Book an open day Apply now

PgDip Specialist Community Nursing - Community Children’s Nursing/ Community District Nursing/General Practice Nursing (MSc)

Key information

Course Leader: Theresa Titchener

Level: 7

Start date: Semester A or B - A full Induction week will take place prior to the start of the programme.

Mode of delivery: Full time, Semester A or B entry point, normally completed in 1 year. Part time, Semester A or B entry point, normally completed in 2 years.

School: Health & Social Work

PgDip Specialist Community Nursing – Community Children’s Nursing/ Community District Nursing/General Practice Nursing

For September starters there will be a full week of induction Monday to Friday 4^th, 5^th 6^th 7^th and 8^th September 2023.

Please ensure you select and apply for the correct course and level, failure to do so will impact on your registration and may delay your access to the course, if you are unsure please contact the Programme Lead or CPD Admissions.

About this Course

The Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) Specialist Community Nursing course gives you the opportunity to develop and demonstrate knowledge, understanding and skills in community 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. It fulfils the professional standards for the education and preparation of specialist community practitioners developed by the UKCC [2001] and is endorsed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

The course is suitable for all registered nurses who want to achieve registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Specialist Community Nurse in community children’s nursing, community nursing in the home – district nursing or general practice nursing.

The 3 different pathways for this course do differ as follows:

As a Community Children’s Nurse you will provide a high level of specialist care to sick children and young people with complex health needs in the community setting. As well as providing direct care will provide support to parents and families, which may include teaching of specific care required to maintain the child at home whenever it is safe to do so. You will also be expected to work in partnership and liaise with the multi-disciplinary/multi-agency team.

As a District Nurse you play a crucial role in the primary healthcare team. They visit people in their own homes or in residential care homes, providing increasingly complex care for patients and supporting family members. As well as providing direct patient care, you'll have a teaching and support role, working with patients to enable them to care for themselves or with family members teaching them how to give care to their relatives. You will play a vital role in keeping hospital admissions and readmissions to a minimum and ensuring that patients can return to their own homes as soon as possible. You will be expected to work in partnership and liaise with the multi-disciplinary/multi-agency team.

As a General Practice Nurse you will work in GP surgeries as part of the primary healthcare team, which might include doctors, pharmacists and dieticians. In larger practices, you might be one of several practice nurses sharing duties and responsibilities. In others, you might be working on your own, taking on many roles. The overall scope of your role will depend on the needs of the employer. You will be expected to work in partnership and liaise with the multi-disciplinary/multi-agency team.

Why Choose this Course

The course gives you the opportunity to gain specialist skills and knowledge in Specialist Community Nursing, which will enable you to:

Evaluate the current organisational and professional agendas that influence care delivery in primary healthcare and community settings.
Focus on the multi-professional and multi-agency approaches to care.
Study leadership and management skills so 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 commissioning environment.
Combine learning at the University with hands-on experience in a practice environment, with an equal allocation of practice and theory hours.
Achieve the V100 prescribing qualification, where local arrangements allow or the V300 Non-Medical Prescribing for Nurses (to be discussed further once registered on the programme.)

Entry Requirements

The normal entry requirements for the PGDip Specialist Community Nursing course are:

Access to an appropriate specialist community practice placement with a designated practice supervisor and practice assessor for the duration of your studies on the course. This is normally provided through the sponsoring employer.

A UK degree, or other qualification at equivalent level, in a health-related subject
All applicants are required to demonstrate effective registration on part 1 of the NMC register.
All students from non-majority English speaking countries require proof of English language proficiency. The following qualifications and grades will be considered:

o GCSE English language grade A-C

o IELTS 6.5 (with no less than 5.5 in any band)

If you do not have the required level of English for entry, our academic English and foundation courses can help you to achieve this level.

Course Structure

To attain a PgDip award you need to complete 120 credits. To top-up to an MSc you will need to complete a further 60 credits (180 credits). There is an interim award available of a Postgraduate Certificate which can be awarded after completing 60 credits. There is no professional qualification associated with this award.

Teaching Methods

You will experience a wide variety of learning styles on the PGDip Specialist Community Nursing course. During your studies you will 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.

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.

Modules are assessed by a variety of methods for example essays, presentations, reports, posters and practical examinations.

