Health & Social Care

This exciting and innovative course is designed to ensure that as a nursing professional you are well placed to deal with the globalised challenges arising in current and future practice. They include changes in population and demographic trends, shifts in patterns of health/illness and wellbeing, and political, professional and organisational working cultures.

The course adopts an evidence-informed nursing approach by reviewing, synthesising and incorporating contemporary professional and political drivers to ensure that the profession remains dynamic, proactive and responsive in delivering safe, confident, competent and compassionate quality care and excellence in nursing practice. This course has been designed as a progression route for those who have completed or are completing the postgraduate diploma for surgical care practitioners in cardiothoracic surgery, general surgery, orthopaedic surgery or obstetrics and gynaecology surgery.

The course develops:

• leadership skills to promote the professional voice of nursing and to disseminate new knowledge and skills to enhance patient/client care
• advanced knowledge and skills to facilitate person centred care and to enhance the patient/client experience
• advanced decision making skills and application of nursing practice in complex, demanding and unpredictable environments
• intellectual and professional independence associated with mastery
• knowledge and skills to inform and advance nursing practice
• a critical understanding of research methodologies and evidence based practice to contribute to the generation of knowledge for advanced nursing practice.

What you study

The course consists of 160 credits of core modules and 20 credits of designated/option. There is an induction period to help meet your needs in relation to the demands of master’s-level study.

How you are assessed

A variety of creative formative and summative assessments is included. Detailed feedback is provided in relation to all assessment criteria via the student intranet. Examples include reflective essays, oral presentations, cases studies, OSCEs and the final dissertation project.

Career opportunities

Nurses require master’s-level knowledge and competence to undertake advanced clinical roles in practice.

Entry requirements

You must:

• be a registered nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council
• have an honours degree (2.2 or above) in a related subject or evidence of study at degree level (opportunities for individual APEL are available on application).
• be employed by a healthcare organisation within an area of advanced practice which requires diagnostic and therapeutic responsibility within scope for a patient caseload within the domains of practitioner practice - for a minimum of 500 hours or practice for the duration of the course
• be able to organise for a doctor or qualified and active advanced practitioner to act as a practice supervisor to enable development in practice as a advanced nurse practitioner via the taught practice component
• be able to dedicate a minimum of three hours per week, in addition to the study day at University to work in an advanced nurse practitioner capacity, to focus development as an advanced nurse practitioner and complete the required hours of supervision and competences for the practitioner domains.

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