ADULT SOCIAL CARE NURSING

This module provides an immersive exploration of the multifaceted role of the Community Specialist Practitioner working in Adult Social Care. Throughout this module, you will delve into key components such as self-awareness, professional nurse advocacy, leadership principles, teaching and learning, service improvement and evidence-based care, fostering autonomy and embracing digital technology for effective collaboration. Leadership strategies and impactful decision-making will be discussed, teaching you how to cultivate a positive learning culture in your workplace. You will strategically measure collaborative impact, engage in autonomous care management, and initiate evidence-based interventions. You will embrace the intricacies of quality improvement theory and design and take the lead on transformative changes in practice. You will complete and share a health profile analysis to engage in contemporary and evidence-based research. This module will equip you with the skills to influence healthcare strategies, navigate policy landscapes, and co-create services for improved care outcomes. On this enriching pathway towards becoming a proficient Community Specialist Practitioner, you will learn how to make a lasting impact on health and social care across diverse community settings.

This module will prepare you to demonstrate proficiency in clinical assessment of your users of service/client/patient group to complement and enhance your existing practice so that you can perform at the Community Specialist Practitioner level. This will include taking an in-depth, comprehensive history, conducting an appropriate physical examination and using clinical reasoning skills to formulate and refine relevant differential diagnoses and make prescribing decisions. Demonstration and supervised practice for physical examination and head-to-toe assessment will be provided. Although there will be an emphasis on clinical indications, the assessment will also consider mental and emotional health and social circumstances that warrant further assessment and/or onward appropriate referral to agencies/services. The module will introduce health literacy, mental health, and neurodiversity considerations to be made in the assessment process in recognition of the importance of using a holistic approach to all patient care. (This is the first module of the 40 credit V300 Independent and Supplementary Prescribing Qualification)

This module focuses on developing your knowledge, skills and behaviours required to support effective leadership and change management within your field of community specialist practice. You will be required to engage in discussion on a variety of contemporary, complex and challenging scenarios, which require critical thinking and decision-making skills. By studying leadership and strategic management theories, you will be able to develop a service improvement initiative that you can apply at personal, team, organisational, and inter-organisational levels.

Once the core modules are completed, the student/apprentice is required to choose and study 60 credits from the following optional modules. For Registered Nurses who will NOT be registered prescribers: 3 x 20 credit optional modules (NOT the Independent and Supplementary Prescribing Module) Or for Registered Nurses who can prescribe in their role: Independent and Supplementary Prescribing Module (to complete the V300 qualification), plus 2 x 20 credit optional modules

N.B. The core module - ‘Advanced Clinal Assessment and Diagnosis Skills’, must be passed before the start of this module. This module is the 2nd module required to achieve the V300 Independent and Supplementary Prescribing qualification. The overall aim of this module is to prepare Community Registered Adult Nurses for roles as Independent/Supplementary (V300) prescribers, ensuring that they can demonstrate achievement of the Learning Outcomes identified by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and are, therefore, eligible to apply for annotation as Independent/Supplementary prescribers to their registration with the NMC. The Competency Framework for All Prescribers (Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 2022) and the competencies within the framework are presented as two domains and describe the knowledge, skills, behaviour, activity or outcome a prescriber should demonstrate. Theory attendance and supervised supernumerary practice hours are split 50:50. As an Independent/Supplementary (V300) prescriber in training, you will complete 12 study days of scheduled learning and teaching, which combine attendance for face-to-face, in-class work with more flexible, directed and self-directed study supported by e-learning approaches. Supervised learning in practice time is an integral part of this programme and is scheduled to run concurrently with theoretical learning throughout the programme. You will complete 90 hours of practice-based learning to complete the NMC Standards of Proficiency. With increasing demand to provide safe, appropriate, and cost-effective learning, the programme is available in blended and distance learning. The content is replicated, whether taught via blended learning (campus-based) or distance learning, to ensure parity. Therefore, you will be supported in applying and integrating your existing and developing professional knowledge and understanding within your field of clinical practice, thus providing an educational experience that seeks to facilitate your current clinical practice and support your future development.

Impoverished respiratory health is a common cause of hospital admission/ increased healthcare input. Many admissions to hospitals and many referrals for urgent respiratory care review are driven by deterioration in an individual’s respiratory health from the community. The role of the Community Specialist Practitioner in Adult Social Care Nursing includes reducing admission/re-admission to hospital through the management of complex conditions within the home or close-to-home environment. This module will provide the student with the knowledge and skills to provide, lead and manage complex respiratory care from the community, exploring the inter-professional approach required to manage the health and social care needs of individuals across different environments. This module develops students’ knowledge and skills in relation to caring for patients with a range of respiratory pathologies with specific attention to the use of invasive and non-invasive ventilation strategies, tracheostomy/laryngectomy care, chest drains, the contribution of physiotherapy and associated pharmacology and the care of vulnerable patients including patients at the end of life.

