Specialist Community Public Health Nursing MSc

About the course

The MSc Specialist Community Public Health Nursing course gives you the opportunity to develop and demonstrate knowledge, understanding and skills in public health nursing. It is designed to support professionals to establish skills and strategies necessary to promote health and well-being in partnership with individuals and groups in a variety of community settings.

The MSc Specialist Community Public Health Nursing course is suitable for all registered nurses who want  to achieve registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse. Applicants are normally sponsored or seconded by a Primary Care organisation. 

During the course you will evaluate the current organisational and professional agendasthat influence care delivery in primary healthcare and community settings. The modules that you study place emphasis on the development of leadership and management skillsso that when you graduate you will be able to provide effective leadership within a mixed skill team and multi-agency work setting as well as to work proactively in a commissioningenvironment.

The MSc Specialist Community Public Health Nursing course gives you the opportunity to gain specialist skills in two areas of community public health nursing: health visiting and school nursing.

You will combine on campus learning at the University with hands one experience at apractice environment, with an equal allocation of practice and theory hours. Teaching takes place in specialist groups and, in some modules, learning is shared with other nursing students.

Below is a list of modules and credits that you could choose to study:

• Consolidating public health practice*(15 credits)
• Leading and managing public health practice (15 credits)
• Partnership working with families for health and well-being (15 credits)
• Promoting child and family health and well-being (15 credits)
• Public health: Policy, principles and practice (15 credits)
• Research and evidence-based public health practice (15 credits)
• Universal public health practice* (15 credits)
• Working with families in complex and challenging situations (15 credits)

* For this module you need to have designated placement area working under the support and supervision of a qualified practice teacher.

Why choose this course?

• The MSc Specialist Community Public Health Nursing course is designed to support professionals to establish skills and strategies necessary to promote health and well-being in partnership with individuals and groups in a variety of community settings
• It is suitable for all registered nurses who want to achieve registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse
• You can specialise in two areas of community public health nursing: health visiting and school nursing
• It combines on campus learning at the University with hands one experience at apractice environment, with an equal allocation of practice and theory hours

Study routes

• Part Time, 3 Years
• Full Time, 1 Years

Locations

• University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Teaching methods

You'll experience a wide variety of learning styles on the MSc Specialist Community Public Health Nursing course. During your studies you'll develop your capacity for self-directed study and your interpersonal skills.

We particularly emphasise the importance of structured research: well-prepared written and verbal presentations and computer literacy. Alongside elements of standard lectures, seminars, tutorials and laboratories, you also learn through case studies, individual and group projects and other student centred activities.

In your final year you will normally have the opportunity to practice your independent study skills by completing a Major project or dissertation.

You will develop your capacity for independent study and interpersonal skills on this programme. There is an emphasis on structured research, well-prepared written and verbal presentations and computer literacy.

Professional Accreditations

The MSc Specialist Community and Public Health Nursing course leads to entry on the NMC register as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse in health visiting or school nursing.

Graduates also achieve the V100 prescribing qualification, where local arrangements allow this.

Structure

Year 1

Core Modules

• Consolidating Public Health Practice

  This module enables students to consolidate their practice skills and knowledge to successfully demonstrate the standards of proficiency required to register on Part 3 of the NMC Register and to be able to prescribe from the Nurse Prescribers’ Formulary for Community Practitioners, where local policies allow. It involves an extensive e period of practice based learning, including a period of three weeks gaining experience in the settings, and with clients, considered either important or that may be a potential area of responsibility, even if not central to the defined area of practice. Student will be supported and assessed by a qualified Practice Teacher who has sign-off status (NMC 2008).

• Leading and managing public health practice

  This module will equip practitioners to develop the skills and knowledge required for effective team leadership and management of teams. Marketing strategies will be explored together with creative approaches to service planning and delivery to facilitate effective working in a commissioning environment. Practitioners will consider the skills needed for project management to improve the health and social well-being of individuals, groups and communities.Students will explore approaches to leadership and management in public health practice including effective change management and management of risk. This will include consideration of different styles of leadership, interpersonal approaches in effective leadership and models of change management.

• Partnership working with families for health and wellbeing

  This 15 credit level 7 module will explore partnership working with families for health and well-being. Students will be encouraged to seek out opportunities for partnership working. It will examine how to build therapeutic relationships with individuals and families, including those with complex needs Students will be expected to demonstrate and practice higher level communication skills both in the classroom and practice setting. They will be encouraged to evaluate the quality of the working relationship with families by reflecting on their personal and professional development

• Promoting child and family health and wellbeing

  This module enables practitioners with a role in the promotion of health and well-being in children and families to develop a critical understanding of typical patterns of physical, social and emotional development and issues in its definition and assessment. Factors influencing child development will be explored together with a critical evaluation of the impact of parental health and well-being.

• Public health: Policy, principles and practice

  This module involves an examination of the contemporary public health policy agenda and its implications for the role and practice of nurses and health visitors working in community settings The module focuses on public health theories and frameworks together with consideration of social inequalities and their implications for health. Strategies for the identification and assessment of community health need will be critically examined together with approaches to promoting health and well-being. Throughout students will be developing their skills of critical appraisal and synthesis as they seek to utilise existing data, both epidemiological and qualitative, apply theoretical material to practice and evaluate health promotion and public health interventions

• Research and evidence based public health practice

  The aim of this level 7 module is to critically examine the role of research and evaluation in providing an evidence base for practice and the students’ role as user of research and as a researcher. The module will be concerned with the development of research skills including, accessing and reviewing the literature, developing a research question; writing a research proposal; awareness of the principles of research and evaluation and approaches that may be adopted; an understanding of data collection techniques and frameworks for analysis; ethical issues and their implications for research and evaluation. Throughout students will be developing their skills of critical appraisal and synthesis as they look to the generation of new knowledge, practice innovation and its evaluation.

• Universal Public Health Practice

  This 15 credit level 7 module will equip students with an informed and critical understanding of child and family centred public health practice in primary health care settings. It will encourage students to meet the complex, challenging and changing environment of specialist community public health nursing. The module will encourage students to focus on the four key principles of specialist community public health practice: search for health needs, stimulation of an awareness of health needs, influence on policies affecting health and facilitation of health enhancing activities.

• Working with families in complex and challenging situations

  This module will enable practitioners working in community settings to develop the skills and knowledge required to work with individuals and families in complex and challenging situations. Policies and procedures related to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults will be critically analysed, and practitioners will consider their role in relation to effective safeguarding practice. Approaches to multi agency and multiprofessional collaboration in a community environment will be critically examined and evaluated.

Optional

Fees & funding

If you are a UK or EU full-time undergraduate student, the NHS will pay the tuition fee for this course. You will not have to pay for the course yourself.

UK Students may be entitled to an NHS bursary.

Please note that in the event that you have to retake failed module(s) from a previous year (unconnected with adverse circumstances) you may have to 'step-off' the course until you have passed the module(s). In the event this happens, any NHS bursary you have been receiving will cease until you are in a position to resume the full-time course. In addition, you will be required to pay student tuition fees for retaking the failed module(s).

Find out more information on financial support arrangements for pre-registration health programmes.

University of Hertfordshire bursaries are not available for this course.

Discounts are available for International students if payment is made in full at registration

View detailed information about tuition fees

Other financial support

Find out more about other financial support available to UK and EU students

Living costs / accommodation

The University of Hertfordshire offers a great choice of student accommodation, on campus or nearby in the local area, to suit every student budget.

View detailed information about our accommodation

How to apply