Study information

Programme Specification for the 2019/0 academic year

MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (P/T 3 year)

1. Programme Details

Programme nameMSc Advanced Clinical Practice (P/T 3 year) Programme codePTS3EMSEMS07
Study mode(s) Academic year2019/0
Campus(es)St Luke's (Exeter)
 NQF Level of the Final Award7 (Masters)

2. Description of the Programme

The MSc Advanced Clinical Practice programme will enable students to develop the skills and expertise required to respond to the challenges facing our modern day health service. It will afford them the opportunity to develop their existing professional roles and to gain an appreciation of the core requirements of advanced clinical practice.

In July 2017 Health Education England (HEE), in partnership with NHS Improvement and NHS England, launched a national framework which set out a vision for the further development of Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs).

This was the National Framework for Multi-Professional Advanced Clinical Practice and included a national definition and standards for the multi-professional advanced level of practice. This enabled a clear national understanding of what constitutes advanced practice and provided principles and guidance for Nurses, Midwives and all Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) Professionals. These guidelines consisted of the four pillars of advanced practice:

  1. Clinical Practice
  2. Leadership and Management
  3. Education
  4. Research

 

This nationally recognised framework and the core elements of advanced practice are applicable to all registered health and care professionals, and are relevant to all settings (primary care, community care etc.).

 

The definition of advanced practice is:

Advanced clinical practice is delivered by experienced, registered health and care practitioners. It is a level of practice characterised by a high degree of autonomy and complex decision making. This is underpinned by a master’s level award or equivalent that encompasses the four pillars of clinical practice, leadership and management, education and research with demonstration of core capabilities and area specific clinical competence.

Advanced clinical practice embodies the ability to manage clinical care in partnership with individuals, families and carers. It includes the analysis and synthesis of complex problems across a range of settings, enabling innovative solutions to enhance people’s experiences and improve outcomes. (Health Education England 2017, p.8)

 

The recently published NHS Long Term Plan  (https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/) outlines how, with support from Health Education England, there will be strong focus on staff development in order to improve retention. In addition, there is recognition that appropriately trained staff are able to effectively and safely expand their scope of practice in order to create a more adaptable workforce in order to meet the needs of patients.

The  MSc at University of Exeter will offer students the opportunity to undertake modules which will not only support each of the four domains of advanced practice, but will encourage clinical specialism, the development of research skills and the confidence to undertake autonomous practice. The modules available to students will enable them to engage with a range of academics and clinical specialists.

There will be the opportunity to complete a research methodology module to equip you as a comfortable research user and develop your skills as a researcher who adds to the evidence base. For those students completing the full Master’s, you will complete a substantial research project. 

Modules within the MSc programme will build on your previous learning and clinical experience and will also challenge you academically. It will provide you with the theoretical concepts and practical skills and enable you to acquire a range of personal and key skills to allow you to develop as an autonomous and reflective practitioner.

Depending on the specific modules taken, students may receive one of the following named awards:

  • MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Skeletal Reporting)
  • MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Image Interpretation)

Your eligibility for the particular award will be confirmed by the final Assessment Progression and Awarding Committee (APAC) on the basis of the modules that have been completed. In order to graduate with a particular named award in parentheses, you will need to notify the programme support team accordingly. Otherwise the award name will be MSc Advanced Clinical Practice

 

 

1. Health Education England (2017). Multi-Professional Framework for Advanced Clinical Practice in

England. ACP Framework

2. NHS.UK (2019)  NHS Long Term Plan  (https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/)

 

3. Educational Aims of the Programme

The aims of the programme are:

  • To provide students with a sound educational grounding which will encourage critical analysis of literature, documents and policies associated with advanced practitioner status.
  • To ensure that you understand the professional, legal and ethical issues within which you work as clinical professionals undertaking advanced practice.
  • To promote multidisciplinary practice by involving clinicians and practitioners from a variety of disciplines to understand the wider clinical context of health care service needs.
  • To prepare you to engage with research by the completion of a dissertation that demonstrates a critical understanding of research methods and applies them appropriately and effectively.

 

The programme will use a range of teaching methods including plenary lectures from clinical specialists and academics across a range of professional backgrounds teaching in their areas of research and expertise.  The plenary lectures will be supported by problem-based learning groups where you can explore cases, develop peer support networks and share clinical experiences.  Blended learning will be used to support the face to face education and a range of online resources will be shared with you to support your learning. 

 

The facilities at the University of Exeter have been specifically designed for delivering high quality teaching in this area, with bespoke lecture theatres where every student has a computer. For students following the reporting or image interpretation pathway, there is a suite of PACS monitors allowing for very high resolution viewing of images, as well as low-intensity lighting to optimise viewing conditions. 

