Advanced Clinical Practice (Tooting) MSc/PGDip

Advancing clinical education and supervision (15 credits)

This module is designed to give you a comprehensive foundation in clinical pedagogy, practice education and approaches to continuing professional development. It will support your development as an advanced clinical practitioner.

Advancing clinical reasoning in health assessment : lifespan perspective (30 credits)

This module provides in-depth knowledge to develop your critical thinking in complex health environments. It will enhance your ability to respond efficiently to the rapidly changing health landscape and will allow you to make balanced clinical decisions when formulating differential diagnoses, based on systematic patient assessment. This module requires 50 hours of clinical placement in a General Practice setting or an area where you can evaluate and assess patients with a clinical supervisor. Students are responsible for arranging these placement hours at their workplace or elsewhere.

Evidence-informed quality improvement in Advanced Practice (30 credits)

You will lead, design, and deliver a small-scale, practice-based quality improvement project in your practice field, using the quality improvement project proposal you have learnt about in the Leadership in Advanced Clinical Practice module. You will consider establishing baseline measures, selecting relevant quality improvement methodologies, and evaluation. You will produce a written project report which includes the rationale for your initiative, the methods and evaluation adopted, analysis and discussion of the outcomes achieved, and a reflection on what you have learnt from the project.

Improvement and implementation science: Principles for Practice (15 credits)

This module is designed to introduce you to a relatively new and expanding science that is bringing about quality improvements and enhancing patient safety by encouraging more effective use of research evidence within practice. It draws on theory and practice from a broad range of other professional disciplines, such as sociology, management, behavioural psychology, science and technology.

Leadership in Advanced Clinical Practice (15 credits)

This module is designed to give you a comprehensive foundation in clinical leadership, which will support your ongoing development as a leader in advanced clinical practice. It draws on contemporary research, opinion and wider leadership theory to equip you with the knowledge and skills that underpin effective clinical leadership, including approaches to operational and strategic service configuration and quality improvement within and across traditional professional and operational boundaries.

Advanced musculoskeletal practice 1 (15 credits)

This module is compulsory for students on the musculoskeletal pathway. Traditional understandings of musculoskeletal health will be dissected, debated and reframed within a biopsychosocial context to consider all factors which may impact MSK health across different levels of organisation; from cellular, to individual, and social levels (Engel, 1977). In keeping with this, core understandings of musculoskeletal function and health will be presented to include current concepts of MSK pathophysiology, pain mechanisms, the impact of multi-systems health, pain sensitising behaviours and psychology, as well as other related personal, familial, cultural, environmental and societal factors.

Advanced musculoskeletal practice 2 (15 credits)

This module is compulsory for students on the musculoskeletal pathway. This module will consolidate your journey into Advanced MSK Practice. The core learning will continue to be framed within biopsychosocially informed MSK assessment and management as described for the Lower Quadrant Module. However, the Upper Quadrant Module will provide an additional focus on advanced biopsychosocial management of people with acute and chronic MSK conditions. An in-depth overview of multimodal management strategies will be provided and critically discussed including neuromuscular adaptations to training, frequency, dosage, progression of exercise therapy, goal setting, and identifying and overcoming barriers to engagement utilising psychological, social, and behaviour change theories in MSK practice.

Advanced mental health practice: intersectional interventions (15 credits)

This is a core module in the MSc ACP (Mental Health) pathway. Mental health is a core healthcare priority. This module prepares health and social care professionals with advanced knowledge of specific patient demographics in mental health, exploring not only clinical relevance, but the importance of equity in patient care. The module will explore intersectionality and the role of the clinician in patient advocacy and promoting inclusive practice. This module requires 75 hours of clinical practice hours in a variety of mental health settings.

Advanced musculoskeletal practice 3: clinical placement (15 credits)

This module will finalise your journey into Advanced MSK Practice. In keeping with the core frameworks for Advanced MSK Practice Capabilities (IFOMPT, NHS England, and UK MSK Advanced Practice), students must complete a 150-hour workplace-based supervised clinical placement. Students are responsible for arranging these placement hours at their workplace or elsewhere. This module is essential for transition into Advanced MSK Practice roles and therefore is strongly encouraged for all students in the MSK Pathway. This module is compulsory for students who wish to become accredited MSK Advanced Practitioners.

