberg 2023).

We have undertaken primary research using a questionnaire format to evaluate an enhanced induction programme (EIP). The EIP provides students with a safe space to develop their academic skills and introduce them to the available UoS support services. The EIP takes place across several weeks prior to students beginning their first module allowing for acclimatisation and orientation to university processes and procedures. The questionnaire was designed to determine student needs from a pastoral and academic perspective and evaluate the efficacy of the EIP. Ethical approval was sought and agreed by the University of Sunderland. This research was carried out with a view to conducting semi-structured interviews and focus groups at a later date. This has allowed us to consider some of the key challenges highlighted by research including fostering a sense of belonging, academic integrity issues (Brown et al., 2018), reciprocal cultural competency, recognition of disability including mental health conditions (Stoll et al., 2022) and general challenges for minority ethnic students' attainment (Rana et al., 2022). Using the EIP to connect students to university support services can address some of these areas, however, more research is required.