Course overview
You achieve an academic award, and two professional awards (SPQ Specialist Practice in District Nursing and Non-medical Prescribing (V300)), enabling you to be an independent prescriber within your scope of practice.
This course is approved against the NMC (2022) Standards of Proficiency for Community Nursing Specialist Practice Qualifications and mapped to The Queen's Institute of Community Nursing (QICN) (2022) District Nursing Standards for Specialist Practitioner Qualification. This provides a strong framework rooted in community nursing, to focus your learning and provide relevant context to the professional standards.
Designed in consultation with local employers, professional standards bodies, students, service users, carers, and district nurse educators from across the country.
You are taught by tutors with expert knowledge in the field, including clinical skills, leadership, prescribing and district nursing. Learning is structured around four areas: clinical practice, leadership and management, facilitation of learning and evidence, research and development. This reflects the field-specific standards set by the QICN – this course has been endorsed by the QICN against these standards.
Supporting information for applicants
Course details
Course structure
You learn key aspects of district nursing, including building a community profile, safeguarding, risk, teaching and learning, promoting independence, the experience of service users and carers, and understanding associated research.
You develop your professional district nurse proficiencies and management and leadership skills, developing service improvements, patient safety and understanding research methodology for project design.
Advancing Non-medical Prescribing
Independent and supplementary prescribing is an integrated feature of health service delivery. Some health-specific professionals are qualified to prescribe across a range of healthcare settings. Advancing roles within both nursing and allied health professions have provided a greater access to medicines. This award provides nurses and allied health professionals (physiotherapists, radiographers, podiatrists, dietitians, and paramedics who are working in advanced practice roles) with the knowledge and skills to prescribe safely and effectively. You must work within your own scope of practice and area of competence and be able to complete the care cycle in a holistic manner for clients within your care.
Advancing Physical Assessment Skills for the Specialist Practitioner
You explore clinical assessment and management, focusing on the assessment of the individual. You develop knowledge of anatomy, pathology and physiology applied to the diagnostic process. Theory is combined with practice learning, supported by a supervisor, providing you with the key skills for safe and effective decision-making that considers individual client needs and the key people around them. You draw on current guidelines and policies to inform your clinical assessment and management plans.
Modules offered may vary.
How you learn
You commit to a comprehensive and individual approach to learning. Teaching includes group discussions, presentations, project work and clinical skills development in practical labs. You gain confidence in accessing digital resources There is some online learning, but most teaching and learning is in-person.
You share some learning with district nurse apprentices, learners on the health and justice field of the SPQ and students on other courses during the Non-medical Prescribing module. You are encouraged to explore different perspectives and ideas, and share experiences of problem-solving in practice.
We highly value the experience and knowledge of service users and carers involved in the programme, for example through teaching activities and assessment. Your practice assessor plays a significant role in ensuring that you have access to great learning opportunities during placement. Their skills and experiences also provide you with an excellent role model.
How you are assessed
You are assessed through exams, a modified objective structured long examination review, essays, verbal tasks, presentations, projects and assessing proficiencies in practice through a practice assessment document. Your practice assessor and practice supervisors are key to these practice assessments. All modules include the opportunity for feedback as you progress. Work is generally submitted online with online feedback. You review your progress halfway through the course and prepare for the next stage of learning. On successful completion, you are awarded through an academic assessment board.
Entry requirements
You must:
> have an NMC-valid registration as a registered first-level nurse and at least one year’s experience post-registration in the field you intend to practice (to meet the non-medical prescribing entry criteria, you must have 3 years’ experience post-qualifying at the point of commencing the module, which starts in January of year 2 of the course)
> be successful at interview
> have a degree or RPL equivalent
> be professionally practising in a role where there is an identified need to prescribe
> be approved by the employing trust or organisation’s non-medical prescribing lead and service manager who must provide verification of your suitability to prescribe
> have an NMP practice assessor or designated prescribing practitioner to provide supervision, support and opportunities to develop competence in practice
> pass a 20-question drug calculations entry test with a mark of 80% or above
> successfully complete a clinical skills module or written evidence of assessment within practice (successful completion of the clinical skills module within the course enables the applicant to meet this criteria).
You also need an employing organisation who is responsible for the following essential elements:
> appropriate learning opportunities
> supervision and assessment from the practice learning team, specifically a practice assessor
> a completed work-based risk assessment
> a satisfactory DBS.
Self-funding applicants
If you are interested in applying for this course and can self-fund but do not have an existing employer who is supporting your application, the course team can explore the potential for securing an honorary contract with a local employer to enable you to have a placement and be supported by a practice learning team. If this is the case, then the University will provide your occupational health assessment as well as seeking enhanced DBS disclosure. In these circumstances, please apply online and the course team will contact you to progress your application.
You may take part in an occupational health work-based risk assessment check. If you have a disability, specific learning difficulty, mental health condition, autism spectrum condition, sensory impairment or medical condition that may require reasonable adjustments during an external placement or in the university or a clinical practice area, this must be declared as part of the enrolment process. Contact the relevant admissions or course tutor for guidance.
Under recognition of prior learning (RPL) you may be awarded credits for previous study or related work experience which can be credited towards the course you want to study. Find out more about RPL.
For general information please see our overview of entry requirements
We cannot accept applications from international students requiring a student visa.
Employability
Career opportunities
On successful completion of the course, you can apply for a district nurse post as team leader and specialist practitioner, and develop professionally and academically with a master’s level qualification.
