Course summary
Advanced practitioners are now in demand in all sectors of the health service. This course provides the opportunity to study with the highly regarded School of Health and Social Care at LSBU, which has over 20 years experience educating nurses and more recently allied health professionals and pharmacists to work safely and effectively at an advanced level of clinical practice. There are three routes available: Adult, Child and Mental Health. Each has been has been designed to equip graduates with the knowledge, skills and behaviours commensurate with the Health Education England Multiprofessional Framework for Advanced Clinical Practice in England (2017). This comprises of four pillars (Clinical Practice, Management/Leadership, Education and Research) with a range of capabilities specified under each. Our course provides thorough preparation not only for advanced nurse practitioners, but also for advanced clinical practitioners and health professionals who wish to work at a higher level of practice. It has been developed for both experienced qualified registered nurses and other health professionals working in primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare settings. Why Advanced Clinical Practice at LSBU? We have been delivering high quality, advanced nursing education for over 20 years.Our programme is accredited by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).Teaching is provided by experienced qualified advanced practitioners, many of whom work regularly in clinical practiceOption for students to study the 40-credit Non Medical Prescribing course to become independent prescribers. Other distinctive features of the course: A Postgraduate Certificate Enhancing Clinical Practice and Postgraduate Diploma Advanced Clinical Practice award are available as intermediate exit awards only. These are intended for students who have studied modules within the MSc ACP but have decided not to or are unable to continue their studies through to completion of the full MSc award. This decision may also be based on availability of funding. In response to student and employer feedback and learning from similar course curriculum, a taught third year replaces the traditional 60 credit Dissertation. This comprises three 20 credit Level 7 modules. Students completing the PgDip award will have achieved the “threshold” standard set by HEE (2017) for the level of advanced clinical practice. However, this approach enables students to build on this by extending the period of support for successful consolidation and further optimisation of the four pillars of advanced level of practice.
Modules
The course will be taken on a part-time, one-day-a-week basis. The full MSc comprises six 20 credit modules plus either the Non Medical Prescribing module (40 credits) or the alternative of a core 20 credit module and a 20 credit optional module. Students will normally study between 40 – 80 credits per academic year depending on their desired rate of progression with an overall MSc ACP duration of 3 years up to a maximum timeframe of 5 years. Further details of the modules related to the Adult, Child and Mental Health routes are provided on accessing the application link. Become an independent prescriber Each route includes the option for students to study the 40 credit Non Medical Prescribing course to become independent prescribers to better meet patient’s needs and provision of timely treatment. Current prescribing legislation enables nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, pharmacists, chiropodists, podiatrists, therapeutic radiographers and paramedics to train to become independent prescribers. For other healthcare professionals who are currently unable to undertake the Prescribing course due to legislative restrictions, we offer an alternative package comprising two 20 credit modules: Enhancing Practice through Work Based Learning (Taught, Level 7): This module allows students to investigate an area of their own choice, relevant to their field of professional practice. For this group, the focus will be the course outcomes on development of the knowledge and skills to make safe, appropriate, evidence-based prescribing decisions. The module is delivered in the form of a learning contract and is largely student managed with tutorial support. Optional module of choice or utilise credit from prior learning if 20 credits at Level 7 and studied less than 4 years ago.
Assessment method
A range of assessments are employed, including Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), Observed Structured Clinical Assessment (OSCA), seen examinations and written assignments. The assessment strategy employed is closely aligned with the RCN competencies needed to achieve RCN Advanced Nurse Practitioner status and the Knowledge and Skills Framework
How to apply
International applicants
You must have an English language qualification before starting a programme of study at London South Bank University. Acceptable qualifications include IELTS Level 6.5 or TOEFL 580.
Entry requirements
In order to be considered for entry to the course, applicants will be required to have the following: Professional Current professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) or Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) or The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) A minimum of 3 years post-registration experience on entry to the course Academic qualifications Evidence of a minimum of 90 undergraduate degree level healthcare related credits Practice Be employed at minimum of Band 6 or equivalent Employed* for a minimum of 30 hours per week in one relevant clinical environment, with access to appropriate clinical support and supervision for the development of knowledge and skills to an advanced level. *This excludes students who are working in a locum or agency basis. Applicants must also be able to demonstrate employer support for all of the following (even where individuals are self-funding) for the applicant to undertake this course at LSBU: Support for development of the applicant to an advanced level within the workplace while on the course, to enable evolution of the scope of practice and responsibilities Willingness to release the student to enable them to dedicate the equivalent of 3 hours minimum per week throughout the calendar year (in addition to the study days in university) as protected learning time to enable the student to work in a 'supernumerary capacity' to focus on their clinical/professional development evidenced by completion of the practice based learning activity requirements and the practice based learning records. For the student to organise for a doctor/qualified advanced practitioner to act as their designated "Practice Facilitator" to supervise and support the applicants overall clinical development and facilitate completion of specified practice-based learning activities. Sign off for specific aspects of learning is required during the course (this responsibility can be shared with other senior experienced clinical colleagues however nomination of an overall Practice Facilitator is required). Provision of day-to-day supervision and support by an experienced clinical team to enable the development of the knowledge, skills, behaviours, competence and confidence commensurate with this level of practice
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
No fee information has been provided for this course
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
For more information on fees and funding, please see our website: http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/fees-and-funding
Fees for courses can be found on the individual course entry. To search for a course, please visit our Course Finder page: http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/courses/course-finder
Provider information
London South Bank University
103 Borough Road
Southwark
SE1 0AA