Professional Doctorate Social Services Management

Program Overview

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A Professional Doctorate is a specialist qualification that is appropriate if you are in, or are aspiring to, a senior professional appointment in practice, education or management in health or social care. It demonstrates your ability to perform at the level of 'expert' within your area of specialisation. The aim of the course is to provide a unified approach to theory and practice within a professional context, so your learning is structured to allow you to develop your skills both in the workplace and within the university environment. Depending on your individual circumstances, your study can be undertaken over 5 years (with an additional period of completion of up to 1 year, if required). During this time, you will prepare two portfolios which chronical your development of expert practice in your workplace. In tandem, you also study taught modules at the University of Essex which provide you with the expertise in qualitative, statistical and other research methods required for researching healthcare. Your own interests, experiences, and needs determine a great deal about how your course is structured, and what areas you focus on. A key part of demonstrating your expertise in your specialist area is the development of a 40,000-word dissertation on a relevant topic. Within the School we offer guidance and supervision in a wide range of areas which include amongst others:

• Analysis of large scale surveys
• Child and adolescent mental health
• Children with special educational needs
• Cognitive behavioural therapy
• Consumerism and consumption in health care
• Health-related social movements
• Health-related stigma
• Health services research
• Housing and health
• How life events and conditions influence health
• Mental health services
• The third sector and health care provision
• Political economy of health care
• Public health management
• Public health practice and policy
• Qualitative methods
• Quantitative methodologies and analysis of large-scale datasets (panel and cohort studies)
• Service evaluation and development
• Social epidemiology and health inequalities
• Social inequality and health
• Social organisation of health care
• Understanding and application of research in health settings

You will have regular one-to-one meetings with your supervisor to develop your research topics and plan, and to discuss progress on your research. A full list of research interests can be found on our staff pages . At the end of your time with us, you will have a qualification which demonstrate you to be a true expert in your field. The School of Health and Social Care is proud to work closely with our Service User Reference Group (SURG). SURG is made up of service users, carers, and volunteers who generously share their first-hand experiences of health and social care. We work collaboratively with SURG to design our courses to ensure that we truly are putting the needs of patients and clients at the heart of what we do. SURG are involved as part of our course application processes and often form part of our interview panels. This helps us to be confident that we are selecting the right applicants for the course and their future careers. SURG members also support the delivery of our teaching sessions and research activity, which means you’ll benefit from an insight into their lived experiences of living with a diagnosis, health condition, or circumstance. You’ll find that not only does your clinical knowledge expand, but your empathy, compassion and ability to advocate develops also. You can find out more about SURG by reading their blog here . Why we're great.

• Taught modules help to guide and support your development of your research skills.
• Gain the tools to demonstrate your expertise in both clinical practice and academic research.
• Work with staff in our School who have both clinical experience and academic credibility.

Our expert staff

Our School of Health and Social Care has an excellent reputation for research and teaching. Our educational provision meets professional regulatory requirements and achieves high standards. We do so by having multi-professional staff with both clinical and academic expertise; our staff include sociologists and social policy and management specialists as well as clinically qualified lecturers in adult and mental health nursing, oral health, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, pharmacy, speech and language therapy, social work and sports therapy. A unique feature of our School is that many of our staff work with local National Health Service (NHS) organisations and other local agencies, which enhances our grasp of the contemporary links between academic research, the major issues of the day and practice. We have at our heart a commitment to making a difference to local, national and international health, social care and voluntary services through education, research and knowledge transfer. Our staff operate an 'open door' policy so are available to discuss any concerns with you throughout the year.

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Specialist facilities

You are encouraged to take advantage of the research seminars held within our School where you can present your research to other staff and students, discussing your work within a supportive environment Our Proficio professional development scheme provides you with unique opportunities to acquire a set of specialist professional skills and expand your subject knowledge

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Your future

We offer doctoral preparation that integrates professional expertise and academic rigor. During your time working with us you will gain the skills necessary to make significant contribution to local and national health and social care provision through critical appraisal of current practice. The networks you develop while with us facilitate self-development. You will engage in critical reflection upon practice; work and lead within complex, multi-professional environments where you can demonstrate expert decision-making.

