University Advanced Diploma Critical and/or Acute Care: Practice Development

Program Overview

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University Advanced Diploma - Critical and/or Acute Care: Practice Development

Overview

This course supports self-development while meeting the demands of the services in which you practice and national standards. The health care team supporting deteriorating acutely or critically ill adult in either the pre or in-hospital environment study this course to develop their practice and improve the service they provide to these complex vulnerable patients/service users.

Objectives

• Advance your academic and professional development through self-reflection and reflexivity.
• Develop complex, specialised knowledge and a critical awareness of issues at the forefront of your field of practice.
• Develop your knowledge and understanding of altered pathophysiology in the event of deterioration and/or critical illness to inform decisions and management plans.
• Develop in line with workforce needs, which supports the progression of staff in accordance with the standards set by professional, statutory and regulatory bodies.

What You Will Learn

Within your chosen pathway, you will develop your knowledge and understanding to support competent practice in patient assessment, monitoring, and management. The course explores the initial effects of acute deterioration and critical illness on body systems, exploring altered pathophysiology, while providing a degree of flexibility for you to meet their own learning needs and interests. You will complete specialist competencies to meet the needs of the appropriate patient group.

Modules

According to your work environment, you will be advised to follow a specific pathway that will best suit your learning, experience, and expected achievement. The pathways contain different modules to best suit the knowledge and understanding required according to your clinical environment.

Pathway Modules

• Acute Care Pathway
  • Foundations for Practice: Develop your skills around patient assessment, monitoring, and management.
  • Acute Care Contemporary Issues: The content of this module will be negotiated between you and the module leader. They will assist you in identifying key learning resources and strategies relating to the learning outcomes.
  • Optional module chosen from the CPD programme.
• Critical Care Pathway
  • Core Assessment and Monitoring of the Critically Ill Adult: Explore applied pathophysiology, assessment and monitoring of the critically ill adult and associated pharmacology, recovery from critical illness and support of patient and their families.
  • Critical Care: Contemporary Issues: Develop your theoretical knowledge and skills, following on from the completion of your Step 2 to Step 3 competencies to assess, manage and care for the complex critically ill adult. There are a number of specialist learning pathways available.
  • Work-based learning module: The work-based learning module supports the completion of your Step competencies in practice and underpinned by the theoretical content of the other two modules. This module runs for 2 semesters.

Teaching & Assessment

How You Will Learn

You will learn through multiple methods of teaching, experiences, and the use of available resources to support independent learning. Within your workplace, you will require a Practice supervisor (mentor) and a practice assessor to support application of theory to practice and sign off your agreed competencies to support the end assessment.

Each pathway is delivered slightly differently. Any sessions delivered will be recorded to enable students to access these sessions at an alternative time.

• Acute Care pathway: Delivered predominantly online asynchronously, using activities and feedback to develop your knowledge, and understanding of the acutely ill patient. There are with some synchronised sessions to support a learning community and interaction with your peers.
• Critical Care Pathway: Delivered online to support the geographical location of students, with occasional face-to-face teaching. Predominantly there are synchronised (live) sessions, using technology within Blackboard (a virtual learning platform), providing opportunity for keynote lectures with discussion and time for questions, group work, live discussion, and interaction with other students from similar critical care environments. Creating a shared learning environment and community.

Each pathway has a comprehensive reading list and resources available to the student to promote their learning experience. There will be an expectation of the students to participate in the activities providing peer feedback as requested to enhance the shared learning model. The delivery of the course content is by experienced lectures with extensive experience in acute and critical care environments.

How You Will Be Assessed

The process of assessment is clear and transparent across both pathways, using rubric marking grids to support the student in understanding the distribution of their grades. The process is moderated by secondary marking and external examiner review, before being processed and confirmed by the University Assessment Board.

To support progression to summative assessment all students will have opportunity for a formative assessment, unmarked but supported with comprehensive feedback from the module lead and at times peer feedback as part of this process of development towards assessment. Submission dates are clear and marked as per university regulations time frame.

• Acute Care pathway: Uses multiple methods of assessment, including interactive poster presentations and written assignments, based on agreed learning contracts which are specific to their optional module choice.
• Critical Care Pathway: Builds on the essential presentation and oral communication skills required for health care staff working in critical care environments. The Oral poster presentation is used in the initial modules, enabling the student to develop these skills and improve their grade going forwards.

The Completion of the Step 2 & 3 competencies as directed by the National Framework for Nurse Education in Critical Care is an essential element of assessment in practice for this pathway. Supported by a short written reflective account of their progression and development during the completion of their competencies.

Entry Requirements

Selection Criteria

Students wishing to study this course must be working 0.5 or more WTE in a critical care or acute care environment as a registered health care professional.

For the Critical Care Pathway, the student must have completed their Step 1 competencies in clinical practice, limiting the applicants to registered nurses only.

All students require the support of their employer, a named mentor/clinical supervisor/assessor in practice.

Start Dates

• Critical Care Pathway: January
• Acute Care Pathway: September

Fees and Funding

20 Credit Health Module Pricing

CPD Pricing structure

Tuition Fees Policy

Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.

Key Details

Tuition Fees

20 Credit Health Module Pricing

Minimum Entry Requirements

Evidence of previous academic study is required. For PG Cert Evidence of prior degree is required.

• Credits: 20
• Recruiting to: UK / RoI / Settled in UK
• Course Location: Carlisle - Fusehill Street, Lancaster, Online
• Institute: Institute of Health
• Delivery Style: Blended Learning
• Course Duration: Part-time: 2 Years
• Course Start Point: January, September
• Award: University Advanced Diploma