Modules

Integrating Research with Contemporary Practice
This module will examine the epistemology of research, the principles of ethical research and a critical analysis of how it is used in practice. Key aspects of content will address data collection and analysis methods and concepts of validity, reliability, rigour and trustworthiness. It will also incorporate other forms of evidence including audit and service evaluation. The emphasis throughout this module will be on the use and relevance of research skills to practitioners seeking to assess, improve or evaluate services. The module will harness students existing personal and life skills and knowledge of care as a basis for developing learning that is relevant and focussed on their practice needs and stage of professional development.
Advanced Decision Making
This module is aimed at all registered and practicing nurses or midwives, and allied health and social care professionals.

This module evaluates and applies established theories and models relevant to decision making in the context of health and social care. These are drawn from a wide variety of disciplines including clinical reasoning, philosophy and ethics, legal frameworks, Service User involvement, Inter-professional and Values Based Decision Making. Throughout, students will develop their critical thinking skills, with an emphasis on applying their learning to decision making in the students’ own health and social care context.
Minor Illness-Diagnostics and Interventions
The module will focus on a specific assessment with attendant, interventions, patient management, health advice and health promotion for patients presenting with minor illness. You will consider your approaches in caring for adults and/or children drawing on advanced communication skills and techniques. The course requires you to develop both knowledge and skills, with practical clinical skills being developed in a minor illness field.

Learners are required to secure an appropriate clinical field of practice and have access to a supervisor or practice assessor.
Leading Innovation in Practice
Induction Days for new starters is 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th September 2023 - attendance is required.

The aims of the module are to:
- Develop a critical, in-depth and systematic understanding of effective leadership and management to encourage innovation in practice.
- Demonstrate creativity in the application of leadership and management skills appropriate to the practitioner’s role and context.
This level 7 module will equip practitioners the skills and knowledge required for service innovation within the context of a commissioning environment. Marketing strategies will be explored together with creative approaches to service planning and innovation to support the health and well-being of individuals.
Integrative Review of Community Practice

Course Aims

Develop an in-depth and systematic understanding of an aspect of health care relevant to their area of practice.

Course Content

This module will provide students with the opportunity to develop their interest in an aspect of care or management that is relevant to their professional practice.
Managing Long Term Conditions in Primary Care
If you are undertaking the GPN Foundation course - please Apply Here

Induction Days for new starters is 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th September 2023 - attendance is required.

The aim of the module is to develop a critical understanding and perspective in relation to the management of complex health needs both at the individual and population levels across a range of community care settings.

This module will enable practitioners to consider their role in relation to the assessment and promotion of health and well-being of patients and families with complex and challenging needs. Data relating to complex care at individual, local and population level will be evaluated.
Case Management in Primary Care
Induction Days for new starters is 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th September 2023 - attendance is required.

Course Aims
Demonstrate a critical and systematic understanding of the case management of patients' health care needs across primary and community settings.

Course Content

This module will enable practitioners working in the community and primary care settings to develop the skills and knowledge required to undertake the case management of individuals and families with a range of health needs. Approaches to successful integration of multi-agency and multi-professional working as part of a case management approach to care will be examined.
Fundamental Skills and knowledge for General Practice Nurses
If you are undertaking the GPN Foundation course - please Apply Here

Induction Days for new starters is 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th September 2023 - attendance is required.

Course Aims

Build on existing skills and knowledge to facilitate a critical approach to the delivery of nursing care in the primary care setting and enable the achievement of key competencies outlined by the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Course Content

This module will enable students to develop a critical understanding of the nature and organisation of primary care services including key policies influencing practice in this setting. The role of the general practice nurse is examined including the professional responsibilities and accountability involved. The module also incorporates a number of skills-based study days; childhood immunisation, cervical sampling, wound care and travel health which will enable students’ competence in the core skills required for general practice nursing and a critical appreciation of the evidence-base underpinning their practice.
Enabling Learning in Contemporary Healthcare
Through this module, students will develop a wide range of transferable skills relating to the advancement of teaching, learning and assessment in practice and academic settings. Students will be enabled to articulate their understanding of pedagogic research and educational theories and their application to practice−based learning. This module facilitates students to advance their understanding of personal and professional development needs and lead strategic educational developments in the practice arena.
Preparation for Research Project

This module builds on Research Methods fostering a “research-tutored” approach where students critically appraise the evidence in relation to their own discipline in order to identify a feasible research question and an appropriate means to answer it.

The term “research” is used in its broadest sense to denote any form of inquiry focussed on an area of the student’s professional practice. This may include quantitative research, qualitative research, mixed methods, systematic reviews, literature reviews, retrospective data analysis, audit and evaluation of a healthcare innovation. The student will choose the focus of their project, develop the necessary academic skills and understand, critique and apply relevant theoretical approaches to formulate a research question and proposal in keeping with their chosen method of inquiry.

