Our Palliative Care course will give you the skills to evaluate evidence to improve care, and to conduct research to inform clinical practice and service development. You can study this as an MSc, PG Diploma or PG Certificate. Whichever you choose, you will have world-class teaching at the cutting edge of the field.
Developed by King's Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine and St Christopher's Hospice the course will give you the skills you need to evaluate research and evidence in issues of palliative care to inform your clinical practice and your service development.
Our primary aim is to improve your ability, competence and confidence to care for patients with advanced disease, and for their families. This requires you to be able to critically evaluate evidence of the effectiveness, appropriateness and acceptability of existing interventions and services, both medical and psychosocial.
This course is multi-disciplinary and multi-professional. You will learn alongside palliative care professionals from across the world and from all disciplines at the Cicely Saunders Institute, the first purpose-built centre for palliative care. We have students from a wide range of disciplines and professions including doctors, chaplains, nurses, social workers and physiotherapists.
You will develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of the many clinical, social, psychosocial, and ethical issues which surround palliative care, and how to assess and deal with them.
Teaching
You will learn from academics who are working at the cutting edge of palliative care, allowing you to develop your knowledge with the latest thinking and research.
Assessment
We will assess you through a combination of coursework and exams, allowing you to develop different skills and working styles.
If you are an MSc student, you will write 15,000 words for your Research Study Project.
The study time and assessment methods detailed above are typical and give you a good indication of what to expect. However, they may change if the course modules change.
Many of our graduates have gone on to become leaders in their field, to make significant contributions to patient and family care and to influence palliative care policy locally, nationally and internationally. Many have used this course to progress their careers from specialist training registrars in palliative medicine to challenging and exciting consultant posts in hospital, hospice and community settings, and a growing number of clinical nurse specialists are now nurse consultants. Increasing numbers go on to conduct PhDs in palliative care related areas and the course has given to some exciting opportunities to conduct high quality research which has successfully been disseminated at scientific meetings or high quality, peer-reviewed journals.
Studying this course will provide you with an opportunity to develop masters level education in relation to palliative and end of life care and apply this to your area of practice in health and / or social care. The course is based on the underlying principles and theories in the specialist area of palliative and end of life care, drawing on local and national policies and guidelines.
Undertaking each of the modules within this course will allow you the opportunity to develop a variety of skills important to your professional practice.
This course aims to equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge that will enable you to lead and develop practice in this specialist area of palliative and end of life care in your future career. This course will include a range of modules that explicitly explore traditional and contemporary issues / factors around palliative and end of life care delivery.
The course also aims to enable practitioners to demonstrate expertise and advanced skills in the management of a case-load and / or managing health / social care staff in relation to people with a life limiting progressive illness requiring palliative and end of life care.
Compton Hospice Education and Training Centre has a well-established tradition of offering high quality research based / specialist modules in palliative and end of life care for over 20 years. The latest technology is embraced within the organisation which includes fully interactive projectors; online multi media and the latest resources in our specialist on site library. Our specialist and experienced team of knowledgeable lecturer practitioners maintain clinical links in order to offer the most contemporary approaches to symptom management and other interventions in palliative and end of life care.
Our track record shows many professional practitioners who have been awarded specialist palliative and end of life care awards have successfully gone on to influence the direction in which palliative and end of life care has taken in their organisation.
A first degree (minimum 2.2) in a related subject area.
You must currently work with individuals with a life limiting progressive illness requiring palliative and / or end life care.
Students who have attained a third class honours, or a non-honours degree, or who do not have a first degree, but have successfully completed Level 6 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) modules (or can provide evidence of their ability to pursue successfully the PGCert) may be considered eg completion of an approved preparation course for level 7 study.
Such applicants will be invited to discuss individual needs with the programme leader in conjunction with the Admissions Tutor to determine suitability for study at master’s level.
