Advanced Practice (Health and Social Care)

About the course

The programme is work-based and most of your learning will be focused on developing your advanced practitioner role in the workplace. Your time will be split so that you spend one day of study in your workplace and one day in the University.

You will be assessed using a variety of methods including case studies, essays, assignments, your dissertation and assessments based on the context of your workplace.

The course is supported by the NHS North West and employing NHS Trusts.

The School of Health and Social Sciences is focused on supporting the development of individuals in the health and social care profession who can manage and achieve success in both their personal and professional aspirations.

Students are recruited from a range of health and social care professions, including nurses, midwives, paramedics, public health and allied health professionals, and healthcare scientists.

What you will learn

The programme is based on three major aspects of the advanced practitioner’s role – personal, role and organisational assessment; clinical skills at an advanced level and clinical leadership through evidence based service evaluation and development.

You will establish an understanding and critical awareness of problems in professional practice, develop the capacity to combine practice and theory and use higher levels of discretion and judgement in decision making in your service delivery and leadership.

You will enhance your ability to deal with complex issues systematically and creatively, to make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and to communicate your conclusions clearly to service users and other stakeholders.

Special features

• The programme is personalised in that assignment guidelines may be applied to your workplace context and role. This flexibility applies in particular to the dissertation action research project.

• You will also have the support of a university employed Learning Facilitator who will support you, along with your mentors and assessors, in your workplace learning activities

Careers and professional development

Students who have completed the programme to date have gone on to develop their career in a wide range of fields, including: consultant children’s nurses; team leaders; community matrons; and advanced practitioners in audiology, out-of-hours care, mental health, palliative care, podiatry, falls management, cardio-vascular, sexual health and substance misuse services.

Professional recognition

Currently, ‘advanced practitioner’ is not a restricted title although this issue is being explored by the professional bodies; for example, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health Professions Council. National work is being undertaken to develop agreed competencies. The programme will take these into account as it is developed over time.

Requirements

Entry requirements(typical offer)

You must demonstrate the following: evidence of recent professional and academic development; current professional registration as a health or social care practitioner (for example, in the fields of nursing or occupational therapy); at least five years post-registration experience of professional practice; at least a lower second class honours degree (2.2) in a subject relevant to your health or social care practice; compliance with occupational health screening procedures and Criminal Records Bureau screening to the satisfaction of the employing health care organisation providing the practice placement (normally a primary care trust); and support from the appropriate service manager for learning time, funding and learning support (i.e. mentors/assessors).

If you do not meet the standard academic entry criteria listed above you may be accepted on the basis of the following: recent level HE6 study (60 credits), and/or submission of a portfolio of evidence in support of an APEL claim for level HE6 credit, or a diploma in higher education linked to the your professional qualification and satisfactory completion of a piece of set academic writing.

If English is not your first language you will also need IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent).

Mode of attendance: Part-time: the course involves two learning days per week over 47 weeks annually (including one day per week for university attendance and one day per week for work-based learning in context).