Graduate Certificate in Dermatology

Program Overview

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The DCU School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health offers a blended learning Graduate Certificate in Dermatology. Open to nurses and midwives working in a variety of settings who encounter people presenting with skin conditions including those requiring minor surgical skin procedures. The programme is delivered by leading experts in the field of dermatology including registered Advanced Nurse Practitioners and medical experts. The purpose of the course is to provide specialist education for nurses and midwives to advance knowledge and skills in the care of people who have dermatological conditions. This course sets out to address a nationally recognised need to develop educational provision for nurses and healthcare professionals in the field of dermatology. The programme is delivered in partnership with clinical experts from practice including Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioners in Dermatology/A&E, Consultant Dermatologists, SpR Dermatology/Plastics and other healthcare practitioners with specialist expertise in caring for people with dermatology conditions. Who should apply: Nurses and healthcare practitioners working in hospital and community settings. This course is open to many nurses such as tissue viability nurses, GP practice nurses, PHN/Community nurses amongst others, and provides the opportunity to progress towards advance practice roles i.e. minor injury/day surgery units, acute and community-based care settings.

Program Outline

The programme is not running in September 2022.

The structure of the Grad Cert award will comprise 30 credits. Students will undertake three modules in total: two 10 credit core modules and one 10 credit option module. Aimed at busy professionals wishing to study part-time, the programme offers two pathways of study (determined by their clinical work setting):

Pathway 1 offers three specialist, clinically focused modules of interest to those working with dermatology clients including those requiring minor surgical skin procedures.  It offers candidates with a special interest in skin conditions, the opportunity to build upon and consolidate existing competencies, progressing towards advanced roles i.e in hospital-based dermatology roles/settings.

Pathway 2 offers modules to candidates working in a variety of settings where clients present with skin conditions but would not require minor surgical skin procedures.

Core Modules:

NS5077 Chronic Skin Conditions module focuses on commonly occurring chronic dermatological conditions.

NS5102 Dermatology Treatments and Therapies focuses on skin conditions requiring specialist topical and systemic treatments and therapies.

Optional modules (choose one):

Pathway 1: NS5057 Surgical Skills for Healthcare Practitioners* module provides candidates with the opportunity to develop and consolidate minor surgical skills capability, i.e. cryosurgery, wound debridement, lesion identification, local anaesthetic administration, suturing, punch biopsies and curettage, abscess and cyst management. Candidates will need to work in an area where they are likely to encounter the need to undertake minor surgical skin procedures.

Pathway 2: NS558 Advancing Evidence-based Practice will provide participants with the knowledge, skills and core competencies needed to utilise evidence-based practice within clinical settings. Note, the offer of this module is dependent on sufficient numbers.

Modules on the programme are also available to undertake on a

stand alone basis

. Candidates who do not wish to apply for the Graduate Certificate programme can undertake single modules only but need to apply separately. Please note, it will not be possible to seek the award of Graduate Certificate in Dermatology retrospectively where all three modules comprising the programme are registered for and undertaken on a stand alone basis.

Candidates who have previously successfully completed dermatology Stand alone modules in DCU will be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning when registering for the Graduate Certificate Award.