Program Overview

Practice Enhancement for Quality Healthcare NU6302

Course Fact File

• Code: NU6302
• Teaching Mode: Part-Time
• Fees: €900
• Closing Date: 02/12/2025
• Course Delivery Method: Online
• Venue: Delivered fully on-line; students do not attend workshop dates.
• Credits: 10
• Start Date: 05/01/2026

Outline

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

• Critically review the process of quality improvement and its application to clinical practice.
• Conduct an audit on an aspect relevant to clinical practice.
• Disseminate results to clinical teams in conjunction with Quality Office, Director of Nursing, or Quality and clinical Team.
• Identify actions required to close the quality loop.
• Critically reflect on the process of enhancing the contribution of nursing to the delivery of patient care.
• Develop and demonstrate critical faculties through advanced reflection skills.
• Critically reflect on the process of introducing and evaluating nursing care initiatives at ward, unit or inter-departmental level.
• Evaluate and reflect on the effectiveness of various nursing strategies which can be used to advance practice.
• Demonstrate vision of professional practice that can be developed beyond scope of practice.

Module Objective

To enable the nurse to apply critical theoretical insights to the enhancement of quality Nursing and healthcare practice.

Module Content

Quality enhancement in nursing, continuous quality improvement, stakeholder perspectives on quality health care, standard setting, performance monitoring, patient/client satisfaction with health services, quality and equity of provision, clinical quality, nursing audit. Linking theory and practice. Learning experiences planned on individual interests, with emphases on gaining in-depth skills and knowledge of the clinical role in nursing, the process of developing excellence and scholarship in nursing practice, description, analysis and synthesis of the practice domain of nursing, the process of enhancing the contribution of nursing to the delivery of care, action, strategies to improve nursing practice, practice innovation.

Additional Teaching Mode Information

Module runs from January 5th 2026 February 15th 2026

Teaching Method(s)

200hr(s) Other (Online Learning; Discussion Board Preparation and Participation, Required Reading, Assignment Preparation and Submission, Self-Directed Learning).

Compulsory Elements

Continuous Assessment.

Delivered fully on-line; students do not attend workshop dates.

Dates are subject to slight changes

Practicalities

Delivered fully on-line; students do not attend workshop dates.

Requirements

Applicants must satisfy the following to be eligible to apply:

• Applicants must be qualified healthcare professionals registered with the regulatory body in their country of residence.
• Applicants must have a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) or equivalent.

Note

In exceptional circumstances, applicants who do not fulfil this entry requirement may be recommended for entry to the programme under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) following a review of their individual qualifications and experience by the programme committee. Some such applicants may be invited for an interview to satisfy the selection committee of their suitability for the programme. Admission to such applicants will be subject to the approval of the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Technical Entry Requirements

To access and interact with the programme content, assignments and assessments etc. students will require reliable broadband and access to at least a PC/Laptop running Windows 7 or later and Mac OSX 10.7.4. Common plug-ins such as Microsoft Silverlight, Java and Flash will also be required. Students must have access to MS Office or an equivalent suite of applications such as Libre Office. They must also have access to a modern standards-compliant web browser. UCC recommends either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. To engage productively and successfully with the content, basic technical computer skills such as familiarity with word processing, web browsing and email are recommended.

Fees and Costs

€900