Teaching and learning will comprise of compulsory components to equip students with key skills, including identification, critique, synthesis and organisation of a relevant body of evidence, critical use of theoretical approaches, and Masters’ level academic writing, to enable them to prepare, plan and carry out their Research Project module.

Methods of inquiry and profession specific workshops will provide students with guidance relevant to their topic, and their chosen data collection method and data analysis, including processes of governance and ethical review where relevant. Students will also learn about the role of the research supervisor.
Research Project

FULL DATES TBC

This course is for paramedics, physiotherapists, radiographers, radiotherapists, nurses and midwives who have successfully completed master’s level research methods and preparation for research project modules and who wish to undertake a piece of original research in order to complete their Master’s award.  

 

 Students will have been provided with support to refine their research question and developed their methodology in the Preparation for Research Project module. They will be advised not to deviate significantly from the work developed in this prior module. Students must produce an individual written piece of work.

Support for ethical approval will be provided if necessary. You will receive support with statistical analysis including access and support to SPSS if required. You will also receive assistance with publication and presentation of completed work where appropriate. 

Course enquires are to your programme lead:

Sarah Jardine for Paramedic Sciences: mscadvpara@herts.ac.uk

Mindy Cairns/Andrea Moulson for Physiotherapy: mscadvphysio@herts.ac.uk

Dr. Naomi Brown for Medical imaging: n.2.brown@herts.ac.uk

Debbie Sharp for Midwifery: d.sharp@herts.ac.uk

Aileen Wilson for Nursing: a.wilson27@herts.ac.uk

Carole Galloway for Social Work : c.galloway4@herts.ac.uk
Policy for Practice in Primary Care
Induction Days for new starters is 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th September 2023 - attendance is required.

The module aims is to develop an in-depth and systematic understanding of health and social care policies and guidance which influence the delivery of services within primary and community care.

This module involves an examination of contemporary health policies and guidance and their implications for the role and practice of nurses working within primary care and community settings.

Strategies for the identification and assessment of community health needs 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.
Holistic Assessment of Health Needs in Primary Care
Induction Days for new starters is 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th September 2023 - attendance is required.

Course Aims

Build on existing skills and knowledge to facilitate a critical and systematic approach to holistic assessment of patient and family health needs.

Course Content

This module will equip practitioners with the necessary skills and expertise to holistically assess and plan health and social care interventions that are evidence based and promote patient choice and independence. Students will be encouraged to develop effective communication skills that support working in partnership with patients, families and carers.
Research and Evidenced Based Practice
Induction Days for new starters is 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th September 2023 - attendance is required.

Course Aims

Develop a systematic and critical understanding of the principles of research and the skills required to undertake an in-depth analysis of current research.

Course Content

This aim of this level 7 module is to examine the role of research in providing an evidence based for practice and the students' role as a user of research and as a researcher. The module will be concerned with the development of research skills including, accessing and reviewing the literature, awareness of the principles of research and approaches that may be adopted; and understanding of data collection techniques and frameworks for analysis; ethical issues and their implications for research.
V100 Nurse Prescribing
Course Aims

Demonstrate the competencies outlined in the RPS (2016) Competency Framework for all Prescribers in order to practise safely as health visitors and school nurses prescribing from the Nurse Prescribers’ Formulary for Community Practitioners.

Course content

This Level 7 Module is designed to enable nurses and midwives undertaking a specialist qualification in either community public health nursing or community nursing to develop the necessary knowledge, skills and attributes to demonstrate a critical, evidence-based approach to safe, appropriate and cost-effective practice as from the Nurse Prescribers’ Formulary for Community Practitioners, working in partnership with patients, parents, carers and members of the multi-disciplinary prescribing team. Students will be facilitated in the review and analysis of systematic approaches to assessment and diagnosis, drug actions and the use of evidence based sources to inform prescribing practice, including the decision not to prescribe. The legal and professional frameworks underpinning prescribing practice will be evaluated to ensure governance of their prescribing practice and promote safe and accountable practice in team members.

Level

Credits

120

Course Leader

Theresa Titchener

Start date

Semester A or B - A full Induction week will take place prior to the start of the programme.

Mode of delivery

Full time, Semester A or B entry point, normally completed in 1 year. Part time, Semester A or B entry point, normally completed in 2 years.