Advanced Practice (Clinical Assessment)

This course was previously called Advanced Practice (Clinical Skills).

Snapshot

Degrees available:

Degree	Length of study
Degree	Full time	Part time
MSc	18 months	36 months
PGDiploma	12 months	24 months
PGCertificate	6 months	12 months
This course has one start date - September

Academic School:

School of Nursing & Midwifery

How to apply:

Apply using the Nursing & Midwifery Taught Postgraduate Application Form, which can be downloaded from the School of Nursing & Midwifery website.

Fees:

Academic Year	Home/EU	Overseas	LMC *
2011-12	£360 per 15 credit module, £720 per 30 credit module, £1,440 per 60 credit module, plus £1,150 for dissertation	£925 per 15 credit module, £1,850 per 30 credit module, £3,700 per 60 credit module, plus £2,600 for dissertation	£465 per 15 credit module, £925 per 30 credit module, £1,850 per 60 credit module, plus £1,300 for dissertation
2012-13	to be confirmed		to be confirmed
For more information on fees, visit the School of Nursing & Midwifery website. * LMC = low & middle income countries

Overview

The MSc Advanced Practice (Clinical Assessment) is highly suitable for practitioners who are currently, or in the process of developing/advancing their practice in independent systematic patient assessments and clinical examinations.

This includes developing/advancing a range of skills such as consultation, history taking and clinical examination skills (e.g. chest, abdominal and neurological) and initiating and/or conducting investigations to ensure patients are quickly referred to the appropriate personnel to facilitate a more timely diagnosis. In addition, the relevant clinical sciences are studied to facilitate the in-depth understanding and knowledge necessary to support independent systematic patient assessment/examination.

This pathway has been recently revised in response to various government drivers, for example, 'Modernising Nursing Careers' (Scottish Government, 2006) and 'Better Health, Better Care' (Scottish Government, 2007) and aims to support practitioners in advancing their skills and knowledge in diverse areas of practice such as Hospital at Night; Unscheduled Care and Nurse-led services.

Content areas include:

History taking, assessment/consultation in diverse areas of practice for example acute/critical care, care of the older adult and palliative care
Surface anatomy and examination skills
Clinical physiology
Pathophysiology
Pharmacology
Accountability
Risk/patient safety
Clinical leadership/decision-making

Key features of the pathway include:

Combination of work-based and face-to-face teaching and learning and e-learning
Simulation demonstration and practice within clinical skills with manikins and simulated patients
A range of experienced clinical and academic staff contribute to the pathway

Programme Requirements

The MSc Advanced Practice (Clinical Assessment) is a named award within the Advanced Practice postgraduate framework within the University of Dundee. In order to achieve the named award, students are required to undertake an award core module Clinical Assessment for Advanced Practice, a framework core module, and an optional module, plus a dissertation relating to Clinical Assessment, as shown in the table below. You can access more information by clicking on the module name.

Core	Choice	Option	Dissertation
Clinical Assessment for Advanced Practice	Critical Appraisal Skills for Practitioners OR Methods of Enquiry in Health & Social Care	Optional module choice list	Topic relating to Clinical Assessment
60 credits	30 credits	30 credits	60 credits

Entry Requirements

Applicants are normally required to have a relevant first degree. Previous experience may also be considered upon application, for more information, visit the School of Nursing & Midwifery APEL webpage.

You must be working clinically in an area of practice where they can develop advanced skills eg physical examination skills.

You will require access to a personal computer with good connection to the internet (broadband recommended).

English Language Requirement: IELTS of 6.5, with minimum of 6.0 in any component (or equivalent), if your first language is not English. Please check our Language Requirements page for details of equivalent grades from other test providers, and information about the University of Dundee English Language courses.

Sources of Funding

The School of Nursing & Midwifery is not currently offering any school scholarships.

Other sources of funding for postgraduate students can be found on our Scholarships webpage.

Contacts

Postgraduate Academic Facilitator (Clinical Assessment)	Admissions Contact	MSc Advanced Practice Contact
Fiona Paul School of Nursing & Midwifery University of Dundee 11 Airlie Place Dundee DD1 4HJ Scotland Telephone: 01382 388706 (from the UK) Telephone: +44 1382 388706 (from outside the UK) Email: f.paul@dundee.ac.uk	Postgraduate Office School of Nursing & Midwifery University of Dundee Nethergate Dundee DD1 4HN Scotland Telephone: 01382 388530 (from the UK) Telephone: +44 1382 388530 (from outside the UK) Email: nm-post-graduate@dundee.ac.uk	Dr Elaine Lee School of Nursing and Midwifery Dundee University 11 Airlie Place Dundee DD1 4HJ Scotland Telephone: 01382 388668 (from the UK) Telephone: +44 1382 388668 (from outside the UK) Email: e.c.lee@dundee.ac.uk