Course description
PGDip
Students successfully completing this course will be eligible for registration by the NMC on the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing part of the register, and for registration as able to prescribe from the community practitioner's formulary.
On successful completion of the course:
* you will receive a Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting or School Nursing)
* you will be considered to have met the NMC requirements to be a mentor
* your details will be forwarded to the NMC for registration on the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing part of the register, and for registration as able to prescribe from the community practitioner’s formulary.
The overall philosophy of the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing - Health Visiting or School Nursing (SCPHN) course is to provide an excellent course structure and teaching and learning methods in both academic and practice settings. We do not believe that academic preparation is separate from practice application but that both are part of the same process. Our aim is to enable you to be high-quality practitioners who are skilful public health nurses in school nursing or health visiting and are able to bring about change in your practice environments.
Health care and the community environment are undergoing great change and this requires highly dynamic and flexible practitioners who can bring about positive change that allows public health to be central to the service that is offered to clients and school students. You will need sound academic skills and evidence-based practice to enable you to lead this change of your own practice and that of the health visiting and school health professions as a whole. The course will challenge you and help you to develop the knowledge and skills that you require in these exciting and challenging times.
The course is centred on practice and you will spend a large amount of time in the practice environment. Your community practice teachers (CPTs) are highly involved with the development and implementation of the course and there is a great deal of collaboration with the primary care trusts (PCT) education leads. There is also growing involvement with those who lead health services within independent schools. You will be encouraged to critically analyse and evaluate SCPHN practice with your lecturers and CPTs, and your assignments will provide a focus for analysing and synthesising practice. Your CPT will be responsible for facilitating your learning, supervising your progress and assessing your competence in practice.
Course content
The course comprises of six compulsory modules. All six modules need to be taken over the year for the full-time route. The two-year part-time route requires four modules to be taken in the first year and two modules over the second year with the required amount of practice, taken during the two-year period. The three-year part-time route requires you to take two modules per year, although there could be some negotiation over the spread of modules. Again, the practice component needs to be completed within the three-year period.
There are many opportunities for you to continue to study after the end of the course and we aim to encourage you towards lifelong learning. On successful completion of the postgraduate diploma, you may achieve the Master's in Public Health Nursing by undertaking a triple dissertation module. This will require independent funding.
The six compulsory modules are:
* Advanced Research Design (single module). This module aims to equip you with skills to find, appraise and utilise research, as well as plan and design a piece of research work.
* Leadership in Health and Social Care (single module). The module offers you the opportunity to develop and apply the knowledge, conceptual and practice skills needed to be an effective leader within health and social care environments, both in the public and private sectors.
* Community Action for Health (single module). This module will explore practical aspects of health promotion, including how to develop strategic and action plans for health promotion.
* Public Health Nursing 1 (single module). This is a practice-based module which enables you to develop an in-depth systematic understanding of the knowledge and skills in public health nursing in relation to health visiting or school nursing.
* Public Health Nursing 2 (single module). This is a practice-based module which will enable you to demonstrate originality and initiative in their consolidation of public health knowledge and skills.
* Prescribing from a Designated Formulary (Nurse Prescribing) (single module) This module incorporates the learning outcomes specified by the NMC for registration to enable practitioners to prescribe from the Nurse Prescribers’ Formulary for Community Practitioners.
Teaching, learning and assessment
The teaching, learning and assessment strategy of the course reflects its inter-professional, client-centred and practice-focused approach. Opportunities for sharing existing and developing skills, knowledge and experience are maximised. In order to make the most of the range of experience, skills and knowledge within the group, a variety of teaching and learning strategies will be used. They include seminars, discussions, debates and group work. Brookes Virtual, our virtual learning environment will also be used as part of the teaching and learning process. Strategies will encourage self-reflection, the integration of theory and practice, and inter-professional collaboration.
Practice assessment is a key part of the assessment process and many strategies are used to assess your overall practice competence; these are all clearly demonstrated in the course practice assessment document.