Program Outline

Course structure

You can study our Professional Doctorates flexibly between four and seven years. Decisions about the duration of the study period are based on individual need, professional commitments and funded support. Our Programme Specification gives more detail about the structure available to our current first-year students, including details of all optional modules. We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, or in response to COVID-19, we’ll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

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Components

Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose. Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.

Status	What this means
Core	You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Core with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Compulsory	You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Compulsory with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Optional	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.

The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.

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Modules

Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits. In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available. Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code . For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:

HR	100	4	FY
The department or school the module will be taught by. In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History.	The module number.	The UK academic level of the module. A standard undergraduate course will comprise of level 4, 5 and 6 modules - increasing as you progress through the course. A standard postgraduate taught course will comprise of level 7 modules. A postgraduate research degree is a level 8 qualification.	The term the module will be taught in. AU : Autumn term SP : Spring term SU : Summer term FY : Full year AP : Autumn and Spring terms PS: Spring and Summer terms AS: Autumn and Summer terms

Year 1 Year 2 Final Year This module provides you with an advanced understanding of the research study designs commonly used in health research. It combines a theoretical and a practical approach to enable you to search for, obtain, and understand the research literature, and provides you with the critical skills to analyse and synthesize material into a literature review. View Literature Review and Critical Appraisal on our Module Directory This module provides you with a range of techniques for collecting, analysing and interpreting data. It combines a theoretical and a practical approach to enable you to understand the collection and analysis process. At the end of the module, you will be able to design and pilot data collection instruments, conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis using appropriate computer software, and interpret statistical and qualitative research findings. Find out more about this module at https://www.essex.ac.uk/short-courses/hs908/7/data-collection-analysis-and-interpretation View Data Collection, Analysis and Interpretation on our Module Directory Your portfolio is central to the professional doctorate. We will support you and offer guidance through supervision. This 6000 word portfolio will be in the context of your workplace and will clearly show that you function within it at an expert level. View Professional Portfolio 1 on our Module Directory The Professional Portfolio is a compulsory module within the Professional Doctorate in Health & Social Care programme. The module is taught over a period of a year. Student’s engage in facilitated learning and reflection on current problems within their workplace. Reflective models are taught, critically considered and applied to real world problems within practice. Over the course of the year the student build a tool kit which will enable him/her to revisit problems and identify solutions. View Professional Portfolio 2 on our Module Directory COMPONENT 02: CORE WITH OPTIONS HS927-7-SP or HS948-7-SP (15 CREDITS) This module examines major perspectives in social science disciplines as they are applied to health and clinical research. Research in health and healthcare needs to evaluate and account for scientific and social scientific information produced by a wide range of methods. In this module, an in-depth understanding of research methodology is facilitated through studying the philosophical foundations of methods. Furthermore, an understanding of the links between theory and method, at different levels, is also necessary for research at postgraduate level. This module therefore additionally examines some of the philosophical foundations of health-related social research and (to a lesser extent) places the origins and development of these philosophical foundations in their historical and socio-political contexts. A range of philosophical, theoretical and applied texts are examined during the course of the module. View Theory and Method in Health Research on our Module Directory You undertake a dissertation of 40,000 words on a subject relevant to your specialist area of practice.Dissertation workshops are held throughout the academic year which will help you to select a topic for your dissertation and provide guidance on writing up your research. View Health and Social Care - Research on our Module Directory

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Teaching

• Taught modules underpin your research activities and meet identified deficits within your knowledge base
• Create two portfolios of learning chronicling the development of expert practice
• Portfolios are constructed from the specialist application of generic outcomes in areas such as risk and diagnostic reasoning
• Portfolios are submitted at the end of year one and year two

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Dissertation

• Undertake a dissertation of 40,000 words on a subject relevant to your specialist area of practice