Advanced practice in urgent and emergency care (15 credits)

The module is compulsory for students on the Urgent and Emergency Care pathway. This module will help you develop advanced skills in assessment, reasoning and early management planning for patients presenting with undifferentiated acute injuries or illnesses, or acute exacerbations of chronic conditions, in an urgent or emergency setting. It will focus on the effective assessment, referral, safeguarding and health promotion of a range of vulnerable or complex patient groups through the network of urgent and emergency care services in the UK.

Advanced practice: management of minor illnesses (15 credits)

This module is designed for healthcare practitioners working towards advanced roles in primary care and community settings. It offers you the opportunity to evaluate the key challenges underpinning NHS targets within the field of hospital avoidance and ambulatory care. This module requires 75 hours of clinical placement in a setting where you can evaluate and assess patients with minor illnesses with a clinical supervisor. Students are responsible for arranging these placement hours at their workplace or elsewhere.

Advanced practice: management of minor injuries (15 credits)

This module is for healthcare professionals, such as nurses or paramedics, wishing to develop knowledge and skills in managing minor injuries in children and adults. It is intended to develop your practice through the efficient use of resources and enable you to manage patients presenting to urgent and primary care settings with minor injuries. This module requires 50 hours of clinical placement in a setting where you can evaluate and assess patients with minor injuries with a clinical supervisor. Students are responsible for arranging these placement hours at their workplace or elsewhere.

Advanced risk assessment and person-centered interventions (15 credits)

This is a core module in the MSc ACP (Mental health) pathway. Mental health is a core healthcare priority. This module prepares health and social care professionals with professional capabilities and advanced mental health assessment clinical skills to make evidence based clinical decisions to manage risk and complexity. The module seeks to promote person centred approaches within mental health practice, and confidence and proficiency in the development of the therapeutic alliance. This module requires 75 hours of clinical practice hours in a variety of mental health settings.

Applying pain principles (15 credits)

The focus of this module is to advance your application of the current concepts of pain, enabling you to manage patients’ pain and to participate in life situations. During this module, you will develop skills to evaluate and debate the literature around pain neuroscience and pain drivers. This will enable you to develop a critical approach to assessing an individual’s pain drivers and to create appropriate treatment plans in collaboration with individuals who are experiencing pain.

Botulinum toxin injections for spasticity management (15 credits)

This module has been specifically designed to enable appropriate health professionals to undertake injection therapy using botulinum toxin for the management of patients/clients with limb spasticity or dystonia regardless of the form of botulinum toxin used in their trust. Learners will be supported in developing their skills and techniques in clinical reasoning, injection administration and after care to provide a comprehensive management approach.

Cardio-neuro care in prehospital critical care (15 credits)

The module will enable you to explore the theory and practice of managing key cardiovascular and neurological diseases in the prehospital setting. The particular emphasis will be on the recognition and referral to specialist services for these two major disease groups.

Contemporary issues in healthcare practice (15 credits)

This module will introduce students to key concepts in the social sciences of health and medicine. Recognising the contribution of medical anthropology and sociology to the understanding and practices of health service delivery, this course will provide an accessible entry point for students with no social sciences background. It aims to cover key ideas and debates around power, knowledge, normal versus pathological, the personal and professional, linking them back to everyday clinical practice.

Drug and patient group directions (15 credits)

This module will explore the science behind medicine management and consider the safe practice of administration of medicines under PGDs in different clinical settings. It is intended for clinical practitioners from a range of backgrounds who are administering medicines to patients in a range of settings. It is compulsory for those without a recognised non-medical prescribing qualification and who are not taking the non-medical prescribing module as part of their ACP studies. The module will serve as a foundation for aspiring future prescribers.

Essentials of enhanced mental health practice (15 credits)

This module aims to increase practitioner confidence and knowledge in the advanced identification, assessment and management of people with mental health conditions. This module will prepare healthcare practitioners to meet the capabilities outlined under the four pillars emphasised in the Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) Framework (NHS England, 2017). It is suitable for healthcare professionals working in out of hospital environments.

Interprofessional diabetes course for healthcare professionals (15 credits)

The prime aim of this module is to provide practitioners from different specialities and with the knowledge and competencies to manage, maintain, treat and/or transfer patients with diabetes to the appropriate tier of care. The outcomes will include improved personal confidence, more effective referral in the tiered structure of diabetes care, appropriate collaboration and engagement with the specialist team(s) and intelligent use new therapies.

