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    MMedSci
    2024 start September 

    Advanced Clinical Practice (Neonatal)

    School of Allied Health Professions, Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health

    Play a leading role in caring for newborn babies, and expand your clinical knowledge and practical skills in neonatal care.
    Postgraduate on the Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner course

    Course description

    This course allows you to expand the role you play in neonatal care and the support you provide for newborn babies. It is designed to build on the experience you have from working in neonatal care to become an advanced clinical practitioner in this area. The course can be taken as a standard degree programme or apprenticeship.

    You will cover all four pillars of advanced practice: clinical practice, leadership and management, education, and research. You will gain advanced skills in anatomy, history taking and clinical examination, develop your understanding of evidence-based practice, learn how to deal with complex clinical situations and improve services, and cover the training necessary to become an independent prescriber.

    The programme is designed for working healthcare professionals. It is led by a multidisciplinary team of academics and practitioners who are experienced in supporting mature and distance learners. You will combine your university studies with work-based learning under the supervision of a local mentor who can support and assess your knowledge, skills and capabilities.

    Applying

    All applications for 2024 entry must be received by 1 August. 

    It can take up to six weeks for an offer to be made. Please do not contact us for a decision before this time has passed.

    Before you complete your application, please ensure you have been interviewed and secured a trainee ACP post as this will ensure you have the correct funding and supervision in place.

    After this, you will receive a link to a University of Sheffield online application form and be asked to download and complete our ACP admissions checklist. Your completed checklist and all required information should then be uploaded to the application form for your programme. Failure to do this will mean your application can not be considered.

    If you are applying for the Advanced Clinical Practice apprenticeship route, which is a part-time integrated three-year degree apprenticeship masters programme,  ACP apprentices must ensure they are employed by their organisation for a minimum of 30 hours per week to undertake a job with training to recognised industry standards

    HCPC registrants can also apply if they already hold the independent prescriber qualification.

    HEE 4 Pillars (Professional Framework)

    Do you have a question? Talk to us

    Book a 15-minute online meeting with our programme lead to find out more information and ask further questions.

    Book an appointment with Elizabeth Mills  or email the ACP team at hss-acpcourse@sheffield.ac.uk.

    Accreditation

    This programme is accredited by the NHS Centre of Advancing Practice. It will make you eligible to be listed on the Advanced Practice Directory and work as an advanced clinical practitioner in neonatal care.

    Modules

    A selection of modules are available each year - some examples are below. There may be changes before you start your course. From May of the year of entry, formal programme regulations will be available in our Programme Regulations Finder.

    Neonatal Episode Management

    The clinical focus of this module is designed to enable students to integrate the knowledge gained through completion of the Advanced Neonatal Practitioner Foundation module into their clinical practice. This will enable the trainee to develop capability as a neonatal practitioner and provide a robust base for transition to an advanced level of practice.
    The module is designed to enable trainees to integrate knowledge gained through completion of the Evidence Based Practice and Advanced Neonatal Practitioner Foundation modules into clinical practice. Trainees will be working at neonatal practitioner level, but will start to develop advanced skills and knowledge which will be developed further in successive modules.

    15 credits
    Advanced Neonatal Clinical Assessment

    This module is designed to provide qualified healthcare professionals working with neonates with the theoretical knowledge and core skills underpinning advanced neonatal practice. It will provide students with the relevant underpinning anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology knowledge to gain mastery in their role. The module focuses on the acquisition of in depth bioscience knowledge and how this relates to the clinical conditions frequently seen in newborn infants and the development of core clinical skills.

    30 credits
    Evidence Based Practice (Online)

    This unit is designed to enable the student to consider sources of knowledge that impact on the development of health and social care practices. The nature of evidence and the skills of searching, retrieval, appraisal, utilisation, dissemination and implementation of evidence will be conceded in the light of health and social care service efficacy. A variety of teaching and learning strategies will be offered to facilitate the development of the knowledge and skills required for evaluation of evidence in practice, culminating in the development of a defensible proposal to support practice/service enhancement.

    15 credits

    The content of our courses is reviewed annually to make sure it's up-to-date and relevant. Individual modules are occasionally updated or withdrawn. This is in response to discoveries through our world-leading research; funding changes; professional accreditation requirements; student or employer feedback; outcomes of reviews; and variations in staff or student numbers. In the event of any change we'll consult and inform students in good time and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption.

    Open days

    An open day gives you the best opportunity to hear first-hand from our current students and staff about our courses.

    Find out what makes us special at our next online open day on Wednesday 17 April 2024.

    You may also be able to pre-book a department visit as part of a campus tour.Open days and campus tours

    Duration

    3 years, part-time

    Teaching

    You will learn through lectures, skills workshops, simulations, seminars, case-based discussions, supervised clinical practice, tripartite reviews and reflection.

    Assessment

    You will be assessed through case presentations, reports, examinations including objective structured clinical exams (OSCEs), presentations, essays and a specialist electronic portfolio.

    Your career

    After successfully completing your course, there are a wide variety of roles you can pursue, including:

    • Nurse consultant
    • Research nurse
    • Matron
    • University teacher
    • Patient transport lead

    Past students have gone on to work in a variety of health settings such as the NHS, The Resuscitation Council and the Department of Health, as well as UK universities.

    Entry requirements

    You will:

    • have a minimum 2:2 undergraduate honours degree in nursing or midwifery which is regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council
    • have a minimum of a grade 4/C in GCSE English Language and Maths or equivalent (please upload evidence of this to your application)
    • be a qualified UK-registered healthcare professional, working in the pathway-specific area for a minimum of two years
    • hold a current relevant employment contract in the pathway-specific setting for the duration of the programme for a minimum of 30 hours per week
    • be able to provide evidence of support from a manager and a lead consultant/general practitioner

    We also consider a wide range of international qualifications:

    Entry requirements for international students

    Overall IELTS score of 7 with a minimum of 6.5 in writing and a minimum of 7 in each other component.

    If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the department.

    Fees and funding

    Apprenticeship route

    Full funding for the cost of the apprenticeship programme fee is available for levy-paying employers (up to the relevant funding cap).

    Partial funding for the cost of the apprenticeship programme fee is available for non levy-paying employers (up to the relevant funding cap). The government will fund up to 90 per cent of the apprenticeship programme fees

    MMedSci

    Apply

    To apply for this course, you must have been interviewed for and secured a trainee advanced clinical practitioner post. After this, you will receive a link to a University of Sheffield online application form and further instructions to complete your application.

    Contact

    ahpnm-enquiries@sheffield.ac.uk
    +44 114 222 2030

    Any supervisors and research areas listed are indicative and may change before the start of the course.

    Our student protection plan

    Recognition of professional qualifications: from 1 January 2021, in order to have any UK professional qualifications recognised for work in an EU country across a number of regulated and other professions you need to apply to the host country for recognition. Read information from the UK government and the EU Regulated Professions Database.