Click here to edit using the old editor
{"available": "entirely", "availability": {"status": {"Recruiting Status 25/26":"RP 25/26","Recruiting Status 26/27":"RP 26/27","Recruiting Status 24/25":"RP 24/25"}, "dates": [{"name":"March 2025","month":"March","year":2025},{"name":"March 2026","month":"March","year":2026},{"name":"March 2024","month":"March","year":2024},{"name":"August 2025","month":"August","year":2025},{"name":"August 2026","month":"August","year":2026},{"name":"August 2024","month":"August","year":2024}]}}

MSc - Advanced Clinical Practice

If you’re a registered health professional wanting to boost your career, our flexible distance learning course will see you enhance your qualifications and further your career opportunities..

Our Institute for Health course will develop your knowledge and skills in: health assessment, diagnostic reasoning, clinical decision-making and leadership - all you need to bolster your CV and climb the career ladder.

Apply Now Register Interest


Accredited by:

Accreditation logo

The Centre of Advancing Practice.

Advanced Clinical Practice cover image

Course Overview

You will develop qualities needed for senior healthcare roles, including in circumstances requiring the assessment, diagnosis, problem solving, clinical decision making and treatment of patients with undifferentiated undiagnosed conditions. We will enhance your knowledge and skills in leadership and caring for clients with complex needs. Healthcare is a complex and unpredictable environment, which requires personal responsibility and initiative, skills we will help you build throughout the course.

On this course you will...

  • Develop a comprehensive and systematic knowledge and practical understanding of how techniques of rigorous enquiry enable the critical appraisal, interpretation and application of evidence as it concerns the field of advanced practice.
  • Critically appraise different models of leadership and management and apply them appropriately to enable advanced practice service development and improvement, demonstrating originality of thought and the development of strategic thinking in response to a changing and dynamic practice environment and to health and social policy.
  • Critically appraise a range of theoretical concepts and frameworks for collaborative working and therapeutic relationships (embracing equality and diversity), demonstrating mastery in their application and innovative approaches to multi-agency working in the arena of advanced practice, including user/carer engagement and team working.
  • Make rational and sound professional judgements and use a range of techniques in relation to the assessment of health needs of individuals.
Apply Now

Course Structure

What you will learn

Each 20-credit module attracts 200 learning hours and more information on how these hours are used are available in the individual module descriptors. You will notice as you progress on programme that each module builds upon the preceding one in a cumulative manner that will build your knowledge and skills in the advanced practitioner role as you become part of an inclusive community of practice.




Modules

You will follow the programme core modules in the sequence laid out above. However, if you are in a profession who cannot yet prescribe then you will undertake two 20 credit optional modules in the second year and a single optional module in the third year. First and Second Year modules must be studied alongside the Qualificatory Practice Unit. You and your personal tutor will meet at the start of your programme to discuss your pathway through the programme as you may have accreditation of prior learning that we can allow into the programme, such as Non-Medical Prescribing. This will enable your personal tutor to map out your learning journey with you as it may differ from that above. If you are following the full programme, then you will only have to undertake one optional module in year three and again your choices and their availability will be discussed with you.

 

Year one

In the first year you have around 3 contact hours per week (36 per module). Your learning will be a combination of scheduled teaching and learning within the Blackboard virtual learning environment (VLE) and learning in clinical practice.You will be expected to consult with patients with a range of differing conditions within your workplace under close supervision and undertake workplace assessments on a termly basis e.g. demonstration of practical skills (DOPs) for physical examination of specific physiological systems.

  • Consultation, Examination and Clinical Decision Making in Advanced Practice
  • Clinical Decision Making: Improving Outcomes in Complex Patients
  • Analysing Research and Evidence to Inform Advanced Clinical Practice
  • Portfolio of Advanced Practice and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE)
Year two

In the second year you will have scheduled teaching and learning is 2 hours contact time per week (24 in total) for the Leadership module. You will be consulting with patients and developing in the other 3 pillars of practice of clinical leadership, education and research, whilst developing your portfolio of evidence and undertaking the workplace assessments on a termly basis. Non-medical Prescribing (NMP) sits within year 2 on programme as you are becoming more adept at undertaking patient histories and developing your diagnostic skills and confidence in role. Becoming an independent prescriber allows you to increase your level of clinical autonomy and complete full episodes of patient care within your scope of practice..

  • Clinical Leadership to Improve Patient Outcome
  • Independent Prescribing for Pharmacists
  • Independent/ Supplementary Prescribing for Nurses and Midwives (V300)
  • Independent/ Supplementary Prescribing for Allied Health Professionals
  • Portfolio of Advanced Practice and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE)
  • Health Assessment in Common Childhood Illness (Optional)
  • Advanced Assessment of the Acutely Unwell Child (Optional)
  • Negotiated learning (Optional)
  • Work Based Learning (Optional)
  • Acute Care: Initial Management of the Acutely Ill Adult (Optional)
  • Advanced Pathophysiology & Diseases in Practice (Optional)
Year three

In the third year, you will undertake a Service Evaluation Project which has 24 contact hours and further tutor support within this double module. This project has 12 weeks of online learning and then a further 12 weeks to undertake and present your project that includes up to 8 hours of individual tutor support and guidance. Your final 20 credit module to complete the programme will be a choice module and the contact hours may vary here. You will continue to have a minimum of 1 hour per week with your educational supervisor throughout year 3 to enable continued progress with your advanced knowledge and skills.

  • Service Evaluation for Improving Clinical Practice
  • Health Assessment in Common Childhood Illness (Optional)
  • Advanced Assessment of the Acutely Unwell Child (Optional)
  • Negotiated learning (Optional)
  • Work Based Learning (Optional)
  • Acute Care: Assessment and Management of the Acutely Ill Adult (Optional)
  • Advanced Pathophysiology & Diseases in Practice (Optional)

Attend an Open Day at Cumbria

An Open Day is your opportunity to explore one of 5 campuses, meet your lecturers, and find out how the University of Cumbria could become your new home.

Take the next step towards achieving your dreams.
A student stands in front of a wall splattered with paint.