• Realise your full theoretical and practice potential within clinical placements
• Work alongside a mentor or practice teacher to enhance your clinical skills
• Graduate with a greater understanding of a professional role so you can bring about integrated and high quality health and social care
• Develop specialist assessment, leadership and management skills.

The Specialist Practitioner role requires skills in negotiating, teaching and supporting patients and their carers’ whilst effectively collaborating with other agencies and services involved in enabling patient safety. The programme reflects the contemporary and future requirements for the Specialist Practitioner to ensure flexibility to respond to future strategic developments in community health.

The course is for qualified nurses who want to gain a professional qualification in district nursing or general practice nursing. For those who hold either a Diploma or Advanced Diploma in nursing studies, it will enable you to top up your qualification to degree level. If you already have a nursing degree then you can progress onto our MSc Community Specialist Practice.

Within primary care the role of the district nurse and general practice nurse is changing to reflect the needs of communities. There is a lot more emphasis on bringing care to patients so it is closer to their home environment. This means you will be keeping your professional development in line with latest health care guidelines.

By completing this course you'll be able to demonstrate a critical understanding of clinical practice, care and programme management, clinical practice leadership, and clinical practice development. Programme content around diagnostic reasoning in clinical practice supports the development of autonomy and safe practice for non-medical prescribing. We'll teach you in a variety of ways including lectures, workshops, seminars and group discussions. You'll be assessed through assignments, exams, presentations and the production of a practice portfolio. You'll also be assessed on your placement by your practice teacher.

Practice assessment will encompass clinical care, facilitation of learning, leadership and management, Evidence, research and development.

In order to study this course you'll need to apply for a place through a  sponsoring organisation so they can support you throughout your practice placements and provide you with a practice teacher. Without this, unfortunately we won't be able to offer you a place.

We’re proud to say that our courses are closely mapped against the health and social care sector. This ensures that our curriculum is up-to-date, providing you with the assurance that your learning is current and relevant. This does mean that we do have to respond to national changes such as government policy. As a result, some of the information about our courses may change. Please check the website for the latest information.

You'll complete a practice based project, work within a District Nursing Team and be taught by a range of lecturers with specialist qualifications and clinical practitioners from local employing organisations.