 

A range of experienced academics will be involved in delivering the programme, including clinicians, advanced practitioners and researchers, in addition to lectures from guest lecturers to enhance the sessions where appropriate. 

 

The programme aims to provide a strong academic underpinning to the role of the Advanced Clinical Practitioner and to encourage students to explore the opportunities to expand their scope of practice in response to clinical need.

However, there is an opportunity to undertake this as a full time programme of study for appropriate applicants, such as medical school inter-calaters or international students.

 

For students undertaking the reporting or image interpretation pathways, the specific reporting/interpretation modules will provide you with the skills to evaluate and interpret radiographic images from a variety of referral sources. You will demonstrate consistently high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy rates in your interpretation and communication of the findings.  Radiographers on the reporting pathway will be required to develop their competence in within a clinical setting in additional to the academic environment. 

You are able to specialise in particular areas of advanced clinical practice. This specialism will be reflected in your award title provided you have taken the appropriate modules specified below, and completed an independent research project in the relevant field.

The Masters consists of compulsory and optional modules, and one dissertation

  • Principles of advanced clinical practice (15 credits)
  • Musculoskeletal pathology (15 credits)
  • Appendicular skeletal reporting (30 credits)
  • Axial reporting (15 credits)
  • Image interpretation; upper limb, lower limb, axial skeleton (15 credits each)
  • Applied research methods (30 credits)
  • Leading Change in Health Services (15 credits)
  • Leadership in Healthcare (15 credits)
  • Management in Healthcare (15 credits)
  • Education Essentials (15 credits)
  • Principles of Supervision and Mentoring (15 credits)
  • Skills for Patient-centred Care (15 credits)
  • From Theory to Practice to Quality (15 credits)

4. Programme Structure

5. Programme Modules

The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme.

Our PGT programmes are designed as standalone courses but the College also aims to provide flexibility where possible. We recognise that you may sometimes wish to take a module from elsewhere in the College, or the wider University, to fit in with their specific research or professional interests. A taught Masters degree is made up of 180 credits, usually 120 credits of taught modules and 60 credits of dissertation. Normally at least 90 credits of taught modules (but an absolute minimum of 60 credits), plus the dissertation, will need be taken from within the named award in order to graduate with that award. That means that 30 credits could be made up from one or more appropriate modules from another Masters level programme(s) in place of your scheduled ones, depending on the module prerequisites, the contact days of the modules, and your funding source. There may be an additional fee associated with certain postgraduate modules. It is also important to note that the timing of your new module’s contact days and assessments might conflict with your existing programme of studies. If after considering these factors you would like to explore this option further, please discuss this with the MSc’s Programme Director. The CMH PGT Support team can then advise about the application process, which would then go for approval from the Programme Director of your current programme and the Module Lead and Programme Director of the programme(s) in which your new module(s) sits

Stage 1

The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme. Details of the modules currently offered may be obtained from the College web site:

(College to provide link).

You may take Option Modules as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module. Descriptions of the individual modules are given in full on the College web site: (College –provide link).

Compulsory Modules

CodeModule Credits Non-condonable?
PAMM109 Principles of Advanced Clinical Practice 15Yes
PAMM104 Applied Clinical Research Skills 30Yes
PAMM105 Dissertation 60Yes

Optional Modules

Advanced practice specialism

a – for modules labelled a: you must take one or more of these modules for the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Skeletal Reporting) specialism

b - for modules labelled b: you must take one or more of these modules for the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Image Interpretation) specialism

CodeModule Credits Non-condonable?
PAMM101 Musculoskeletal Pathology ab15Yes
PAMM102 Appendicular Skeletal Reporting a30Yes
PAMM108 Upper Limb Image Interpretation b15No
PAMM107 Lower Limb Image Interpretation b15No
PAMM103 Axial Skeletal Reporting a30Yes
PAMM106 Axial Skeletal Image Interpretation b15No
HPDM059 Leading Change in Health Services 15No
HPDM080 Leadership in Healthcare 15No
HPDM105 Education Essentials 15No
HPDM106 Principles of Supervision and Mentoring 15No
HPDM070 Humanitarian and Disaster Relief - Theory 15No
HPDM081 Management in Healthcare 15No
HPDM063 Skills for Patient-centred Care 15No

6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods

Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:		Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the professional, legal and ethical issues within which you work as clinical professionals undertaking advanced practice
2. Understand the importance of leadership in the delivery of healthcare services with regard to quality, service improvement, and clinical governance
3. Critically evaluate modes of clinical decision making in the area of advanced practice and the impact and interaction of judgement and decision making in complex and unpredictable situations.
4. Evaluate and audit own practice, selecting and applying valid, reliable methods and demonstrating the impact of advanced clinical practice on service function and effectiveness, and quality.
5. Reporting/image interpretation students will be able to identify and accurately communicate a range of radiological findings, including trauma, pathology and normal variants from projection radiography images.

