PGDip Community Nursing Specialist Practice Qualification (General Practice Nursing)

Students accessing this course are from a wide range of areas from within the West Midlands. Networking between students is encouraged and the extensive support offered to students is considered to be a strength of this course. Students are also visited individually in practice by a member of the course team to provide additional support.

The Practice Nursing course has a designated full time member of staff who acts as a course leader and who has expertise in the specific field of practice that the student is studying and as well as having experience of working as a practitioner in the same specialist area. In addition the award, course leader and course team have engaged in research, published books and journal articles within Practice Nursing.

Innovation on the course is strongly encouraged and Practice Nursing students have won the Innovation Award from the University of Wolverhampton.

On completion of the course you will:

• Have an understanding of the principles of Specialist Practice including the developments of Practice Nursing.
• Use theories of research and evidence based information to identify trends in health policy and the implications for health care and services.
• Help to promote health and wellbeing, influence policies and develop smooth effective health care services through partnerships and collaborative working.
• Be able to analyse, synthesise, evaluate and present information, constructing rational and logical arguments to support
• Practice competently and evaluate personal and professional performance as well as being able to organise and lead others.

Students must be NMC registered nurse (level 1) with at least one year’s post registration experience with relevant professional registration, capable of safe and effective practice at the level of proficiency appropriate to the NMC approved Community Nursing Specialist Practice Qualification (SPQ) programme.

Applicants must possess level 2/GCSE at grade C+/4 in an English based subject and math or equivalent. Applicants that do not meet this entry criteria will be signposted to the university’s GCSE equivalency tests. The minimum academic entry requirement is a first degree or the ability to study at academic level 7. •Applicants must provide an employer reference and evidence of either a full-time or part-time post (minimum 30 hours) with an appropriate primary care placement for the duration of the programme with support of the employer to provide the protected learning time to complete the programme. Self-funding and self-employed applicants must provide evidence of a suitable primary care placement for the duration of the programme. Applicants will be required to provide a signed declaration of good health and character signed by applicant and employer, in line with NMC Guidance (NMC 2019), this will be verified by the course lead and the admissions team during admission and recruitment process. Self-employed / self-funding applicants will be given the opportunity of applying for enhanced DBS through the university DBS team (nominal fee applies). As part of the SPQ programme you will be undertaking the NMC approved independent/supplementary (V300) prescribing programme, for this, applicants must have been registered with the NMC for a minimum of one year prior to application for entry onto the SPQ programme. You will also require an experienced prescriber with suitable equivalent qualifications for the programme who is willing to assess you for 90 hours of prescribing practice. Upon application you are requested to complete a Prescribing Entry Requirements form (PER) to verify eligibility. You will also require a practice assessor who is an experienced registered nurse with SPQ qualification to support you throughout the programme (in accordance with Standards for Supervision and Assessment, NMC 2018). You will need to provide the details of the practice assessor which will be verified by the course lead. • Recognition of prior learning (RPL) will be considered on an individual basis as per the University’s RPL guidance and professional regulation Standards for Post Registration Programmes (NMC, 2022).

"I decided to study the PG Dip in Specialist Community General Practice Nursing because I wanted to progress and expand my career opportunities. I also wanted to gain new skills and enhance my knowledge in my current profession.

For me, the modules I enjoyed the most were:

• Child brain development
• The importance of parenting
• Styles to help children and their future opportunities

For anybody thinking of a profession in nursing, my advice is go for it! It has its challenges but it is very rewarding and humbling. I finally feel like I am making a difference to children and their families.

Challenges I faced were balancing placement, assignments, pad documents and family life however, my tutors are amazing and supportive. From day one in induction, they provided us with support and there is loads of support on Canvas. Lecturers also support us with academic writing and how to search for credible data in information. The tutors offer 1-2-1 support and this has given me the reassurance and encouragement to complete my assignments on time, especially since I have a learning disability, they have really accommodated me."

- Leota Cadice Ward -

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a post-registration and CPD qualification.

Postgraduate Loyalty Discount:

You can get 20% discount on a taught postgraduate course if you’re a University of Wolverhampton Graduate.

The University offers a generous 20% Loyalty Discount to students progressing from an undergraduate programme to a taught postgraduate on-site programme, where both courses are University of Wolverhampton Awards.

There is no time limit on how long ago you completed your degree as long as this is your first Masters level qualification.

The discount applies to the first year of enrolment only. Students who receive a loyalty discount are not entitled to any further tuition discount or bursary. For full terms and conditions click here.

Self-funded:

If you are paying for the fees yourself then the fees can be paid in 3 instalments: November, January and April. More information can be found by clicking here.

Sponsored - Your employer, embassy or organisation can pay for your Tuition fees:

Your employer, embassy or organisation agrees to pay all or part of your tuition fees; the University will refer to them as your sponsor and will invoice them for the appropriate amount.

We must receive notification of sponsorship in writing as soon as possible, and before enrolment, confirming that the sponsor will pay your tuition fees.

Financial Hardship:

Students can apply to the Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund for help with course related costs however this cannot be used for fees or to cover general living costs.

Charitable Funding:

You might also want to explore the possibility of funding from charitable trusts. Please contact Association of Charitable Foundations, Directory of Social Change or Family Aid. Most charities and trust funds offer limited bursaries targeted to specific groups of students so you will need to research whether any of them are relevant to your situation.

You can find more information on the University’s Funding, cost, fee and support pages.

Telephone

01902 32 22 22

Email

enquiries@wlv.ac.uk

Online

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