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What makes the PGCert Enhanced Clinical Practitioner at Worcester special?

The PGCert Enhanced Clinical Practitioner course is designed to support you as an experienced health and care practitioner to develop skills in complex reasoning, critical thinking, and analysis. It will support you to begin a career as an Enhanced Clinical Practitioner, allowing you to further develop specific knowledge and skills in your field of expertise.

The programme is multi-professional and aimed at registrants who aspire to work at an enhanced level of practice, independently and autonomously within multidisciplinary teams within a wide range of settings, including hospitals, community clinics, individual’s homes and in dental and general practices.

*subject to approval

Overview

Overview

Key features

  • A highly blended learning approach combining on campus and work-based learning opportunities to build on existing knowledge and expertise to independently undertake holistic clinical assessments.
  • Online learning and independent study accessed through virtual learning platforms, to develop the required knowledge and skills for enhanced practice including pathophysiology, clinical reasoning, leadership, change and education.
  • Develop the skills to independently plan, deliver, monitor and evaluate complex care
  • Use your workplace to focus on an area of interest and design a learning project to promote innovative, evidence-based, complex care
  • An opportunity to learn alongside other professional groups and develop expertise within the multidisciplinary team.
Entry requirements

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

Prospective students will be required to have:

  • Hold an existing professionally regulated qualification e.g., NMC/HCPC, permitted to undertake the Enhanced Clinical Practitioner role
  • A lower second-class honours degree (2:2) in a health-related subject or equivalent qualification
  • Support from your employer to undertake the course or individual standalone modules
  • Completed declaration from you and your employer of satisfactory DBS

Other information

In some cases, an applicant may be required to attend for interview, this may by via attending in person, online or phone.

Students whose first language is not English will be expected to have reached a sufficient standard on admission to the programme (e.g. IELTS 6.5, with a minimum of 5.5 in each element, or equivalent).

It is essential that applicants have access to a PC, laptop, tablet or mobile device with a reliable internet connection.

Students being sponsored by their employer must provide evidence of employer approval and payment agreement.

If you have any questions, please contact the Admissions office on 01905 855111 or admissions@worc.ac.uk.

Course content

Course content

2024/25 modules

Please see below for the modules on offer.

Clinical assessment skills for enhanced practice

Module code: MECP3001

Credits: 15

Pathophysiology for enhanced practice

Module code: MECP4002

Credits: 15

Clinical reasoning for enhanced practice

Module code: MECP4003

Credits: 15

Leadership, Change and Education for Enhanced Practice

Module code: MECP4004

Credits: 15

This is a mandatory module.
Teaching and assessment

Teaching and assessment

Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and by feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Modules do therefore change periodically in the interests of keeping the course relevant and reflecting best practice. The most up-to-date information will be available to you once you have accepted a place and registered for the course.

Teaching

You are taught through a blended combination of online lecturers and interactive workshops and seminars, complemented by opportunity to complete enhanced clinical skills on campus, in our skills and simulation suites. Interactive workshops take a variety of formats and are intended to enable the application of learning through discussion and small group activities. Seminars enable the discussion and development of understanding of topics covered in lectures. You will also complete a range of online directed activities to support both online and on campus delivery.

In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least four occasions across the course. 

The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the independent learning capabilities that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement. A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support from Student Services and Library Services, and also the personal academic tutoring system enables you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will help you to flourish and be successful.

Your workplace will further support and enhance your learning and you will be supported to apply your learning to your current employed role. 

Contact time

You will typically complete 6 hours (one day) contact time per week during each module, which usually consists of 6 - 8 weeks. 75% of the taught sessions are delivered synchronously online and 25% on campus (MECP3001 only).

On a typical campus-based day, contact time will be structured around:

  • Lead lecture
  • Interactive workshop or clinical skills and simulation
  • Seminar or tutorials

On a typical day online day, contact time will be structured around:

  • Flipped classroom
  • Lead lecture available synchronously or asynchronously via the VLE
  • Virtual workshops, seminars, or tutorials
  • Asynchronous online discussion forum

You will also complete 30 hours of supervised clinical practice for MECP3001, over 9 weeks, equating to 3-4 hours per week.

Duration

The course will be delivered part-time over 12 months.

Timetables

Timetables are normally available one month before registration. Please note that whilst we try to be as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week; and some classes can be scheduled in the evenings.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes senior academics, professional practitioners with industry experience, demonstrators and technical officers.

Assessment

Each module has one or more formal or ‘summative’ assessments which are graded and count towards the overall module grade.

The precise assessment requirements for an individual student in an academic year will vary according to the mandatory and optional modules taken, but a typical formal summative assessment pattern for each year of the course is:

  • Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
  • Assessment of clinical competencies
  • Poster presentation
  • Case-based presentation and supporting paper
  • Negotiated work-based assessment.

You will receive feedback on practice assessments and on formal assessments Feedback is intended to support learning and you are encouraged to discuss it with personal academic tutors and module tutors as appropriate.

We will provide you with feedback on formal course work assessments within 20 working days of hand-in.

Careers

Careers

Students studying the PG Cert Enhanced Clinical Practitioner course, will already be experienced registered health or care professionals working in a health and care setting. Enhanced practice occurs in multiple settings including secondary, community, primary and social care.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023) highlights the future will see more health and care staff in enhanced roles. There are a wide variety of job titles for these roles, but they focus on staff who undertake complex work and manage day to day risk, including risks on behalf of, or with people. 

If you successfully complete the PG Cert Enhanced Clinical Practitioner, you will be able to use recognition of prior learning (RPL) to apply to complete the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice.

You will also be able to complete the PG Award in Professional Development Independent and Supplementary Prescribing.

Costs

Fees and funding

Part-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard tuition fees for part-time UK and EU students registering on the Enhanced Clinical Practice PGCert in the academic year 2024/25 are £750 per 15 credits and £1,500 per 30 credits for UK and EU students.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The standard tuition fees for part-time international students registering on the Enhanced Clinical Practice PGCert in the academic year 2024/25 are £1,450 per 15 credits and £2,900 per 30 credits for international students. 

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Additional costs

Every course has day-to-day costs for basic books, stationery, printing and photocopying. The amounts vary between courses.

If your course offers a placement opportunity, you may need to pay for an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Postgraduate loans

The Government will provide a loan of up to £12,471 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2024 per eligible student for postgraduate Masters study. It will be at your own discretion whether the loan is used towards fees, maintenance or other costs.

For more details visit our postgraduate loans page.
How to apply

How to apply

If you have any questions about applying, please contact the Admissions office on 01905 855111 or admissions@worc.ac.uk.

Please make your application via our online application form.

Apply part-time

Get in touch

Postgraduate Admissions Office

admissions@worc.ac.uk
01905 855111

Dr Helen Holder

Head of Department for Apprenticeships and CPD
h.holder@worc.ac.uk

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