Community Specialist Practitioner (Children's Nursing) Postgraduate Diploma
1 year Full Time | September Start

This module will facilitate your development of the knowledge and skills required for safe and effective prescribing from a legally specified UK formulary. Successful completion of all components of the module will lead to the achievement of a recordable prescribing qualification with your regulatory body (NMC or HCPC). The subject areas you will study include assessing the patient and considering prescribing options, pharmacology for prescribing and de-prescribing, legal and regulatory frameworks, providing information, reaching shared decisions, monitoring and reviewing treatments, prescribing safely, professionally and as part of a team and improving prescribing practice.

This module offers 30-credits at level 7. It is part of a post-qualifying, Postgraduate Diploma, Community Specialist Practitioner Qualification (with pathways) (District Nursing, Community Children’s Nursing, General Practice Nursing or Adult Social Care Nursing). This module is available to full-time and part-time students undertaking the Specialist Practitioner Qualification (SPQ). This module is focused on leadership, specific to your area of clinical practice. It allows you to apply and relate what you learn in the classroom to your academic assessment by giving opportunity to explore an area of contemporary community specialist practice. During the module you will learn how to lead an audit in your area of specialist practice. Drawing on the findings of the audit, you will create a poster for presentation. The poster will outline a service improvement. As you complete the audit you will learn about the application of leadership theory, into practice. You will also gain knowledge about the development of sustainable practice-based interventions and the principles of risk stratification, that would improve health outcomes for your population. As Community Specialist Practitioners are required to demonstrate a proactive, autonomous approach to their practice, presenting the service improvement will enable you to develop knowledge, understanding and skills about directly influencing practice in a positive way within your discipline. Developing skills to recognise the need for action, entrepreneurship and innovation in public health practice, you will learn techniques to lead, influence and challenge stakeholders and services relating to health policies that affect your specialist area of practice.



At the end of the module the focus of your learning, through leadership, will be fundamental to the promotion of specialist practice within your pathway (District Nursing, Community Children’s Nursing, General Practice Nursing or Adult Social Care Nursing). This means opportunity to improve the health and well-being of individuals, families, communities, and populations, allowing you to demonstrate real-life application of your developing leadership skills. Each specific pathway encounters a range of real-world situations requiring leadership expertise, demonstration of sound judgement and skills to manage unpredictable circumstances. Specific to your field of practice in bespoke sessions, you will explore these in significant context in order to develop your knowledge and confidence which will be demonstrated in your pathway specific leadership role. You will also benefit from collaborative working with students from other pathways, allowing for integrated approaches to problem solving and managing complex decision making.

This module focuses on advanced clinical skills assessment in community specialist practice and is a core module for those students undertaking the community specialist practice qualification- Community Children’s Nursing. You will be supported to strengthen and develop your knowledge base in relation to conducting, interpreting, and evaluating complex health and social care needs for babies, children, and young people, working in partnership with their families, drawing upon principles of person and family centred care.

You will develop your practice in addressing the physical and psychosocial dimensions within clinical assessment, taking into consideration epidemiology, community demography and social determinants of health and illness. Advanced communication skills will be developed, and you will be supported to apply strategies with developmental consideration of babies, children, and young people, enabling them and their families to make informed choices about their care.

The module will have a distinct focus on common as well as complex conditions encountered when caring for babies, children, and young people. Teaching will adopt a body systems approach with a range of seminars, practical workshops, tutorials, lectures (Online Supported Learning OSL packages), and tutor guided learning, with sessions focusing specifically on conditions, examining the physiology, pathophysiology, and relevant pharmacology, as identified in the co-production of this module with our stakeholders and employing partners. In addition, you will have the opportunity to understand the application of genomics and epigenetics in informing person and family centred care.

