MSc Advanced Clinical Practice

Why choose this course

• Study a hands-on, clinical curriculum to take on more responsibility as a practitioner, enhance the capabilities of multidisciplinary healthcare teams and work towards the constant improvement of patient care
• Access our Clinical Simulation Centre, including our Immersive Learning Environment and Critical Care Unit, to practice real scenarios on lifelike manikins and actors
• Learn from a multidisciplinary team of lecturers, who are all healthcare professionals with experience working in the NHS
• Get the academic requirements needed to meet the standards set by the multi-professional framework for advanced clinical practice in England (HEE, NHSi, NHS England, 2017) and the Centre for Advancing Practice (HEE) to become eligible to join the National Directory of Advanced Clinical Practitioners
• Opt-in to get a V300 independent and supplementary prescriber qualification and register this with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) to prescribe any medicine within national and local guidelines or study advanced medicines management to enhance your knowledge of pharmacology and optimizing medication for service users.

What you will study

You’ll evolve your leadership skills and your knowledge of contemporary policy, healthcare, and theoretical perspectives on clinical practice. You’ll also develop the ability to tackle complex issues and use your initiative, applying your judgment to important clinical decisions when complete data is absent. You’ll explore and analyze key leadership issues in health and social care while challenging and debating contemporary theory and practice.

You can study our V300 independent and supplementary prescribing module to improve patients’ access to appropriate medication. You’ll gain the skills and knowledge to prescribe safely and appropriately within your area of practice, and in line with current non-medical independent and supplementary prescribing legislation.

You’ll consider and critically evaluate links between theory and practice, exploring strategies relevant to the facilitation and assessment of learning within the workplace.

Teaching staff

You’ll learn from a multidisciplinary team of lecturers who are all healthcare professionals with experience of working in the NHS. You’ll also be taught by guest lecturers, including local doctors, nurses, midwives and other healthcare workers.

Research groups

You’ll be invited to join one of our research groups where you’ll participate in discussions about research topics, findings and publications, and benefit from our links with renowned research institutions across the world. We also have a host of external speakers that visit us and present their work, and a collection of seminars and workshops, allowing you to network with like-minded individuals.

Teaching

Your teaching will be delivered through a combination of:

• Group work (e.g. discussion groups)
• Lectures
• Online learning
• Practical simulation classes and clinical skills scenarios
• Role plays
• Seminars
• Tutorials.

Outside of these, you’ll be expected to carry out independent study, including coursework, essays and reading.

There may be occasions when the delivery of your teaching is supported by graduate teaching assistants. The University has a set of procedures that govern the use of postgraduate research students in this way.

Professional Recognition

MSc - Health Education England

This program is accredited by the Centre of Advancing Practice.

Health Education England's Centre for Advancing Practice has been established to standardize post-registration education by accrediting advanced practice courses that achieve the standards outlined in the multi-professional Advanced Practice Framework.

Practitioners who have completed accredited education programs will be eligible to be listed on the Centre's Advanced Practice Directory.

Program accreditation from the Centre for Advancing Practice will bring a new level of consistency to the workforce and help showcase advanced practice within health and social care.

Academic year structure

This part-time course will enable you to flexibly complete modules, fitting these around your existing commitments.

Course length

*This course can take between 2-5 years to complete. This is dependent on how many modules you select to study at a given time.

Modules

The modules listed are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that modules may be subject to teaching availability, student demand, and/or class size caps.

The University operates a credit framework for all taught programs based on a 15-credit tariff. Modules can be either 15, 30, 45, 75, or 120 credits, and additionally for some masters dissertations, 90 credits.

The structure of our programs follows clear educational aims that are tailored to each program. These are all outlined in the programme specifications which include further details such as the learning outcomes:

• Supporting Education in Practice
• Transforming services for quality
• Advanced Assessment & Clinical Reasoning
• Strategic Leadership for Healthcare
• Advanced medicines management
• Application of decision-making
• Independent/ Supplementary prescribing (NMC / HCPC v300)
• Research design and methodology
• Dissertation

Timetable

Course timetables are normally available one month before the start of the semester. Please note that while we make every effort to ensure that timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week (Monday – Friday). Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities. Part-time classes are normally scheduled on one or two days per week, details of which can be obtained from the Academic Hive.

Assessment

We use a variety of methods to assess you, including case studies, examinations, presentations, simulated learning experiences (objective structured clinical examinations – OSCEs), and written work.

We offer career information, advice, and guidance to all students whilst studying with us, which is extended to our alumni for three years after leaving the University. Our graduates have lifetime access to Surrey Pathfinder, our online portal for appointment and event bookings, jobs, placements, and interactive development tools.

We’ll prepare you to take the next step in your career, transforming you into an advanced practitioner with enhanced self-direction and excellent problem-solving abilities, preparing you for advanced practice roles in modern healthcare.

100 per cent of our health sciences postgraduate students go on to employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes survey 2023, HESA). Our alumni typically take on more senior roles within the NHS or in private healthcare.