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Study information

Advanced Skill Development

Module titleAdvanced Skill Development
Module codeHPDM132DA
Academic year2024/5
Credits45
Module staff

Dr Alexandra Picts (Convenor)

Duration: Term123
Duration: Weeks

* Please see note below

Number students taking module (anticipated)

25

Module description

*Please note that Degree Apprenticeship programmes have variable start dates and modules are taught across the full year.
Advanced Clinical Practitioners are experienced clinicians who are able to manage defined episodes of care independently within their scope of practice. This module will develop your knowledge and skills to equip you for autonomous practice in areas such as patient assessment, clinical decision-making and exercising professional judgement in planning, delivering and evaluating routine and complex episodes of care based on contemporary and high-quality evidence. Your workplace-based experience will be extended through supervised practice.

In addition, you will be expected to have identified an area of clinical practice in which to develop your clinical skills and have up-to-date clinical knowledge relevant to your intended area of practice. Applicants must identify an appropriately qualified clinical supervisor before commencing this module. You will also be required to demonstrate how you take responsibility for your own continuing professional development and reflect on your own performance.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module allows you to explore an area of advanced clinical practice in which you wish to develop. Undertaking a mixture of university-based sessions and placement-based learning you will identify an advanced clinical skill and work towards developing yourself in this under the supervision of a clinical mentor in addition to writing reflectively on this within your portfolio. This module will further develop understanding of the complexities of introducing / advancing knowledge within practice whilst considering any relevant ethical issues and will enable students to explore strategies to improve the integration / translation of knowledge to improve healthcare.

 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

  • 1. Gain a variety of perspectives when working with patients and be able to reflect on and evaluate a variety of options for shared decision making
  • 2. Perform holistic clinical assessments with patients to support and justify treatment and management strategies using a biopsychosocial approach
  • 3. Work competently and autonomously within the legal and ethical frameworks.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

  • 4. Evaluate the role of different types of evidence (e.g. publications, media, patient / staff experience), to inform public and professionals.
  • 5. Provide recommendations for your specific work area to improve integration of knowledge to improve practice / patient experience.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

  • 6. Contribute, collaborate and communicate accurately and effectively with peers, colleagues and service users.
  • 7. Critically reflect on personal practice to allow for personal development and change

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, an example of an overall structure is as follows:

 

  • Group discussion within the student's workplace or work-related clinical skill development
  • Identification of particular areas for study within the module relating to practice
  • Refining of ideas / discussion of techniques of critical analysis
  • Identifying different types of evidence relating to the topic area
  • Discussion of portfolio plan    
  • Student presentation to group of preliminary progress (formative assessment)

 

To accommodate potential teaching restrictions:

 

Face-to-face scheduled lectures may be replaced by short pre-recorded videos for each topic and/or brief overview lectures delivered via MS Teams/Zoom, with learning consolidated by self-directed learning resources and ELE activities.

Small-group discussion in tutorials and seminars may be replaced by synchronous group discussion on Teams/ Zoom; or asynchronous online discussion.

Workshops involving face-to-face classroom teaching may be replaced by synchronous sessions on Teams/Zoom; or Asynchronous workshop activities supported with discussion forum.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
1121680

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities30Learning/professional group discussion, seminars, journal clubs and lectures
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities82Online learning using a variety of interactive learning resources and discussion forumst
Guided Independent Study168Engage in own clinical environment to advance chosen clinical skill using independent critical analysis / evaluation developing recommendations / writing portfolio
This module is delivered as part of an integrated degree apprenticeship programme. The total required study hours for the programme have been designed in accordance with the ESFA regulations.

Formative assessment

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Presentation - Oral15 mins3-7Verbal from peers and module team

Summative assessment (% of credit)

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
10000

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Portfolio (Pass/fail) 105000 words: A collection of work-place based activities to evidence a specific competency or multiple competencies1-7Written
Infographic301 powerpoint slide in poster format, max 500 words1,4-6Written
Reflective essay603000 words1-7Written
0
0
0

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
Portfolio (10%)Portfolio (5000 words) A collection of workplace based activities to evidence a specific competency or multiple competencies1-7Typically within 6 weeks of the result
Infographic (30%)Infographic (1 powerpoint slide) max 500 words1,4-6Typically within 6 weeks of the result
Reflective essay (60%)Reflective essay (3000 words) 1-7Typically within 6 weeks of the result

Re-assessment notes

All items of assessment must be passed in order to pass the module. In the event of you failing either of the assessments, the module will be capped at 49 until the assessment is passed.

In any assessment, a failure to identify a serious problem or an answer which would cause the patient harm will result in overall failure of the module.

To pass the Portfolio assessment you are required to obtain your clinical supervisors signed approval.

If you pass re-assessments taken as a result of deferral, your re-assessment will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment and the overall module mark will not be capped.

If you pass re-assessments taken as a result of referral (i.e. following initial failure in the assessment), the overall module mark will be capped at 50%.

If you fail re-assessments taken as a result of referral (i.e. following initial failure in the assessment), you will be failed in the module.

In addition, all assessments are required to be passed for successful completion of the whole module.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Textbook based resources

  • Macleod's Clinical Examination: With STUDENT CONSULT Online Access, 13e Paperback – 21 Jun 2013 by Graham Douglas BSc(Hons) MBChB FRCP(Ed) (Author)
  • Primary Care for Paramedics – Class Professional Publishing – in press
  • Hopcroft & Forte (2014). Symptom sorter, 5th Ed. London, Radcliffe.
  • Clinical Skills by T.A. Roper – 2nd Edition
  • Cooper, N. & Frain, J (2017) ABC of Clinical Reasoning. West Sussex, John Wiley & Sons
  • Trenoweth, S & Moone, N (2017) Psychosocial assessment in Mental Health. London, Sage

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Virtual Learning Resources

Web based and electronic resources

There are numerous Free Online Access to Medical Education (FOAMEd) resources. Whilst many of these resources may not be peer reviewed, there are some that have excellent peer review and are making their way into mainstream education. Examples include:

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

Other e-Resources

  • Kumar & Clark's clinical medicine [electronic resource] / edited by Parveen Kumar, Michael Clark
  • Oxford handbook of clinical examination and practical skills / edited by James Thomas and Tanya Monaghan
  • Stockley's drug interactions pocket companion 2016 [electronic resource] / edited by Claire L. Preston
  • Primary Care and Urgent Care RAP Podcast
  • NICE Core Knowledge Summaries
  • British National formulary - https://bnf.nice.org.uk/
  • Acute GP - https://www.acutegpcornwall.com/

Key words search

Advanced practice, clinical skills, clinical development, evidence, research, advanced clinical practice, physical examination, diagnostics, communication

 

Credit value45
Module ECTS

22.5

Module pre-requisites

None

Module co-requisites

None

NQF level (module)

7

Available as distance learning?

No

Origin date

03/02/2020

Last revision date

28/06/2023