Specialist Community Public Health Nursing PGDip

• Overview

  Our Specialist Community Public Health Nursing course is designed to enable you to study at academic Level 7 (Masters) whilst also preparing you to become proficient practitioners within specialist community public health nursing/practice. Successful completion of this course will allow you to work at specialist practitioner level within complex primary health care arenas.

  Course

  Highlights

  • The University offers a wide range of facilities to support your learning
  • You will have the opportunity to gain the additional qualification of Community Practitioner Nurse Prescriber with the Nursing and Midwifery Council upon successful completion of this course

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• Course Details

  This post registration award prepares you for a career in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing at both strategic and operational levels. The postgraduate diploma consists of six compulsory modules, two of these modules are practice focused and incorporate key theoretical concepts enabling theory to inform practice and vice versa. You will have completed a consolidating period of practice equivalent to at least ten weeks by the end of the course, in keeping with NMC SCPHN Standards (2004).

  All modules are linked to service delivery and developments within Primary Care/Public Health and are intended to develop your core skills in research, practice development, public health activity and education. You will complete half of the programme in a practice environment which is commensurate with the specific annotation you are following: for example Health Visiting or School Nursing. This element of the programme is supported by designated practice teachers who have undertaken a formal education programme to fulfill this role.

  In order to achieve the named award you must meet all requirements of the award map.

  This course provides you with a programme of preparation and learning if you are a registered nurse or midwife and wish to become registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on Part 3 of the register as a SCPHN Health Visitor (HV) or School Nurse (SN) (NMC 2004).

  You will have the opportunity to gain the additional qualification of Community Practitioner Nurse Prescriber with the Nursing and Midwifery Council upon successful completion of this course.

  There is a focus on work-based learning throughout this course which ensures clear integration of practice based learning, assessment and university based work. A shared learning approach is encouraged with inter-professional modules and integrated working incorporated within the overall programme structure.

  The course will be delivered by a range of teaching methods such as core lectures, group work, online activities, use of case studies and directed learning approaches. Shared learning with other professionals will be a focus of this course and you will be encouraged to develop a critical, evaluative approach to the knowledge which underpins current specialist community public health practice.

  Methods of Learning

  The course consists of 45 programmed weeks for full-time students (half of which is in practice and the other half is in theory), or no more than 208 weeks for part-time students which is in accordance with NMC 2004 SCPHN regulations. An initial theory (university based) induction programme is timetabled at the beginning of the course, followed by a practice induction period.

  Following this induction, the course integrates both practice and theory, so if you are following the full-time course, you can expect to be in practice for part of the week and at university for the remainder of the week. One study day per week is also timetabled whenever possible. There are block weeks in practice which usually occur at least once per term, and block study weeks which, wherever possible, are timetabled to coincide with preparation for assignment submission dates. The final ten weeks of the programme is spent consolidating practice as per NMC standards (2004).

  If you are following a part-time route you will, under normal circumstances, attend university for one day per week, practice for the second day and have half a day study time each week. Block weeks will be timetabled as above, but will be for two and a half days per week.

  The course is delivered by a wide range of blended teaching and learning activities including: lectures, enquiry-based learning, online activities, workshops, tutorials and group work. Specialist practitioners and service users input into the teaching elements of the course whenever possible.

  Schedule

  Attendance is through either a full-time or part-time route which will be negotiated with the sponsoring Provider Service.

  Assessments

  This course comprises of a range of assessment strategies which enables you to demonstrate your knowledge, synthesis and analysis in a variety of forms. Assessment strategies include portfolios, exams, vivas, reports, essays, audio taped interventions and presentations alongside a practice proficiency document. The aim of the assignment programme is not only to test your knowledge and skills but also to develop these skills (for instance, the ability to present to a group of people). You can expect between one and three items of assessment per module.

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  Additional

  Information

  Partnerships and Accreditation

  This course is a sponsored programme through local NHS Trust.

