Advanced Practice: Minor Ailments Management (ACP Module)

This module will enhance your ability to manage patients with minor illness presentations using a comprehensive approach. It is designed for healthcare professionals working in or towards an advanced or enhanced healthcare role.

This module requires 50 hours of supervised clinical placement in a setting where you can see minor illnesses. This placement must be arranged by you, as the student.

The module is part of the Advanced Clinical Practice MSc, and can also be taken as a stand-alone module.

This module runs twice a year. One cohort will be in Autumn and one in Spring, please register your interest with pec@sgul.ac.uk for any information on future cohorts.

Who is it for?

This module is for clinicians who encounter patients presenting with undifferentiated minor presentations that may or may not be indicative of a minor illness.

Timetable

Six taught days (comprising a mixture of face-to-face and online sessions), plus a 75-hour placement to be organised by the learner.

Benefits

You will increase your ability to safely manage patients with minor presentations.

This module encompasses an holistic approach to these patients enabling you to move beyond the presentation to see the bigger picture and develop effective principles for managing such presentations.

This short course module is designed to be flexible in allowing you to study and reach your goals at your own pace. Our health CPD courses are credit-bearing modules that may contribute to a University degree or award.

Transfer course credits towards postgraduate taught degree

As a health care professional, once you've completed this course you could offset 15 credits as part of a postgraduate programme, continuing your study with further modules to make up a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) 60 credits.

Upon completion of the course, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of pathophysiology in the management of minor presentations
• Synthesise information obtained from a range of sources to formulate working diagnoses and inform initial or ongoing evidence-based management
• Critically consider the ethical and legal issues influencing decision making in the management of minor ailments
• Demonstrate consideration of risk management for discharge planning or referral
• Critically explore multiprofessional working for effective management of minor illness for hospital avoidance.

The course will cover the following:

Pathology

• Classification of common minor illnesses
• Pathophysiology of common minor illnesses
• A brief overview of epidemiology.

Management of minor ailments

• Clinical decision-making in assessment, treatment, diagnosis and complications
• Referral, follow up and appropriate use of resources
• Health education and health promotion, with emphasis on preventative primary health care

Ethical and legal issues

• Informed consent for patient assessment and management
• An overview of negligence and accountability
• Ethical issues influencing decision-making, follow-up and referral
• Documentation, record keeping and risk management

Inter/ Intra professional working

• Collaborative roles and responsibilities
• Leadership and independent practice.

To successfully complete the course, you will be required to complete the following:

• A Clinical Assessment Document, while undertaking 75 hours of supervised placement in an appropriate setting (Pass/Fail)
• Clinically Appraised Topics (short literature critiques) with Reflections (Graded)

Credits

This course is worth 15 credits toward eligible programmes.

If applying for this module, you MUST state the Module Title and Course Code in the personal statement tab. Without this we will be unaware of what module you are applying for and will delay your application decision.

You should be a registered health professional with a minimum of 2 years post qualifying experience in a healthcare setting.

You would benefit from undertaking ‘Clinical Reasoning in Physical Assessment: Lifespan Perspectives’ (or the equivalent) before undertaking this module.

You will also be expected to have a suitably qualified mentor and appropriate work setting for completion of the Clinical Assessment Document.

This module requires 50 hours of supervised clinical placement in a setting where you can see minor illnesses. This placement must be arranged by you, as the student.

If you have any questions, you can contact us at pec@sgul.ac.uk.

Qualification requirements

To apply for this course, you will need to provide evidence that you have previous academic study suited to Level 7/MSc study. Please provide evidence of one of the following in your application:

• MSc – ideally in a healthcare related subject

• PgCert or 60 free-standing level 7 credits

• BSc(Hons) 2:2 or above – ideally in a healthcare related subject

• BSc with evidence of 30 credits + at Level 6 graded B grade or above

• DipHE with evidence of 30 credits + at Level 6 graded B grade or above

English requirements

If English is not your first language, you will require one of the following:

• A first degree from a UK university
• A first degree from an overseas institution recognised by City St George's, University of London as providing adequate evidence of proficiency in the English language, for example, from institutions from Australia, Canada or the United States of America
• International English Language Test Service (IELTS) a score of 7.0 is required with no subtest below 7.0
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) score 72 required
• TOEFL 100 overall with 24 in Writing, 20 in Listening, 19 Reading and 20 Speaking
• Other evidence of proficiency in the English language, which satisfies the board of studies concerned, including registration with your professional regulator.

Full details can be found on our English Language requirements webpage.