Masters Degrees (V300)

Summary

This innovative programme equips nurses with the knowledge to add prescribing to their suite of skills. It permits nurses the opportunities to pursue challenging study in the subject areas of ethics, law and all aspects of pharmacotherapeutics as they apply to Non-Medical Prescribing. Nurses will be able to develop their skills of health assessment to help them to provide holistic care across a range of conditions, in accordance with NMC Standards of Prescribing. This will both advance practice and promote patient safety and quality of care. Nurses working in a range of professional teams will find the appeal of becoming a V300 prescriber, an essential component of promoting professional accountability and patient empowerment.

About

This course consists of three modules of study to gain the professional and academic awards. You will study pharmacotherapeutics, the study of all aspects of drugs, how they work and interact and the physiological basis to prescribing. You will explore the legal and ethical basis of sound prescribing in practice, within the professional and statutory frameworks. You will also become proficient in physical and mental health assessment. You will compile a professional workbook to demonstrate the acquistion of prescribing competencies, and spend time in clinical practice refining and developing prescribing and health assessment skills. You will be mentored by an experienced doctor and gain experience with other non-medical prescribers during the course of the programme.

Modules

Courses are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand.

Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning

This level 7 module provides an opportunity for students to develop and enhance the knowledge base and practice of health assessment, in order that appropriate interventions and management can occur. Students will begin to develop their assessment skills under the guidance of a mentor during this module. Assessment is 100% coursework.

Prescribing in practice 7

This module will help to prepare nurses to undertake an active role in nurse prescribing within their specified area of practice. The legislative framework and professional and ethical principles, which underpin prescribing practice, are explored. Assessment is by a combination of coursework and examination.

Pharmacotherapeutics in Prescribing

This module provides the necessary pharmacological knowledge within the context of the underpinning pathophysiology that will enable the healthcare professional to prescribe safely, appropriately, and effectively within a collaborative health care team. It will be offered through a combination of e-learning, taught components and threaded discussion with supported group work. Assessment is by a combination of coursework and examination.

Professional recognition

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) 

Recorded by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the purpose of registration as a non-medical prescriber (V300)

Career options

This course offers experienced nurses the unique opportunity to include prescribing as part of their employability skills. Whilst individual nurses have already usually considerable expertise within their scope of professional practice, this course creates many career opportunities which makes the V300 qualified nurse a very appealing employee across a range of nursing specialisms, Nurses working in general acute and chronic care, in specialist teams and services, from neonatal care through mental and sexual health, diabetes, cardiac care (and many other walks of nursing life), have benefitted from doing this programme. Ultimately this programme offers the public a safe effective path through treatment that incorporates non-medical prescribing and a satisfying career for professional nurses who desire to also advance their career prospects

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Modules

PgDip District Nursing (V300)

Developing Professional Practice for District Nursing 1 (20 credits L7)
Developing Professional Practice for District Nursing 2 (20 credits L7)
Advanced assessment skills for clinical practice (20 credits L7)
Non-Medical Prescribing (V300) (60 credits L7)

PgDip Nursing (V100)

Developing Professional Practice for District Nursing 1 (20 credits L7)
Developing Professional Practice for District Nursing 2 (20 credits L7)
Advanced assessment skills for clinical practice (20 credits L7)
Prescribing from the community practitioners formulary (V100) (10 credits level 6)
Prescribing in practice (V100) (10 credits L6)
Plus two optional modules that meet personal and professional requirements from the cppd portfolio to equate to 40 credits.

Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning strategies will include lectures, group work, seminars, blended learning, tutorials, discussion groups and clinical skills as well as a variety of assessments.

Professional links

The School of Health and Social Care has links with a large number of world-renowned health and social care providers who have contributed to the development of this programme and support students throughout the programme.

This programme is accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council .

Employability

District Nurses are key co-ordinators of care and as such best placed to support patients and their carers to develop strategies to manage their care needs whilst being alert to signs of deterioration or needing more support.

A number of key policy initiatives have informed the development of the curriculum to address the fitness for purpose of a modern district nurse working in primary care.

Roles and requirements are constantly evolving and the course produces practitioners that are not only clinically competent at a specialist level but are also visionary, innovative, able to problem solve, lead and manage both staff and resources.

Achieving one of the awards offer will enable participants opportunities to develop in their own role and seek promotional opportunities.

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Highlights

The course offers a varied and flexible programme of practical and academic study. Applicants may complete a 'generic route' in which they self-select modules of study or a specific pathway that allows the exploration of specialist areas of practice; including the development of advanced skills in autonomous practice.

Modules

There is provision for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL), dependent upon the choice of study route followed, and a flexible framework offering interim awards (postgraduate certificates and diplomas) as well as a full MSc. All routes include compulsory research modules.

Compulsory core modules

• Research methods (15 credits)

• Dissertation research project or work-based project or systematic review (60 credits)

Applicants may choose to complete a traditional research project, work-based project or a systematic review for their dissertation. This offers flexibility and allows you to undertake a dissertation which will have meaning and relevance to their particular professional circumstances.