The programme features a range of learning methods to facilitate knowledge and develop understanding. These include lectures, tutorials, workshops, seminars, and problem based learning, group tasks and laboratories/practical sessions as well as ELE based activities. Independent study also forms a large part of the teaching and learning methods.

The ILOs are assessed by the following individual methods or a combination of these:

 

ILO's 1 to 4 will be assessed via essays, presentations and reports

ILO 5 will be assessed via case study reports, poster/presentations and OSCE's.

Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:		Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

6. Ability to synthesise information from a number of sources in order to gain a coherent understanding of theory and practice, to evaluate research and evidence critically
7. Demonstrate a critical understanding of their broadened level of responsibility and autonomy and the limits of own competence and professional scope of practice, including when working with complexity, risk, uncertainty and incomplete information.
8. Use expertise and decision-making skills to inform clinical reasoning approaches when dealing with differentiated and undifferentiated individual presentations and complex situations, synthesising information from multiple sources to make appropriate, evidence-based judgements and/or diagnoses.
9. Critically appraise and synthesise the outcome of relevant research, evaluation and audit, using the results to underpin own practice and to inform that of others
10. Present a logically argued and clearly written project report that will aim to enhance knowledge and understanding of an area of practice at an advanced level

All ILOs are developed through lectures, tutorials, seminars, practical classes, e-learning based teaching, and supervised research project work, supported by directed research of texts and journals. Practical statistic workshops and use of STAT and SPSS.

 Independent study and practice also forms a major part of our teaching and learning methods.

The ILOs are assessed by the following individual methods or a combination of these:

 

ILO 6 & 9: Examination, research proposal, presentation 

ILO 7 & 8: written coursework, professional portfolios, OSCE's, case reports 

ILO 9 & 10: research proposal, dissertation, project report, presentation

Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:		Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

11. Effective use of appropriate IT packages/systems for the analysis of data and the retrieval of appropriate information
12. Demonstrate effective communication skills, supporting people in making decisions, planning care or seeking to make positive changes, using Health Education England’s framework to promote person-centred approaches in health and care
13. Engage in self-directed learning, critically reflecting to maximise clinical skills and knowledge, as well as own potential to lead and develop both care and services.
14. Work in effective partnerships with others, in a range of different situations and settings.

Participation in seminars, group work, practical and problem based learning. Students will also develop their critical and analytical skills via lectures tutorials and collaborative learning.

 

Independent study and practice also forms a major part of our teaching and learning methods.

ILO's 11 to 14: Independent research project, group presentations, written coursework, individual presentations

7. Programme Regulations

Credit

The programme consists of 180 credits. The pass mark for award of credit in PG modules (NQF level 7) is 50%.

Progression

You are required to achieve 60 credits each year with average marks of at least 50% across the 60 credits of assessment.

Condonement rules are defined in Chapter 8 of the Teaching Quality Assurance Manual Assessment, Progression and Awarding: Taught Programmes Handbook.

 

Assessment and Awards

 

Each module includes both formative and summative assessments. Formative assessment will involve opportunities for discussion and feedback from peers and tutors. The summative assessments provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the intended learning outcomes.

You can graduate with a specialist named award: MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Skeletal Reporting), MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Image Interpretation) and MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Generic/Theory).

The conditions for graduating with a named award are as follows:

MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Skeletal Reporting)

The award comprises compulsory programme modules, skeletal reporting specialist modules, 15 credit musculoskeletal module, a research project in the relevant field, plus optional modules for the remainder of the programme credits.

MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Image Interpretation)

The award comprises compulsory programme modules, Image interpretation specialist modules, 15 credit musculoskeletal module, a research project in the relevant field, plus optional modules for the remainder of the programme credits.

Students who do not request or do not meet the conditions for the named award will graduate with the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice Theory.

 

Classification

The marking of modules and the classification of awards broadly corresponds to the following marks:

Postgraduate Degrees

Distinction   70%+

Merit            60-69%

Pass            50-59%

 

Full details of PGT programmes assessment regulations can be found in the Teaching Quality Assurance Manual (TQA) on the University of Exeter website.  Generic marking criteria are also published here. 

