Course summary

This course offer pathways in Health Visiting, School Nursing and Occupational Health. This programme has been developed in response to a growing need for practitioners to respond to the emerging public health policy agenda and develop knowledge, understanding and skills of public health approaches to practice (Department of Health 2003; Department of Health 2004a; Department of Health 2004b; Department of Health 2005a; Department of Health 2005b; Department of Health 2006, Department of Health 2010). Such a context of practice requires that health care professionals develop a comprehensive range of skills to enable them to develop and lead population based services designed to tackle inequalities in health, prevent ill health and work in partnership with individuals, families and communities. Actualising health for wellbeing in meaningful, ethical and human caring ways for individuals and communities requires leadership and public health at Masters level thinking, and beyond. The Department of Health Studies is committed to embedding the NHS Constitution Values into everything we do; they define the behaviours and expectations of all our staff and students underpinning the work we do in the university and in the practice setting. You can view the full NHS England Constitution and Values on the Gov.UK website In the future there will be opportunity for students to undertake a dissertation and achieve a Masters degree. The programme is committed to ongoing development of SCPHN s and is contemporary in its content and delivery. A blended learning approach is used with time spent at University and in practice; students are supported in practice by an experienced practice teacher. Innovative methods of teaching incorporate virtual learning, wikis, blogs and discussions to enhance student focused education. Current developments in practice are recognising a national need for SCPHN practitioners; developing study to incorporate enhanced critical thinking, research knowledge, and reflective practitioners has potential to augment delivery of quality services to individuals and communities. The Masters programme encourages students to develop these skills.