Prior to the course commencing you may submit a claim for Recognition of Prior Learning against modules in the Award, a written request for this will need to be made to the Award Leader prior to the course commencing.
Studying this award will provide you with the knowledge, understanding and skills in the principles and practice of holistic palliative/end of life care and you will have the opportunity to critically analyse local and national influences on care and their implications for service delivery.
Undertaking each of the modules within this course will allow you the opportunity to cover a variety of skills important for your development as a qualified health and/or social care individual, in a way which helps you to bring together theory and practice. As a graduate nurse you will reflect a knowledgeable and enterprising approach to health and social care and adopt a critical, analytical and imaginative approach to your practice.
This Masters Programme will equip you, as a health and social care professional, with the necessary skills and knowledge required to ensure the highest possible standards of palliative/end of life care are provided to people with a life limiting progressive illness, including those with a malignant or non-malignant disease.
This Masters Programme also aims to enable practitioners to demonstrate expertise and advanced skills in the management of a case-load and/or healthcare staff in the support of people with a life limiting illness requiring palliative/end of life care.
This course aims to meet professional development needs in both the health and social care sectors relating to the provision of palliative and end of life care.
Links and knowledge from local, national and international research initiatives undertaken in the Faculty of Education Health and Wellbeing and the wider University research institutions.
This Award is aimed at supporting opportunities for health and social care professionals to function with confidence in contemporary healthcare. Palliative/end of life care is about working across existing boundaries, moving into a new area of professional care, and consolidating new roles for a range of health and social care professionals who are involved in supporting people with progressive and incurable diseases. This award has been developed to address amongst other things, the End of Life Care Strategy (DoH 2008) which indicates that palliative and end of life care should be available to all individuals, irrespective of diagnosis.
In line with the National Service Framework for Long Term Conditions (DoH 2005), the award has been specifically designed to equip health and social care professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to constructively challenge, inform and lead the development of health and social care provision for people with a life limiting, progressive and incurable illness.
At the end of this course you, the student, will be able to:
The Ulster Palliative Care Postgraduate Diploma/ MSc is a multi-disciplinary programme which aims to develop and enhance the knowledge, skills, and competence of health and social care professionals who come into contact with patients who have palliative and end of life care needs. Students will develop the knowledge, skills, and competence to provide compassionate and person-centered care and will be provided with the capacity to take responsibility for advancing professional development to address constantly changing palliative care demands.
This programme leads to the academic awards of PGCert/PGDip/MSc in Palliative Care. The Postgraduate Certificate is awarded after completing 60 credits and the Postgraduate Diploma after completing 120 credits.
For the Postgraduate Diploma there are four compulsory modules: Principles of Palliative & End of Life Care (30 credits), Loss, Grief & Bereavement (15 credits) Therapeutic Communication Skills for Health and Social Care Professionals (15 credits) and Advanced Methods in Research and Development in Health and Social Care (30 credits). Students then choose optional modules to the value of 30 credits including: Person Centered Practice (15 credits), Leadership in Professional Practice (15 credits), Professional Decision making and Accountability (15 credits) and Advanced knowledge in Symptom Management in Palliative Care (30 credits).
To gain the master's award, a further 60 credits must be completed in the form of the masters Dissertation Project module.
Successful completion of the programme would enable individuals to advance within their chosen field of palliative and end of life care. It would also be helpful for those seeking to develop their existing professional practice and to take on leadership roles.
Gain an expert understanding of palliative and end of life care and its aims to achieve the best quality of life for patients facing life-threatening illness on this course. You also learn how to give vital treatment for their condition. Your studies focus on a holistic approach to symptom management for the patient and psychological, social and spiritual support for the patient and their family.
This course is ideal for experienced practitioners providing day-to-day care to patients in their homes, hospitals, hospices and nursing homes.
We have designed this course to make it easy to fit around your work and suit your professional needs. You can tailor your studies to your needs and area of practice, through a mix of core and optional modules. And you complete your studies via distance learning through our online learning environment allowing you to learn in the way most suited to your personal circumstances.
