Health & Social Care (District Nursing)

The specific aims of the programme are to:

• Broaden the student’s understanding of key aspects of district nursing including the acquisition of coherent and detailed knowledge at the forefront of care.
• Prepare students for study and competent practice at a specialist level within district nursing in order to meet the NMC (2001) Standards for Specialist Practice.
• Develop a critical awareness of the role and responsibilities of Specialist Community Nurses in contemporary society.
• Utilise contemporary research and advanced scholarship to critically analyse and evaluate key aspects and developments in District Nursing.

Additional features:

• You will be taught by a dedicated team of professional nurses who have backgrounds in District Nursing and Community Nursing Roles.
• On successful completion of the Community Specialist Practice Programme, the District Nursing qualification will be recordable with the NMC.
• The programme consists of 50% theory and 50% practice (minimum of 600 hours practice) within a district nursing team and has a 6 week period of practice consolidation at the end of the programme, ensuring that you feel fully prepared for your new role as a District Nurse.
• On successful completion of the Post Graduate Diploma students who have accrued the required credits at level 7 can be offered the opportunity to undertake a 60 credit dissertation leading to a full Masters qualification titled MSc Health and Social Care (Community Specialist Practice)

Foundations of Community Practice

The Foundations of Community Practice module will enable registered practitioners to enhance their knowledge and problem-solving skills to a point where they can practise competently in a community setting.

Research Methods

The Research Methods module aims to provide the student with a critical understanding of the philosophical, practical and ethical concepts of research and research methodology within the context of health and society.

Clinical Portfolio

The Clinical Portfolio module will enable the student to engage in critical reflection during their community placement and explore their professional practice and personal development.

Nurse Prescribing (V100)

The Nurse Prescribing module aims to prepare community nurses to prescribe safely, appropriately and cost effectively from the Nurse Prescribers’ Formulary for Community Practitioners.

Assessing Complex Needs

The Assessing Complex Needs module will prepare students to deal with complex care situations systematically and creatively and make sound judgements within the boundaries of their own discipline.

Managing Community Specialist Practice

The Managing Community Specialist Practice module will equip the students with the underpinning knowledge of leadership and management in the context of district nursing practice.

Innovations in Community Practice

The Innovations in Community practice will enhance the students’ ability to lead and manage a district nursing team by recognising the need for change and designing and planning an innovation to reflect the needs within the locality. The module will also enable the students to disseminate this good practice.

Consolidation of Practice (NMC requirement)

Students will complete this module at the end of their studies and it will enable them to manage a small caseload of patients in readiness for embarking on their new role as a District Nurse. The students will feel fully prepared having worked towards the NMC proficiencies over a prolonged period of time.

Students who wish to continue their studies on completion of the Post Graduate Diploma will undertake a dissertation module.

Dissertation Module to gain full Masters

Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate independent thought and select, plan, prepare and write a dissertation which explores a topic relevant to District Nursing.

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the programme that will take the form of either core or option modules. Modules are designated as core or option in accordance with professional body requirements and internal academic framework review, so may be subject to change.