Specialist/option modules

All named pathways include at least one specialist compulsory module. Most also include self-selected option modules:

• Advanced Practice
• Cardiac Care
• Intensive Care
• Midwifery
• Psychosocial Interventions

Most modules are available on a free-standing basis. You may choose further option modules from the full range of postgraduate courses offered by Kingston and St George’s. This allows applicants to build a personalised programme of study to meet their specific development needs.

Postgraduate Certificate in Prescribing

• Registrants with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) are awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Independent and/or Supplementary Prescribing.
• Registrants with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)are awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Independent and Supplementary Prescribing (V300)

Application

To download an application for the course and find out more information about the process and our deadlines, please visit our website.

http://sgul.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught-degrees-postgraduate/healthcare-practice-pgcert-pgdip-msc

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This course is specifically designed for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals who wish to undertake part-time study to prepare them to become a non-medical prescriber. Nurses and midwives will be awarded the NMC recorded qualification (V300 Independent and Supplementary Prescribing) and allied health professionals will be awarded an annotation with the HPC as a Supplementary Prescriber.
The leading principle within the Non-Medical Prescribing course is to prepare you to deliver high quality care by equipping you to:
- Prescribe safely and effectively
- Use resources to your optimum effect for service users
- Improve well-being and reduce inequalities
- Provide evidence-based effective care
- Engage in policy making and actively participate in the multidisciplinary prescribing team

You can expect to study four modules:

•Pharmacology and therapeutics for prescribers (30 credits) will prepare students to understand and apply the principles of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics directly related to prescribing practice. Practitioners will have the opportunity to critically analyse evidence based practice including risk assessment and management and to synthesise information relating to their own area of practice.
•Outline content includes: pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics; adverse drug reactions; numeracy; safe principles of prescribing; anatomy and physiology across the life span.
•Professional, legal and ethical issues for prescribers (15 credits) focuses on critically evaluating and synthesising ideas from the evidence in relation to the legal, ethical and professional issues implicit in non-medical prescribing decision making and consultations. Outline content includes: legislation and policies related to prescribing; accountability and responsibility for assessment, diagnosis and prescribing independently and within the multi-disciplinary team; patient safety in supervising, managing and evaluating prescribing decisions; prescribing effectively within a finite prescribing budget.
•Applied prescribing in the clinical context (15 credits) aims to critically evaluate the skills required for a comprehensive consultation for safe effective prescribing. In addition it is designed to promote synthesis of ideas influential in prescribing decision making. Outline content includes: appraisal of self and others regarding consultation skills in achieving medicines adherence; external pressures impacting on prescribing; different management options used to treat patients.
•Prescribing in practice for nurses and midwives / allied health professionals (0 credits) prepares students to prescribe from the British National Formulary as both independent and supplementary prescribers for nurses and midwives or as a supplementary prescriber for allied health professionals. Outline content includes: application of theory to practice; rationale for prescribing decisions; numeracy skills, writing prescriptions; prescribing in a range of scenarios. All practice experiences and practice outcomes for the whole course are based within this module.
Teaching and assessment
Our student-centred and enquiry-based approach to learning incorporates a wide variety of learning and teaching strategies, including; case studies, scenarios, small group work, action learning sets, workshops, pod casts, reflection, student presentations, supervised consultations with service users in practice and clinically focused tutorials. An essential part of the course will take place in practice settings under the guidance of a Designated Medical Practitioner, facilitated by your personal tutor. Students will also be supported by a designated qualified nurse prescriber, lead midwife for education, or supplementary prescriber for allied health, who will take up the role of preceptor at the end of the course.

Expertise
Our course team have a wide range of experience in non-medical prescribing provision. A key strength is that most are, or have been, independent and or supplementary prescribers from primary and secondary care in nursing, midwifery and pharmacy practice. The external examiner is also experienced in non-medical prescribing.

Graduate careers
A qualification in non-medical prescribing will be an essential aspect of your professional portfolio and will support your career progression through the advancement of your own practice in providing high quality patient care; thus enhancing your continued professional development needs.

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This Masters in Advanced Clinical Practice provides an academic underpinning that meets the contemporary challenges of advanced clinical practice.

This programme will enable you to practice with a high level of clinical autonomy in roles that require you to assess, diagnose, treat and manage the care of people with undifferentiated and/or complex clinical presentations.

There are two pathways within this Masters in Advanced Clinical Practice: Advanced Practitioner and Advanced Nurse Practitioner. This programme is suitable for you if you are one of the growing number of UK registered practitioners working in (or towards) a role that sits between your own profession and medicine. If you are looking for education as an Advanced Critical Care Practitioner this pathway can also meet your needs. Please see below under the 'Modules' tab for further information.

If you are nurse then the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Advanced Nurse Practitioner) pathway will be suitable for you. Other healthcare practitioners will be awarded the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Advanced Practitioner).

Our nursing is ranked 10th in the world and 3rd amongst UK universities in the QS World Rankings by Subject 2017.