The course was developed by a multiprofessional team for a multiprofessional workforce. The learning, teaching and assessment strategies reflect the interprofessional working in supportive and palliative care helping develop more effective teamwork. Various professionals contribute to the teaching.
An academic supervisor will support your dissertation, on a topic which we work with you to devise. Dissertations can benefit you and your employer through implementation of your research findings. Study at this level also develops autonomous practice in professionals, improving their leadership skills and ability to implement service developments.
PgCert End of Life Care
If you don't want to complete the full MSc, you can stop your studies at the end of year one and receive the PgCert End of Life Care. You can rejoin and complete the MSc at a later date if you wish.
Recognition of previous certificated learning
We encourage the awarding of academic credit for previous certificated study that you may have completed in this area. This means you could be exempt from some modules, gaining your award in a shorter time.
Study individual modules
You can study individual modules from this course and gain academic credit towards a qualification. Visit our continuing professional development website for more information.
The postgraduate certificate (PgCert) is achieved by successfully completing 60 credits.
The postgraduate diploma (PgDip) is achieved by successfully completing 120 credits.
The masters (MSc) award is achieved by successfully completing 180 credits.
Postgraduate certificate core modules
Postgraduate diploma core modules
Postgraduate diploma optional modules
30 credits from either Sheffield Hallam University or elsewhere, as long as they are relevant to the course. Examples include:
Our full range of module options is available on our continuing professional development website.
Masters
We support and develop your potential to progress your career, either in your current organisation or with a new employer. With our advice, you can pursue areas of specialist interest and take modules relevant to your future career.
Graduates from this course gain the skills and knowledge to work in senior nursing and other specialist supportive and palliative care roles, including
We have recently developed our innovative Masters in Person-Centred Practice (PcP) Framework with a suite of course routes which place the values of person-centredness at their core. These routes offer practitioners the opportunity to build upon their experience and develop an understanding of the knowledge and evidence that positively contributes to the health and wellbeing of persons, groups and populations. You can opt to study the route which best meets your professional background and future aspirations.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Registered Nurses already working in, or wishing to work in, the community can undertake a specified group of modules that allows them to achieve a community qualification or registration recognised by the NMC in District Nursing, Health Visiting or School Nursing.
There are three core modules that enable you to obtain a PgCert. You will then study modules appropriate to your desired route.
The routes in the Person-Centred Practice Framework seek to influence and enable the transformative processes of personal and professional development through engagement, facilitation and evaluation of person-centred teaching and learning approaches. It is designed to meet the professional needs of practitioners from all disciplines working in a variety of different health and social care settings.
The Framework is innovative and interactive, emphasising application of theory to your practice context. It will enable you to critically engage with, evaluate and synthesise the evidence and research to promote the development and enhancement of person centred culture and practice. This develops a pro-active, transformative and reflective approach to meeting the public health and social needs of individuals, families, groups and populations.
You can personalise your learning to your own situation eg mental health, social care, infection control, acute care and community health. International students are particularly welcome as they offer a varied and different perspective to the context in which the learning occurs.
Our teaching, learning and assessment strategy is framed by our core philosophical concepts of personhood, person-centredness, human valuing, healthful relations, human potential and development, supportive and enabling environments. Central to this strategy is the need for learners to engage in the learning experiences, a readiness to listen and explore, preparedness to be open to
experiences and a resolve to keep going. This environment will generate an ethos of engagement and criticality where students can explore and challenge theories, practices and different sources of knowledge creatively in an atmosphere of high challenge and high support. We will achieve this learning environment through a focus on three pillars of learning activity namely:
- Student-centred experiential and collaborative learning;
- Reflexivity and critical discourse;
- Sustainable and ethical evidence-based teaching.