Please see the Teaching and Quality Assurance Manual for further guidance.

Classification

Full details of assessment regulations for all taught programmes can be found in the TQA Manual, specifically in the Credit and Qualifications Framework, and the Assessment, Progression and Awarding: Taught Programmes Handbook. Additional information, including Generic Marking Criteria, can be found in the Learning and Teaching Support Handbook.

8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning

Learning Resources The University Library maintains its principal collections in the main library buildings on the Streatham and St Luke's campuses, together with a number of specialist collections in certain Colleges. The total Library collection comprises over a million volumes and 3000 current periodical subscriptions.

 

 IT Services provide a wide range of services throughout the Exeter campuses including open access computer rooms, some of which are available 24 hours, 7 days a week. Helpdesks are maintained on the Streatham and St Luke's campuses, while most study bedrooms in halls and flats are linked to the University's campus network.

 

  • University Wellbeing Service - available free of charge, to provide confidential help and support.
  • Student Health Centre - We are a Primary Health Care Centre, primarily funded by the National Health Service, providing care for all acute and long-term health problems for students on the Streatham Campus.
  • Student Services Centre - in the Forum is your first port of call for free, impartial and confidential advice on a range of 12 student services from Accommodation to Finance, Wellbeing to International Student Support, IT to AccessAbility. You can access the SID team 12 hours per day during term time between 8am – 8pm plus 10am – 3pm on Saturdays. Out of term time we are open 9am – 6pm Monday – Friday.
  • The Student Engagement and Skills - team offer support for all students who wish to improve their personal, professional and academic skills, through lectures, workshops, individual appointments and peer support programmes in colleges and interactive online resources on Exeter’s Learning Environment (ELE).
  • Family Centre (Streatham campus)provides high quality care and education for early-years children of students and staff. 
  • Student Advice Centre - : (the Forum) is your first port of call for free, impartial and confidential advice on a range of issues: housing, finance, and academic matters.
  • TheStudents’ Guild is the students’ union of the University of Exeter providing representation, advice, activities, social events, dining outlets and more.  
  • Student complaints procedure.
  • Chaplaincy offers confidential support, advice and pastoral listening for all students.
  • The International Student Support Office supports non UK students across all University of Exeter campuses.    
  • INTO University of Exeter partnership provides English Language and other preparatory courses for international students.
  • AccessAbility offers advice and support to students with specific learning disabilities (eg. dyslexia) and physical disabilities/health conditions. Support includes helping students access learning and teaching opportunities and make the most of university life.
  • Employability and Graduate Developmentthe Career Zone has over 40 staff working to help you improve your chances of getting a great job after you graduate. They provide expert advice to enable you to plan your future through: guidance interviews, psychometric testing, employer presentations, skills events, practice job interviews and CV preparation.

9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning

Please refer to the University Academic Policy and Standards guidelines regarding support for students and students' learning.

10. Admissions Criteria

Undergraduate applicants must satisfy the Undergraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.

Postgraduate applicants must satisfy the Postgraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.

Specific requirements required to enrol on this programme are available at the respective Undergraduate or Postgraduate Study Site webpages.

11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards

Each academic programme in the University is subject to an agreed College assessment and marking strategy, underpinned by institution-wide assessment procedures.

The security of assessment and academic standards is further supported through the appointment of External Examiners for each programme. External Examiners have access to draft papers, course work and examination scripts. They are required to attend the Board of Examiners and to provide an annual report. Annual External Examiner reports are monitored at both College and University level. Their responsibilities are described in the University's code of practice. See the University's TQA Manual for details.

(http://as.exeter.ac.uk/support/admin/staff/qualityassuranceandmonitoring/tqamanual/fullcontents/)

12. Indicators of Quality and Standards

The programme is not subject to accreditation and/ or review by professional and statutory regulatory bodies (PSRBs).

13. Methods for Evaluating and Improving Quality and Standards

The University and its constituent Colleges review the quality and standard of teaching and learning in all taught programmes against a range of criteria through the procedures outlined in the Teaching Quality Assurance (TQA) Manual Quality Review Framework.

14. Awarding Institution

University of Exeter

15. Lead College / Teaching Institution

Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

16. Partner College / Institution

Partner College(s)

Not applicable to this programme

Partner Institution

Not applicable to this programme.

17. Programme Accredited / Validated by

0

18. Final Award

MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (P/T 3 year)

19. UCAS Code

Not applicable to this programme.

20. NQF Level of Final Award

7 (Masters)

21. Credit

CATS credits ECTS credits

22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group

23. Dates

Origin Date

21/02/2019

 Date of last revision

06/06/2019