This module will consider the complex case management requirements of Community Specialist Practitioners working with individuals who present with a diverse range of long-term health conditions, including frailty. Using case studies, there will be an analysis of the range of factors that impact on leadership and management decision making, including political, financial, spiritual, religious, physiological, psychological and social factors. Assessments for frailty and inter-agency working will be explored, as well as hospital admission avoidance and end-of-life care planning. Information from clinical experts, service users, the evidence base and reflections on clinical practice experiences will support critical discussion.

Mental Health: As a Community Specialist Practitioner, an important part of your role will be to support those with complex mental health needs within the community setting. To do this, you are required to use leadership, critical thinking, and communication skills to adapt your clinical practice flexibly to changing presentations and situations, as well as caseload management and care coordination. This includes ensuring that the practice is consistent with human rights and mental health legislation. Working alongside users of service and carers/families, you will provide psychosocial interventions and psychoeducation to staff, service users and carers. This module will provide you the theory required to maintain mental health and promote wellbeing through the recognition of population and public health working across the health and social care system to reduce restrictive practices, promote choice and provide an alternative to inpatient care. Learning Disability: As a Community Specialist Practitioner in Health and Social Care, you will be working with people who have a learning disability and part of your role is to improve their wellbeing and social inclusion. You will also offer help and support to their family and carers by reducing barriers to independence and supporting the person to live a fulfilling life, enabling them to improve and/or maintain their physical and mental health. You may also help people to learn skills needed to find work. This can be significant in helping them to lead a more independent and healthy life where they can relate to others on equal terms. To prepare you for your role, this module will recognise nurses working at an advanced level of practice, ensuring that you can ‘close the loop’ on referrals made on behalf of the person you are representing and enable you to contribute to policies and practices relating to learning disability.

This introductory module is for individuals in relevant professional areas who may be new to teaching and/or supporting learning or who have a limited teaching portfolio. By studying the principles of teaching, learning and assessment relevant to your professional role, you will be prepared to demonstrate specific aspects of effective teaching, learning support methods and student learning. Through peer support and feedback, observation and feedback, action planning, reflection, and group work, you will be able to evaluate your practice as a teacher and identify professional development requirements to apply to teaching and learning in your area of specialist practice. Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to apply for the Associate Fellow position with Advance HE.

This module will expose you to the core foundations and principles within public health practice, drawing from a range of disciplines, including social, behavioural, and physical sciences. Throughout this module, you will build a foundational understanding of the public health area. This is an optional module within the SPQ programme. The module introduces the core theories linked to health and fitness, which cover health promotion, determinants of health, and contemporary challenges that exist in the field. One key area is the role of social justice in public health and how this may impact individuals from different communities, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Ultimately, this module will allow you to gain knowledge of public health systems at various levels, including local, national, and international bodies, which will then inform your work across other modules, allowing you to be better equipped moving forward.

The aim of this module is to critically discuss the complexity of safeguarding vulnerable individuals within Community Specialist Practice and the legislative framework which underpins safeguarding practice. This will be achieved through case study/scenario-based discussion, the use of an e-workbook and online group discussion. The role of the Community Specialist Practitioner within multi-agency working will be explored, with a focus on the reflection of the skills, knowledge and behaviours required to effectively lead and manage safeguarding situations.

In this module which spans one academic year, you will plan, carry out and evaluate an original research project/ service improvement project with a community health or social care focus (60 credits). Here, you will work independently under the guidance of a supervisor on a topic area of your choice, where you will be required to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the research and service improvement processes. This will involve applying research skills developed in this module into your practice by undertaking appropriate research methodologies, data collection procedures and analysis of results. Throughout this module, critical evaluation of ethical, theoretical and methodological issues will be required to ensure an ethically appropriate study is undertaken.   You will be required to submit a research proposal or service improvement proposal consisting of a clear rationale for your project, a clear understanding and awareness of potential ethical issues for a primary study, and how the study will be undertaken. From this, you will then engage in participant recruitment, data collection and write-up of the project.   Alternatively, secondary research may be undertaken, where you will also submit a research proposal detailing the theoretical framework, rationale, and detail or explanation of how the study Or service improvement may be undertaken, using a service improvement methodology such as ‘PDSA’.