Program Overview

Investigations and Management of Epilepsy University Certificate in Professional Development

Overview

This program is designed to equip healthcare professionals with advanced expertise in diagnosing, investigating, treating, and managing patients who present with first seizures, epilepsy, or blackouts.

Course Details

What You Study

• Basic anatomy and physiology of the brain
• What is epilepsy?
• Classification of epilepsy
• History taking and patient assessment
• Investigations in the assessment and management of epilepsy
• Management of first seizures
• Treatment
• Key pharmacological medications used within epilepsy
• Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS)
• Epilepsy surgery
• Emergency management of seizures and status epilepticus
• Learning/intellectual disability and epilepsy
• Epilepsy and mental health
• Safety
• SUDEP
• Contraception, preconception, and pregnancy
• Transition
• Epilepsy – a primary care perspective
• Epilepsy – an emergency care perspective
• An introduction to blackouts
• Basic ECG
• Transient loss of consciousness – a neurology perspective
• Transient loss of consciousness – a cardiology perspective
• Dissociative seizures and functional neurological disorder
• DVLA guidelines
• Case studies

How You Learn

This 30-credit Level 7 module is delivered in-person, offering an immersive learning experience on-campus. Delivered over two blocks of study, with a five-day block, followed by a three-day block five months later. The first runs from Monday 24 March to Friday 28 March, and the second from Monday 15 September to Wednesday 17 September. This structure allows ample time to consolidate your knowledge and directly apply it in practice, ensuring a meaningful and impactful learning experience. These structured teaching weeks provide a focused opportunity to deepen your expertise, making this module an impactful part of your professional development. You are taught through seminars led by neurology specialists directly from clinical practice. You also take part in scenario-based learning, giving you hands-on experience with real-world cases. After the first teaching block, you apply what you've learned in your own practice. When you return for the second block, the learning continues with more advanced teaching, including OSCE-based scenarios, ensuring you leave with the knowledge and practical skills to excel in your field.

How You Are Assessed

You are assessed by two components, and you need to pass both.

• Component 1: a 1,000-word written assignment (mock article).
• Component 2: a multi-stationed observed structured clinical examination (OSCE) and oral exam, which you complete at the end of the second block of study.

Entry Requirements

• You should have 120 credits at degree level or equivalent.
• You should be a qualified healthcare professional currently practising and working with patients within a neurology or epilepsy environment with access to appropriate work-based conditions to develop and apply your knowledge and skills from the module.

Employability

This program enhances your professional skills and knowledge, making you more competitive in your field.

Part-time Entry

• Fee for applicants: £1,282.50
• Length: 26 weeks
• Block delivery
• Start date: September and March
• Level: Master's
• Credits: 30

Service User and Carer Involvement

Service users and carers support all aspects of our students' lifecycle from recruitment to graduation.