Advancing Practice in Acute and Critical Care module (PN50224)
Build the advanced knowledge and clinical skills to assess, investigate, and manage acutely or critically ill adults
Working at an advanced practice level in acute and critical care demands both specialist knowledge and strong clinical judgement. This module gives you the evidence base and skills to assess, investigate, and manage acutely and critically ill adults.
You'll study systematic ABCDE assessment, acute cardiac and respiratory care, neurological assessment, and the interpretation of key investigations including blood tests, ECGs, chest X-rays, and imaging. The management of complex presentations, including AKI, sepsis, DKA, anaphylaxis, and pulmonary embolism, is covered in depth.
The holistic care of acutely ill patients runs alongside the clinical content: you'll examine mental health assessment, pain management, delirium, and palliative care. Multidisciplinary team working, clinical governance, and reflective practice are also central themes.
This module can be taken as part of the MSc Advanced Practice or MSc Advanced Nursing Practice courses, or as a stand-alone module. NHS colleagues contribute to teaching.
What you will learn
In this module, you will:
- develop your knowledge and skills to work at an advanced practice level in acute, critical, and unscheduled care settings
- study systematic assessment, investigation, and management of acutely and critically ill adults
- examine diagnostic investigations including ECG interpretation, chest X-rays, and advanced imaging
- explore the holistic care of acutely ill adults, including mental health, pain, delirium, and palliative care
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- demonstrate thorough knowledge of the relevant physiology and pathophysiology of acute medical and surgical conditions and emergencies
- critically evaluate the evidence related to the assessment, investigation, and management of acutely and critically ill adults
- apply advanced knowledge of pathophysiology to the assessment, investigation, and management of acutely and critically ill adults
- apply effective decision-making, clinical judgement, and problem-solving skills to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate therapeutic interventions, autonomously or in collaboration with the multidisciplinary team
- critically appraise and demonstrate effective teamwork and communication strategies for safe, effective, person-centred care
Assignments / assessments
Coursework (100%)
- A 2,000-word critical discussion on a specific clinical topic directly relevant to acute or critical care practice, demonstrating achievement of the ANP core competencies
This module does not have a final exam.
Teaching methods / timetable
- Online lectures and master classes via My Dundee
- Tutorials
- Discussion boards, blogs, and Padlets
- Practice-based learning in a supervised clinical setting
NHS colleagues contribute to some of the module teaching. The module draws on the NHS Knowledge Network alongside the University library. The module includes a practice activity (a 300-word article evaluation) that provides feed-forward for the main assessment.
Courses
This module is available on the following courses: