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MSc (PG Diploma entry) Specialist Practitioner Qualification (District Nursing)

  • Study Mode: Full Time
  • Location: High Wycombe
  • Duration: One Year
  • Start Date: January 2024
Are you ready to take your nursing career to the next stage? This master’s level course will build on your skills and experience in district nursing, to deepen your practice, and give you the leadership capabilities you need to excel in this field.
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Application guide

For information on how you can boost your career-prospects and apply for our postgraduate courses, follow our application guide.

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Postgraduate Open Days

Join us for a Postgraduate Open Day where you can discuss your options and chosen course with our course leaders.

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Fees and Funding

There’s a range of ways you can secure funding for your course, including sponsorship, scholarships and loans. And if you recently graduated from BNU, you may be eligible for a fee discount.

Why study this subject?

Approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the course covers all the key areas of contemporary district nursing practice, from mental health across the lifespan and long-term conditions, to effective caseload management and selfcare.

This course is for qualified nurses with a postgraduate diploma in nursing. You will be sponsored by a health organisation or trust and achieve a master’s, while gaining advanced skills and knowledge in an area of community nursing you want to specialise in.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

You will benefit from an excellent standard of teaching provided by staff from the University and practice, in partnership with our NHS Trust partners. As well as this you will be taught by lecturers who have a wide expertise in the field. Our lecturers also maintain close links with practice, ensuring that the programme is up-to-date with modern practice.

We offer continuous support throughout the programme, and you will receive personal tutoring and benefit from a high level of research within the teaching team. Your personal tutor will help guide you through your studies, support you with your academic development and give advice when needed.

Highly regarded by students and practice partners for our teaching in this area, BNU has a strong reputation for its health visitor and school nurse training. You will work with highly skilled academics, who have worked in the community – and spend 50% of your time in practice yourself, consolidating and deepening your understanding and skills.

What facilities can I use?

We have a range of state-of-the-art facilities for you to access, including our Nursing Simulation Labs, multistorey library and IT suites. Students will be able to access our full range of support services, including the Learning Development Unit for skills and study support, the Careers and Employability Team, Student Finance Team, Accommodation and Counselling Services.

What will I study?

Honing your critical thinking and leadership skills, you will learn to make better decisions, and be well equipped to lead large teams of nurses effectively in caring for patients in their own homes. You will also learn to take a more strategic view of community healthcare provision, drawing on the latest research, ideas and policy – as well as carrying out your own piece of research.

How will I be taught and assessed?

This course covers all the areas needed to meet the NMC professional requirements for district nurses.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

  • understand the complexities of working in a community setting
  • better appreciate strategic influences on policy
  • take a critical approach to nursing care in the community, with a strong emphasis on providing holistic, evidence-based care to patients in their homes
  • analyse how decisions about care are made, drawing on relevant research
  • work at the forefront of caring for patients with a range of healthcare needs.

The course makes use of a range of flexible learning and assessment approaches, to ensure you learn in the way that suits you best. We will be looking, in particular, at how well you apply the theory to your own nursing and leadership practice.

You will benefit from strong support throughout, with personal and link tutors at the University, and a practice teacher supporting you to learn in your trust.

As well as spending half your time in practice, case study-type simulations will allow you to explore the kind of issues you will face as a district nurse. You will also work closely with students from other community nursing courses at BNU, building your experience of working in a multi-professional way.

We will give you the support you need to complete your dissertation while you work in the field. The course will cover the whole research process from ethics approval to writing your final report – and you will investigate a topic important to your workplace.

By the end of the course, you will have developed the higher level of skills and knowledge you need to become a leader in this specialist field of nursing. Your e-portfolio will provide evidence of this, to validate your learning with the NMC.

Study this course full time for a year. You will spend two days a week at university and two days a week in practice.

MSc (Postgraduate Diploma Entry) Specialist Practitioner Qualification Programme Specification

What are the course entry requirements?

You need to be registered as a level 1 nurse on the appropriate part of the NMC register.

You also need to be working in UK clinical practice, so this course is just available to UK students.

Modules

This provides a guide of the modules that make up your course. You can find more information about how your course is structured on our Academic Advice section.

Year 1 Modules

Enhancing Specialist Community Practice (district nursing)

Innovation and Philosophical Enquiry in Practice

Critical Perspectives in Managing Complex Health Needs in the Community Setting. (optional)

Leading Innovative Healthcare in the Community Setting (optional)

Critical Issues in Mental Health Across the Lifespan. (optional)

Contemporary Issues in Community Palliative Care (optional)

Community Practitioner Nurse Prescribing V100 or Non-medical prescribing

Clinical Decision Making for Non - Medical Prescribing

Applied Pharmacology for NonMedical Prescribing

What are the tuition fees

Home

Home, Academic Year 2023 - 2024

£9,500 per year

Additional course costs and financial support

Most courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees.
You could benefit from financial support through a bursary or scholarship during your time as a student. For more details visit our financial support, bursaries and scholarships section.

Questions about fees?

If you have any questions about the fees above, contact our Enquiries team by calling 0330 123 2023 or emailing advice@bnu.ac.uk.

What are my career prospects? 

As a graduate of this course, you will be well equipped to advance your career as a team leader in district nursing. Your specialist skills and knowledge will also be sought after in areas such as managing community services, other management roles and teaching.

Course leader

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Sarah Thirtle
  • Senior Lecturer
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Annette Palmer
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Carole Trespaderne
Carole Trespaderne
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Susan Perryman
  • Senior Lecturer
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