Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Advanced Clinical Practice

This course is designed to increase your employability across a range of healthcare settings.

Providing the theoretical underpinning and practice base to enable health care professionals to deliver safe and effective autonomous care, this course will prepare you to work at a senior clinical decision making level.

Consistent with national guidance, this structured professional development course will enable non-medical clinicians to undertake a full systems examination (child and adult) and to develop the knowledge and skills to clinically and critically interpret results of tests and investigations.

A flexible, modular structure allows you to study over a three year period starting with the PG Certificate, then progressing to the PG Diploma and then going on to the full MSc.

Taught by senior practising clinicians and health care professionals, this is an interactive programme where you will learn through seminars, group work and individual study.


Who is the course for?

This course is designed for people from a range of professional backgrounds including nursing, physiotherapy, paramedic practitioners, pharmacists and other health professionals working in primary care, community care, and secondary care settings.

Applicants who have successfully completed a non-medical prescribing course at another UK HEI and have registered this qualification with their professional body will automatically be granted Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) of 40 CATS points towards the Independent and Supplementary Prescribing module in year 2. Applicants will be required to provide original evidence of their qualification and professional registration of this qualification.

Course content:

The course is modular and organised in blocks of study lasting between one and five days at a time, which can be consecutive days within the same week or spread out over several weeks.

PG Certificate (60 CATS points):

PG Diploma (120 CATS points): The PG Certificate modules above plus:

MSc (180 CATS points): The PG Certificate and Diploma modules above plus:

Most modules can also be taken as a standalone Postgraduate Award.

Optional modules

Entry requirements:

Applicants should:

- be 4 years post qualification/registration.
- be in a clinical post at Band 6 or above in a trainee ACP post or similar
- have current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council or Health Care Professionals Council
- hold a BSc degree at 2nd class level, or evidence of Level 7 study.

Those without the academic qualifications will have a telephone interview with the course director for a special case request to be made.

English language requirements: Band A with specific component scores of 6.5 in reading and writing.

Teaching methods:

This is an interactive programme. You will learn through lectures and seminars, practical group work and guided reading. This programme is delivered by a blended learning approach which will include a mixture of face to face and online learning. You will benefit from guided discussions and have the opportunity to practice the skills you have learnt during the sessions.

Assessment:

Assessment for each module can be seen by looking at the relevant module page but typically consists of written essays of 3000-4000 words, a portfolio and/or an Objective Structured Long Examination Record (OSLER). The Professional Project is assessed by 4,000 word project report and a poster presentation.

Student profiles

Student profile: Ian

Student profile: Eoin

 

Key Facts

Contact:

Eva Mussio / Claire Runaghan / Evon Conway

Tel: 024 765 74263

Course director
Samantha McDonnell
Deputy Course director
Rebecca Johnson

Duration
MSc: 3 years part time
PG Dip: 2 years part time
PG Cert: 1 year part time

Location of study: University of Warwick

THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL FOR 2023/2024 AND APPLICATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR 2024/2025 ENTRY.

Please note: the MSc route is appropriate if you are funded by your Trust or by HEE, or if you are self-funding. If your Employer is considering the Apprenticeship levy, the application process is different and you or your Employer will need to contact the Apprenticeship team, in the first instance.

How to apply for the MSc route

In order to apply for the Apprenticeship route, please follow the link Apprenticeship ACP

Fees

Scholarships


Case studies

Read interviews with our course director and one of our Advanced Clinical Practice students to find out more about the course