  For further information regarding the course, please contact
  Helen Kimble, Programme Lead on: Helen.kimble@northampton.ac.uk

• Careers and Events
  • Open Days

    See for yourself

    Our Open Days offer you a fantastic opportunity to get a real taste of university life at Northampton and discover how studying here will be a life-changing experience.

    Each Open Day has a packed programme of subjects talks, advice sessions and activities designed to give you all the information you need about studying at The University of Northampton.

    To find out more about the day, please feel free to have a look at our Open Day Guide.

    
  • Careers

    Career Opportunities

    The specialist nature of this award will enhance your opportunities to extend your responsibilities and take on new roles in practice within clinical teams. On successful completion of the course, you will be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on the third part of the register and will be able to apply for band 6 and 7 posts as Specialist Community Public Health Practitioners.

    
• Requirements

  In order to be eligible for this course you must be registered with the NMC as either a nurse or midwife, and provide evidence of sponsorship from Provider Services prior to commencing the course. University applications can be made prior to obtaining an offer of sponsorship. In addition, you will need to hold a first or second class honours degree.

  If you do not have the above qualifications, but can demonstrate its equivalent in terms of experience relevant to the programme of study, you may be able to access the course as an associate student. For more information regarding this please contact the course leader Helen Kimble:  helen.kimble@northampton.ac.uk.

  For more more information on how to make an application, please visit our How to Apply page.

  English Language Requirements

  All International and EU students applying for a course with us must meet the following minimum English language requirements:

  • Minimum standard – IELTS 7.0 (or equivalent)
    for study at postgraduate level.

  For information regarding English language requirements at the University, please see our IELTS page.

  Contacts

  Course enquiries
  study@northampton.ac.uk

  Application status enquiries
  admissions2019@northampton.ac.uk

  Current student enquiries
  SID@northampton.ac.uk

  International student enquiries
  international@northampton.ac.uk

  Enquire online
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  +44 (0)1604 892134

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• Course Content
  • Level 7

  To be eligible for this award the student must successfully complete all compulsory modules. For students who have previously undertaken any of the compulsory modules within their previous award the programme team will find an appropriate alternative module. Students wishing to top up to MSc in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing must successfully complete the Dissertation Module OTHM010. SCPHN students may be required to take NURM011P in addition to the Compulsory modules.

  • Research Methods in Health and Social Care (20 Credits)
    Module code: SLSM004

    Core Module Y
  • Leading People in Health and Social Care Organisations (20 Credits)
    Module code: PODM007

    Core Module Y
  • Therapeutic Communication Interventions (20 Credits)
    Module code: NURM008

    Core Module Y
  • Leading Public Health Practice (20 Credits)
    Module code: NURM009

    Core Module Y
  • Advancing Children, Young People and Family Well-being (1) (20 Credits)
    Module code: NURM019P

    Core Module Y
  • Advancing Children, Young People and Family Well-being (2) (20 Credits)
    Module code: NURM020P

    Core Module Y
  • Community Practitioner Nurse Prescribing Formulary (0 Credits)
    Module code: NURM011P

    Core Module N

  Facilities &

  Special Features

  • registered qualification with the NMC on part 3 of the register
  • practice based learning
  • robust mentorship programme in place to support students in practice
  • shared learning on some modules
  • this course is supported by designated practice teachers within the clinical environment
  • the university offers a wide range of facilities to support your learning.
• Further Studies
  • Progression Opportunities

    Further your Study

    Our progression courses are a great way to enhance the skills you have already learnt. Benefit from our postgraduate courses to give yourself a CV that will catch the eye of employers.

    Public Health MSc

    Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) (Top Up) MSc

    
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    Visit our Research Hub page for more information.

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    Discover what businesses we work with and what opportunities may be available to you on our Business and Enterprise pages.

    
• Fees & Funding
  • UK & EU

  Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 18/19 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

  This course is only available via sponsored full-time and part-time routes. Please contact Helen Kimble: helen.kimble@northampton.ac.uk for further information.

  Additional Costs: It is important to note that there may be additional costs associated with the course in relation to purchasing relevant Public Health, Specialist and Research books, travelling to and from placements and travelling to any ‘off-site’ modules.

*Course data provided by Unistats