Advanced Clinical Practice MSc | Master's degree | Health & Well-Being | On Campus | 3-6 years | De Montfort University | United Kingdom

One of the major changes envisaged in the Five Year view and further developed in the 10 year Plan was the changing roles of Nurses, Midwives and Allied health professionals, essentially taking on roles that previously were the domain of medical staff. This has of course been happening for many years but numbers have increased significantly over recent times and with it a burgeoning desire to see standards set and the role clearly defined. There is unfortunately still no clear definition of what ‘advanced practice’ is and therefore the education and roles that the practitioner might be required to perform or undertake is also open to question. There is however clear support from all parties involved (across the UK) that the educational provision should be at Masters level; and ideally a full MSc. The Department of Health (DoH) and HEE have published curriculum guidelines pertaining to the content of ACP courses in an attempt to introduce some standardisation. The full MSc enhances the practitioner’s ability to appraise research, think critically, and prepares them to develop further beyond simply the role of an expert clinician. Our MSc Advanced Clinical Practice programme is designed to match the DoH and HEE guidelines, and future proof graduates in regards to possible credentialing or voluntary registration schemes in the future. This programme has also taken into account the needs of local stakeholders and the views of past and current students. We seek to develop: “Registered practitioners with an expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for expanded autonomous scope of practice, the characteristics of which are shaped by the context in which the individual practices. Demonstrable at Masters level and meets the education, training and CPD requirements for Advanced Clinical Practice” (HEEM, 2014) The advanced practitioner is characterised by high levels of skill, competence and autonomous decision making, at a perhaps hi