Introducing your course

The MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Advanced Nurse Practitioner/Advanced Practitioner) pathways will develop your knowledge and skills in relation to healthcare methods and practices, preparing you for a clinical practitioner role at an advanced level. Through access to a suite of modules incorporating advanced health assessment, diagnosis and non medical prescribing, the pathway will enable you to develop the skills and competencies to undertake an advanced practitioner role within - your health care setting. This pathway is only open to practitioners working as experienced registered practitioners within a UK healthcare setting who can demonstrate that they have access to the required practice experience and mentorship.

Overview

In the advanced practitioner pathways you will:

• Examine role development in relation to advanced practice (advanced nursing practice or advanced practice)
• Explore how to meaningfully apply evidence to your field of practice
• Apply communication and clinical decision-making skills to your professional practice
• Undertake learning which enables you to develop new and/or enhanced clinical skills in relation to client health assessment, diagnostic reasoning and pharmacology.
• Demonstrate your clinical competence through simulated and practice based clinical assessment.
• If you are eligible to practice as an independent or supplementary prescriber you will have the opportunity to obtain the V300 non-medical prescribing qualification

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If you want to increase your knowledge and enhance your practice as a healthcare professional, this course is for you. With a strong clinical focus, it will give you the opportunity to explore the issues surrounding the care of acutely physically ill patients, and study the latest research.

The core unit is entitled Principles of Emergency, Acute and Critical Care, and deals with practice related issues including patient safety, quality of care and end-of-life.

Visit the website: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/courses/postgraduate/next-year/advancing-practice-in-emergency,-acute-and-critical-care-contexts#entry

Course detail

• Study the ways in which political, economical, societal, cultural and technological advances effect the care of patients who present with emergency, acute and critical conditions
• Explore issues where legal and ethical principles are put to use, such as in decisions around end-of-life care and consent for organ donation, and grow into a critically reflective and compassionate practitioner
• Develop skills in selecting, appraising, analysing and synthesising data from a range of sources and for a range of purposes, skills that underpin the development of critical thinking, reasoning, decision-making and judgment
• Gain the ability to adopt a problem-orientation towards current healthcare practices, in order to extend current approaches to delivering care in complex professional contexts.
• Benefit from assessment activities (including simulation at our Healthcare Simulation Clinic) that rehearse the communication of information in a range of ways, purposes and audiences.

Format

Choose this part-time course if you wish to develop your expertise in approaches to caring for patients in emergency, acute and critical conditions. This course will enable you to adopt an evidence based approach to planning and delivering care.

The core unit, Principles of Emergency, Acute and Critical Care, takes a systems based approach and deals with contemporary practice related issues, including patient safety, quality of care and end-of-life care considerations.

The optional unit allows you to develop specialist knowledge, in either adult trauma care, burn care, pain management or leadership. Alternatively, you can complete the PgCert by undertaking the NMC approved course, Nurse and Midwife Independent and Supplementary Prescribing (V300) in order to extend the scope of your practice.

Assessment

The course assessment strategy is closely aligned to the teaching and learning strategy which is designed to have: immediate professional relevance; draw on expertise-by-experience; foster active learning and be leaner-centred in approach. A distinct feature of the course is the range of assessment tasks, including those that allow you to undertake workplace relevant assessments that can have an immediate impact in practice.

The core unit, Principles of Emergency, Acute and Critical Care has three summative assessment points. The first is a 1000 word annotated bibliography critique from 5 articles/research papers related to the management of emergency, acute or critical, which accounts for 10% of your overall unit grade. The second is an unseen examination using short answer question to assess the taught element of the unit. This accounts for 30% of your overall unit grade. The third assessment is a case study, where you are required to reflect upon and challenge the care provided in light of current evidence and to inform future practice. This accounts for 60% of your overall unit grade.

Your choice of optional unit will determine the assessment tasks you undertake. These include unseen written examinations, case studies and portfolios of practice.

Assessment is supported in a range of ways including: comprehensive assessment briefs; use of formative assessment techniques (which are embedded within summative assessment tasks); through use of exemplar answers (including those previously submitted by students where possible); through rehearsing approaches to assessment tasks during contact sessions; through scheduled tutorials which focus on academic literacies including literature search, critique and referencing skills. You will receive feedback on submitted work within 15 working days and can discuss their work in scheduled tutorials and/or office time. You will also able to access central support services designed to support the development of study skills and academic writing.

Careers

This course has been designed to enable you to extend your scope of practice and to develop your specialist knowledge in emergency, acute and critical care. The course aims to equip you to have a positive impact on the delivery of care as an individual and team member.

You will have access to an expert course team who are able to share `live examples from their own professional practice and/or research activity. You will have opportunities to rehearse and develop professional thinking and behaviours in group work, tailored assessment tasks and activities which require you to make explicit links between your learning on the course and your practice.

This course therefore allows you to develop your current practice and prepare for future roles, supporting your employability and career progression.

Funding

For information on available funding, please follow the link: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/money/scholarships/pg

How to apply

For information on how to apply, please follow the link: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/course/applicationform

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