Students will be supported to challenge their thinking, values and beliefs; through the posing of complex activities and questions, and develop resilient and sustainable approaches to their learning and practice in response to these. Critical to this process is the use of diverse knowledge, scholarly inquiry processes and evidence informed materials to engage and enliven the processes of learning.
Assessment strategies will encourage application to practice. In line with the framework’s philosophy, a wide range of sustainable strategies are used to ensure assessment diversity. This will be achieved through the use of varied strategies which draw on the student’s own areas of practice such as portfolio development, practice proposals, annotated bibliographies, simulation events, games, seminar presentations and self-determined contextual assignment topics. Tutor, peer and self-assessment, including within virtual environments (eg [email protected], Values Exchange), will be an important component of approaches to formative and summative assessment.
For students undertaking NMC recognised specialist qualification and registration (District Nursing, Health Visiting, School Nursing), the course is 50% practice-based and requires placement in an approved practice with a Practice Teacher or Sign-off Mentor or Health Visitor Mentor. Placement will be negotiated with your supporting NHS area.
Your attendance requirements at QMU will depend on which module you are studying and whether you are studying full or part-time.
The routes allow you to gain the higher level knowledge and skills required for advanced practice. It does not gain accreditation with the NMC unless students are undertaking the Specialist Practitioner Qualification in District Nursing or registration as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN)
To achieve a PgCert, you will complete:
Supporting the Patient and Family in Palliative Care (15 credits) and Developing Advanced Communication Skills in Palliative Care (15 credits)
For those in a clinical role: Working with People with Complex Pain and Symptoms (15 credits)/ Shadows and Horizons: Advancing Palliative Care Practice (15 credits) OR one 15 credit module from the MSc PCP Framework.
For those in a non-clinical role: Shadows and Horizons: Advancing Palliative Care Practice (15 credits) is a core module AND one further 15 credit module from the MSc PCP Framework.
To achieve a PgDip, you will also complete:
Theory and Practice of Person-centred Health and Social Care (30 credits)/ Leading Professional Practice (15 credits)/ Making Judgements and Decisions in Practice (15 credits)
To achieve a MSc, you will also complete: Dissertation (60 credits)
International: Where your degree has not been studied in English, you will be required to take an IELTS test receiving an overall score of 6.5 and no individual component score below 6.0.
Criminal records check: For students undertaking NMC approved qualifications a satisfactory criminal records check will be required. Compliance with the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) and mental health legislation for clinical placement and employability in statutory services, for work with children and in other sensitive areas of employment..
The MSc in Clinical Leadership in Cancer, Palliative and End of Life Care is an inter-professional programme for healthcare practitioners who wish to develop the qualities required for clinical leadership and advanced practice in cancer, palliative or end of life care. Our goal is to produce clinical leaders who will be the drivers for change; providing expert care, developing those you work with and influencing the shape of care to make services better for patients.
This MSc option is very flexible, with students able to complete the course over one year full time, and up to five years part time. The blended approach to teaching and learning also means that some parts of the programme can be completed as distance learning. A diverse range of national and international practitioners have completed the programme including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, doctors, acute care nurse specialists and nursing home practitioners, and those from Mexico, Brazil, Ghana, Malawi and Saudi Arabia.
This programme will enable you to develop the qualities needed by ‘practice leaders …who are firmly grounded in direct care provision or clinical work with patients, families and populations … constantly working to improve the quality of services and patient care’ (DH, 2010:7). They include clinical acumen (the ability to lead and manage complex care), clinical interpretation (the ability to interpret policy and research, and design and lead clinical services fit for purpose), and clinical relationships (the ability to develop others and foster excellence).
The programme has been mapped to the attributes of advanced level practice outlined by government bodies in the United Kingdom (Department of Health 2010, National Health Service Scotland 2008). UK professionals who may need to demonstrate their advanced level attributes to registration bodies will be able to do so through the completion of this programme.
The key features of this programme are:
View the programme specification document for this course
