Program Overview

Overview

This course is aimed at registered healthcare professionals working in an acute secondary care setting. It will assist you in gaining the competences required for the assessment, care and management of the acutely ill individual. Through examining current evidence and developments in this field of care, you will have an opportunity to develop your knowledge and understanding of the pathophysiological effects of acute illness or traumatic injury.

Key Features

• This course was designed and validated in conjunction with local employers and aims to develop you academically as well as clinically.
• You will be taught by experienced acute and critical care practitioners, some of whom have current and on-going clinical practice. Guest speakers with current clinical expertise will also contribute to the teaching.
• This course will develop/enhance your life-long learning and prospects of career progression.
• You will have opportunity to develop your understanding through simulation-based learning.
• Your studies will focus on developing your knowledge and applying skills with a multi-disciplinary perspective.

Teaching and Assessment

You will be taught through a series of lectures, tutorials, simulation-based learning and guided study, which will be supported by the University's virtual learning environment. Assessment will include the submission of a portfolio and a simulated clinical examination. Your module specification/course handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria applying to your course.

Entry Requirements

Entry requirements for this course are normally:

• Be a registered healthcare professional with at least 12 months post registration employment.
• Be experienced working within an acute healthcare setting.
• Have either an Honours degree, have studied at Honours level or can demonstrate appropriate knowledge and skills at Honours degree standard. If you are not registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and if your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent.

Start Dates and Duration

• Start date: 22 September 2025
• Duration: 12 weeks, part-time
• Credits: 30 Masters level credits
• Code: HMH2020

Fees and Finance

• Tuition Fees - part-time: In 2025/26 the part-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate students on this course will be £740 (Band 2) per 15 credit module and £1,480 (Band 2) per 30 credit module.
• Tuition fees for UK students will cover the cost of your study at the University. For more information about funding, fees and finance for UK students, including what your tuition fee covers, please see our Fees and Finance.

Career Support

This short course may assist you to meet the specialist skills and post registration development requirements stipulated by your employer/professional regulator.

Research Excellence

Our researchers carry out work that makes a real difference to people's lives:

• We are in the top 50 UK universities for Research Power.
• Three quarters of all our research is world leading and internationally excellent.
• Over 60% of our research environment was classified as world leading and internationally excellent, especially in Music, Biological Sciences, Architecture and Built Environment, Social Work and Social Policy, History and Communication and Media Studies.

Student Support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey.

Changes to Courses

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.

Accreditations and Professional Links

Previous graduates from courses in this subject area have gone on to work in a variety of roles such as Adult nurse, Children's nurse, Health play specialist, Health visitor, High intensity therapist, Learning disability nurse, Mental health nurse, Midwife, Paramedic, Physician associate.

Further Study

You may also be interested in other courses such as Acute Care PgCert, Emergency Care PgCert, Health Studies MSc, Critical Care - Knowledge and Skills (Stage 2), Critical Care - Advanced Knowledge and Skills (Stage 3).