Advanced Clinical Practice for Health Care Professionals (PGCert), University of Warwick

This course is designed to increase your employability across a range of healthcare settings.

Providing the theoretical underpinning and practice base to enable health care professionals to deliver safe and effective autonomous care, this course will prepare you to work at a senior clinical decision making level.

Consistent with national guidance, this structured professional development will enable non-medical clinicians to undertake a full systems examination (child and adult) and to develop the knowledge and skills to clinically and critically interpret results of tests and investigations.

A flexible, modular structure allows you to study over a three year period starting with the PG Certificate, then progressing to the PG Diploma and then going on to the full MSc.

Taught by senior practising clinicians and health care professionals, this is an interactive programme where you will learn through seminars, group work and individual study.

Quick Links

• Who is the course for?
• Course content
• Modules
• Entry requirements
• Teaching methods
• Assessments

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for people from a range of professional backgrounds including nursing, physiotherapy, paramedic practitioners and other health professionals working in primary care, community care, emergency and urgent care settings and in large assessment areas including Urgent Care Centres.

Course content:

The course is modular and organised in blocks of study lasting between four and six days at a time, which can be consecutive days within the same week or spread out over several weeks.

PG Certificate (60 CATS points): MD982 Clinical Examination Skills for Heath Care Professionals (40 CATS) and MD981 Clinical Investigations and Diagnostics for Health Care Professionals (20 CATS)

PG Diploma (120 CATS points): The PG Certifcate modules above plus three further modules: MH923/MD915 Understanding Research Critical Appraisal in Health Care (20 CATS), MH928 Introduction to Management in Health Care Organisations (20 CATS points) and one optional core module chosen from the module list below.

MSc (180 CATS points): The PG Diploma modules above plus a Professional Project (40 CATS) and one optional core module chosen from the module list below).

Most modules can also be taken as a stand-alone Postgraduate Awards.

Modules:

PG Certificate - Year 1

Core modules:

• MD982 Clinical Examination Skills for Heath Care Professionals (40 CATS points)
• MD981 Clinical Investigations and Diagnostics for Health Care Professionals (20 CATS points)

PG Diploma - Year 2

Core modules:

• MH923 Understanding Research Critical Appraisal in Health Care (20 CATS points)
• MH928 Introduction to Management in Health Care Organisations (20 CATS points)

Optional core modules:

Choice of one optional core module to the value of 20 CATS points from the list below:

• MD910 Health Care Ethics
• MD938 Critical Care: Advanced Emergency Practice
• MD939 Critical Care: Critical Care Transfer
• MD940 Critical Care: Pre-Hospital Special Incident Management
• MD987 Community-Based Care

MSc - Year 3

Core module:

• PC950 Professional Project (40 CATS points)

Optional core modules:

Choice of one optional core module to the value of 20 CATS points from the list below:

• MD962 Essentials of Clinical Education (20 CATS points)
• MH940 Improving Safety and Quality in Health Care (20 CATS points)

Entry requirements:First degree (2:2) or equivalent and current registration as a healthcare professional alongside four years post-registration experience. Applicants will need to be currently employed or have access to clinical placements that will support development of clinical skills during the course of the modules. Applicants will need to have access to clinical and educational mentorship support.Applicants without a degree may be admitted to a Postgraduate Award, and could potentially progress to an MSc upon successful completion of the Award.Teaching methods:This is an interactive programme. You will learn through lectures and seminars, practical group work and guided reading. You will benefit from guided discussions and have the opportunity to practice the skills you have learnt during the sessions.Assessment:Assessment for each module can be seen by looking at the relevant module page but typically consists of written essays of 3000-4000 words, a portfolio and/or a case based examination. The Professional Project is assessed by a project report of 10,000 words.