Introduction to medical imaging (15 credits)

This module is designed to give you a foundational understanding of concepts of image generation, safety considerations and the knowledge to identify common pathological conditions. The module draws on contemporary imaging practice and guidance from the Royal College of Radiologists. It provides you with opportunities to learn with and from colleagues in multiprofessional learning sets and pathway-specific tutorials so you can plan and contextualise learning within their own clinical specialty.

Patient safety and clinical human factors (15 credits)

This module introduces health and social care professionals to the subject of human factors in a healthcare setting and allows them to gain a greater understanding of human limitations. By acknowledging these limitations, this module offers ways to minimise and mitigate human frailties and improve patient safety.

Portfolio of professional practice (15 credits)

This module is designed to enable students to demonstrate that they have acquired the skills and knowledge to practice as a First Contact Practitioner (FCP). It incorporates the concepts of academic, professional and personal development required for an FCP. It encourages students to further develop their ability to critically reflect and enhance their role. It facilitates the integration and use of skills, knowledge and attitudes learned in other modules for their FCP. This module requires 75 hours of clinical placement in a setting where you can evaluate and assess patients as an FCP.

Principles of critical care (15 credits)

This module is intended for health care professionals who are working in or towards a specialist or advanced role in prehospital critical care. The module will enable you to explore the theory and practice of critical care in the prehospital setting. This module requires approximately 100 hours of clinical placement in a AE, theatres, and/or ICU where you can evaluate and assess patients.

Principles of palliative care (15 credits)

This module is aimed at health professionals who work with patients at the end of life in non-specialist palliative settings. In this module you will learn the knowledge, skills and capabilities to make key clinical decisions through effective assessment, diagnosis and management. Throughout the module students will develop the advanced communication skills necessary to manage difficult situations at the end of life.

Psychology for behavioural change (15 credits)

This module will examine the psychology of behaviour and you will develop an in-depth understanding of psychological correlates, psychological well-being and psychological interventions pertaining to healthcare. From this module, you will critically develop an advanced knowledge of the sociological and psychological concepts that inform human behaviour in a healthcare context. You will also foster a knowledge and critique of the implementation of advanced communication skills within a therapeutic relationship and will allow participants to draw on their own practice as a focus.

Remote consultations (15 credits)

The module provides healthcare professionals with authentic opportunities to explore autonomous practice in the context of undertaking a comprehensive holistic, structured clinical assessment of the patient using remote/digital technology. The module delivery and assessment are remote, allowing you to put your skills to practice immediately.

Soft tissue and joint injection therapy (15 credits)

This module aims to enable students to extend their scope of practice to include the use of injection therapy. Teaching will include injection techniques. This module is designed to enable you to use injection therapy as part of your expanded advanced musculoskeletal practice.

Systems approach to error in healthcare (30 credits)

This module focuses on a branch of human factors that is based on the systems approach and considers the higher-level factors including organizational, societal, political, regulatory and economical context of work activities and processes. This module will prepare healthcare practitioners to comprehend the different approaches to the investigation of errors in both simple and complex systems. You will be able to apply a range of system-based tools to effectively understand the causes of healthcare errors and find solutions to prevent reoccurrence.

Transition to advanced practice (15 credits)

Transition to Advanced practice is a portfolio module designed to prepare you for advanced practice through work-based learning. This module requires 575 placement hours with the development of a portfolio and reflective essays.

Trauma: initial assessment and management (15 credits)

This module is designed for practitioners directly involved in the emergency care of polytrauma patients. A range of traumatic injuries will be explored, but the focus will be upon initial assessment and management of these patients in the context of the emergency department.

Independent/supplementary prescribing module (HCPC) (30 credits)

The module focuses on developing the pharmacology knowledge base and physical examination with history taking that underpins supplementary and independent prescribing, as well as the theory and practice of prescribing. The module is delivered using a blended learning approach, which incorporates both face-to-face and online activities. A variety of strategies and techniques are employed, including simulation based learning, to encourage critical enquiry and problem solving, in recognition of the complexities that may be encountered in prescribing practice. This module requires 78 hours of clinical placement with a prescribing clinical supervisor. All students who successfully complete the module, will be eligible for their HCPC record to be modified to include Independent/Supplementary Prescribing.