Advancing Practice in Primary & Community Care module (PN50225)

​​Primary and community care is changing rapidly, with a growing need for advanced practitioners who can manage complete episodes of care. This module prepares you to work at that level, combining clinical depth with the professional and ethical skills advanced practice demands. 

​You'll develop expertise in holistic, person-centred multi-element assessment across the lifespan, including paediatrics, men's health, women's health, and sexual health. Clinical reasoning, differential diagnosis, and the evidence-based management of long-term conditions are covered throughout. You'll also explore investigations including ultrasound, CT, and tumour markers, and consider how to use them to guide decisions. 

​Telehealth, concordant care, and social prescribing reflect the breadth of contemporary primary care practice. You'll also examine accountability, clinical governance, leadership, and multidisciplinary working. 

​This is an optional module for the MSc Advanced Practice and MSc Advanced Nursing Practice courses. Some teaching takes place face-to-face at the Kirkcaldy Clinical Skills Suite. External clinical experts also contribute to the module. 

​What you will learn 

​In this module, you will: 

• ​prepare to work at an advanced practice level in primary and community care settings 
• ​develop competence in holistic, person-centred multi-element assessment across the lifespan 
• ​examine clinical reasoning, differential diagnosis, and the management of complex cases 
• ​explore accountability, clinical governance, and multidisciplinary working in primary and community care 

​By the end of this module, you will be able to: 

• ​critically evaluate the ethical, legal, and professional issues relating to advanced practice in primary and community care 
• ​demonstrate competence in holistic, person-centred multi-element systematic assessment across the lifespan 
• ​critically examine clinical reasoning in requesting, interpreting, and evaluating diagnostic tests and investigations, and clinical decision making when formulating action plans for patient management 
• ​demonstrate the ability to exercise autonomy, accountability, and leadership within your sphere of clinical practice, working collaboratively within the multidisciplinary team​

Assignments / assessments

​​Conference abstract (100%) 

• ​A written conference abstract demonstrating achievement of the module learning outcomes (the overall grade is based on this component) 

​Practice-based portfolio (Pass/Fail) 

• ​A competency assessment with supporting evidence and a signed declaration from your practice supervisor; must be passed 

​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 

​Some face-to-face teaching takes place at the Kirkcaldy Clinical Skills Suite. External clinical experts also contribute to the module. You must be working in a supervised clinical area throughout the module to complete the practice-based portfolio.​