Community Specialist Practitioner

Entry requirements

At least a 2:2 degree in health related area or equivalent
Community Children's Nursing: entry on sub part 1: Child - RN8 or RNC
Credits: 360 credits of which 120 must be at Level 6 in a relevant Nursing Practice or Social Sciences related subject
Applicants must have Experience of practicing within a healthcare environment for a minimum of 18 hours per week and have support from the manager
Have the commitment of their employer to support course fees
The equivalent of at least one year post-registration practice experience

A detailed admissions procedure will be forwarded on application.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Build on your experience and skills as a community nurse or midwife with our Community Specialist Practitioner postgraduate, Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)-approved course.

You’ll enhance your practical and theoretical knowledge of working and caring for people in the community, as we support you to become an adaptable, reflexive and responsive practitioner who promotes the highest standards of client health care.

• The course is 50% theory, delivered at our main Preston Campus, and 50% practice via a placement.
• You’ll study the key principles of care and programme management, clinical practice development and leadership to meet the diversity of community health and social care needs in a changing climate.
• And you’ll benefit from an expert course team who are all qualified in their field, holding relevant NMC registration and active in publishing their work.

• The course meets the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) professional standards for specialist community practitioner (General Practice Nursing or Community Children's Nursing or Nursing in the Home) (UKCC 2001) and the 'Standards for Approval of Higher Education Institutions and Programmes' (ENB 1997).
• You’ll acquire lifelong, independent learning skills through reflection, critical reading, problem-based activities, directed study, lectures, discussion groups, role play and eLearn (a virtual learning environment).
• Fifty percent of learning will take place within a practice placement.

You’ll be assessed in a number of ways including by examinations, essays, presentations, business reports, and practice assessments.

You’ll study the equivalent of six standard modules, totalling 120 credits, of which all 120 credits must be at Level 7.

Everyone takes modules in: Principles of Public Health and Social Policy (20 credits); Introduction to Postgraduate Research (20 credits); Leadership in Practice (20 credits); Community Specialist Practice in Perspective (40 credits).

If you’re studying Community Nursing in the Home you’ll also complete an additional, compulsory 10 credit module - V100 Community Practitioner Prescribing.

A further 20 credits of option modules (minimum of 10 credits for Community Nursing in the Home students) is also needed to complete the award.

Successful completion of the Community Specialist Practitioner course means you’ll be on record as a community specialist practitioner on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register.

As a clinician, educator, manager and leader you’ll proactively meet changing health care needs and the expectations and demands of individuals, groups and populations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society.

This course will involve you working with vulnerable groups of individuals, including children. In order to ensure that the University offers places on their programmes to suitable candidates you will all be required to obtain a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service clearance (formerly termed CRB). We will be able to guide you through this process once you have been offered a conditional place of study at the University of Central Lancashire. DBS clearance will be organised through your employing organisation

It is important to note that should your Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check prove to be unsatisfactory for the purpose of the course you have applied to, your offer of a place for that course may be withdrawn. If you have already enrolled on a course and your DBS check subsequently discloses a criminal conviction, you may be required to withdraw from the course even if you have already started. If you are aware that your DBS check will disclose a previous conviction, please contact the course leader for advice as not all convictions may preclude you from continuing with the course.

Access to this course is dependent on a successful application and interview process via two routes.

Internal Recruitment

If you work for NHS you can be seconded by your Trust, and you’ll need to apply via them. Contact your Trust Professional Development Manager for more information. Interviews by the Trust and the University take place over two days each year.

External Recruitment

You can be sponsored by an NHS Trust for which you don’t work too. Please see and apply via the relevant Trust website. These courses are also advertised on the NHS Jobs website.

External interviews take place each year, after internal recruitment has taken place.

The course incorporates the key principles of specialist practice and is grouped into four areas; clinical practice; care and programme management; clinical practice development; and clinical practice leadership.

This course meets the following core Knowledge Skills Framework (KSF) criteria: communication; personal and people development; health safety and security; service improvement; quality; and equality and diversity. Other aspects also meet; health and wellbeing and information and knowledge.