You will develop your autonomous practice and ability to lead, and manage whole episodes of care for babies, children, young people, and their families, understanding when to admit, discharge or refer as appropriate. You will have the opportunity to advance your specialist knowledge, critical thinking, and decision-making skills, undertaking comprehensive clinical assessments, focusing on practice-based scenarios. Similarly, you will be supported to analyse a range of informatics, including clinical investigations, to assist your assessment and diagnosis, distinguishing between normal and abnormal findings across the differing needs and age ranges of babies, children, and young people. You will also demonstrate your ability to accurately document your findings, identifying pertinent clinical and care solutions and effectively communicate these appropriately within the inter-professional team as well as to babies, children, young people, and families.

Recognising the increasing complexity, mortality and morbidity of children’s health this module will explore the evidence base in supporting babies, children, young people (BCYP)and their family/ carers. The impact of health inequalities will be acknowledged as will the importance of needs assessment at individual, community and population levels recognising the complexity and diversity of contemporary society.



You will develop your knowledge and competence in caring for BCYP from early diagnosis, through to palliative and end of life care, spanning a range of life threatening and life limiting conditions. You will learn the essential elements that contribute to recognising, responding, and improving the care for them and their families, including your role as care co-ordinator and the skills required to facilitate this effectively.



You will understand the importance of being able to recognise, assess and respond to BCYP with a palliative condition, demonstrating the importance of advanced care planning and difficult conversations. The complexities and importance of a multidisciplinary team approach in the assessment, diagnosing, management and ongoing support for BCYP and their family, friends, or carers will be explored including referral to specialist services (primary, acute, mental health, social, private and voluntary care sectors).



You will develop your decision-making using evidence-based assessment tools and consultation methods to ensure that BCYP receive individualised care and support based upon their need and individual choices and opinions



Therefore, you will develop an awareness of the impact that contemporary policy and practice drivers have and how these influence health and social care delivery.

The module introduces you to research methods which assist you to transform current and contemporary Community Specialist Practice across all Specialist Pathway Qualification (SPQ) pathways. You will develop the ability to interpret and apply critical knowledge and appreciation of epidemiological research and contemporary health policy as appropriate. You will evaluate specialist practice, using data, analysis and synthesis from evidence related to your area of specialist practice. Each pathway reflects specific complexity and need, which will be explored throughout the module in field-specific sessions dedicated to exploring your specific pathway. This learning will continuously link to your pathway in all delivered sessions. You will learn to determine strategies to critique, evaluate and disseminate evidence and research from local, national, and international sources which contribute to global innovation and improve the health of people, communities, and services. You will learn how to identify gaps in evidence and plan to address health inequalities through innovation that improves health and well-being. You will identify social structural factors from empirical and narrated data, which influence health and promote sustainable development and intervention goals. You will utilise and effectively participate in critique of evidence and research strategy across interdisciplinary and interagency teams to address public health priorities and evaluate interventions. In addition, you will generate new theory by applying evidence and data from research and policy to promote health and prevent ill health across the life course, applying an evidence-based approach to optimise public health outcomes. Finally, you will learn how to disseminate evidence from research and evaluation, sharing outcomes and lessons learnt locally, nationally, and globally in clinical practice through professional networks and peer reviewed processes.

Academic skills when studying away from your home country can differ due to cultural and language differences in teaching and assessment practices. This module is designed to support your transition in the use and practice of technical language and subject specific skills around assessments and teaching provision in your chosen subject. The overall aim of this module is to develop your abilities to read and study effectively for academic purposes; to develop your skills in analysing and using source material in seminars and academic writing and to develop your use and application of language and communications skills to a higher level.

The topics you will cover on the module include:

• Understanding assignment briefs and exam questions.
• Developing academic writing skills, including citation, paraphrasing, and summarising.
• Practising ‘critical reading’ and ‘critical writing’
• Planning and structuring academic assignments (e.g. essays, reports and presentations).
• Avoiding academic misconduct and gaining credit by using academic sources and referencing effectively.
• Listening skills for lectures.
• Speaking in seminar presentations.
• Presenting your ideas
• Giving discipline-related academic presentations, experiencing peer observation, and receiving formative feedback.
• Speed reading techniques.
• Developing self-reflection skills.
• Discussing ethical issues in research, and analysing results.
• Describing bias and limitations of research.