MSc Professional Clinical Practice

Overview

Course Length:Up to 6 Years Part-Time
Start Dates:February 2017, September 2017, February 2018
Department:Faculty of Health and Social Care
Location:Edge Hill University
University Hospital Aintree
  • Apply independent and advanced thinking to modern policy and practice initiatives in health and social care;
  • Gain a critical understanding of the research methodologies and evidence-based practice which contribute to the ever changing health and social care environment;
  • Tailor the programme to your individual needs and study at your own pace.

This MSc in Professional Clinical Practice has been designed to enable graduate nurses and health and social care practitioners to choose an academic pathway suited to their individual employability and practice. The programme is an ideal foundation for potential practice development roles, academic teaching, management, leadership, a career in research of further study at PhD level. With only two core elements, which prepare you for and immerse you in research, there is extensive scope to devise a programme tailored to your individual needs and other commitments.

Faculty of Health and Social Care

Course in Depth

What will I study?

The programme consists of 100 credits of core modules and 80 credits of option modules. The core modules introduce you to the research process and allow you to develop a research proposal and complete a dissertation.

The flexible nature of the programme allows you to choose from a variety of potential subject areas for your option modules. For example, you will have the opportunity to explore themes such as leadership, mental health, clinical supervision, public health, health promotion or learning disabilities.

How will I study?

This MSc is delivered through lectures, workshops, seminars, group work and critical debates. The aim is to provide a framework to underpin the development of critical thinking and sharing in the learning process. The approach varies between modules and will often incorporate blended learning, where face-to-face sessions are supported by the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

How will I be assessed?

Assessment methods vary according to the demands of the module but can be through assignments, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations, portfolios, seminar presentations and work-based learning projects. All of your assessed work can be focused on your own specific areas of interest.

Who will be teaching me?

Edge Hill University enjoys an excellent reputation for teaching quality. The teaching team comprises staff from the Faculty of Health and Social Care and the Evidence Based Practice Research Centre. You will be taught by experts in professional clinical practice who publish in international journals and present at national and international conferences.

A Great Study Environment

The Faculty of Health and Social Care is one of the leading providers of education and training for health and social care professionals in the North West of England.

Offering some of the best facilities for health and social care students in the country, the innovative £14m Faculty of Health and Social Care building provides outstanding teaching and learning resources, including leading edge clinical skills facilities, ten teaching rooms, an 860-seat lecture theatre and a number of social learning spaces.

The faculty is home to a thriving research culture which includes a series of staff and student conference programmes, guest lectures and seminars, as well as active research groups.

Modules

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HEA4034 Negotiated Learning Shell (20 credits)

Negotiated Learning Shell provides an opportunity for you to study a topic or work related issue at Masters level. It involves you identifying the chosen area for study before developing and negotiating a learning contract, which will outline the what, how, when, where and why of the study period as well as the means of assessment to showcase the acquired learning.

HEA4045 Research: The Development of a Research Proposal (20 credits)

Research: The Development of a Research Proposal introduces you to the research process. The module will cover the philosophical fundamentals of both quantitative and qualitative traditions and a range of research methodologies. You will develop a proposal that will demonstrate your ability to plan a small-scale empirical project in your chosen discipline and demonstrate awareness of the theoretical and practical implications of undertaking such a study.  The online content that you will experience during this module is designed to encourage online group interaction as well as independent learning.

HEA4081 Dissertation for Health and Social Care Professionals (60 credits)

Dissertation for Health and Social Care Professionals enables you to focus upon a significant piece of investigative enquiry from conceptualisation through to completion. Within this module, ‘research’ is interpreted as including empirical research involving qualitative and/or quantitative methods, service evaluation, clinical audit, systematic review or a negotiated investigative enquiry unique to your own field of specialism, for example historical/archival research. The subject chosen will reflect (and be directly relevant to) an identifiable area of the programme’s curriculum content and will be negotiated and agreed with the course team.

You will select  a further 80 credits of modules from the Faculty of Health and Social Care CPD portfolio.

Optional modules provide an element of choice within the programme curriculum. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by timetabling requirements.

For more information about each module, including the dates and times of module sessions, please visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/cpdmodules.

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our published course information, however our programmes are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may necessitate alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses.

Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of accrediting bodies, revisions to subject benchmarks statements, to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.

Entry Criteria

Entry Requirements

The normal minimum requirement is a lower second class honours degree in a health or social care subject. Since the focus for the programme is to link theory to practice, you are expected to have access to a suitable working environment. All applicants will be offered an academic interview.

Recognition of Prior Learning

Edge Hill University recognises learning gained elsewhere, whether through academic credit and qualifications acquired from other relevant courses of study or through recognition of an individual’s professional and employment experience (also referred to as ‘experiential learning’).

Previous learning that is recognised in this way may be used towards meeting the entry requirements for a programme and/or for exemption from part of a programme. It is your responsibility to make a claim for recognition of prior learning. For guidance, please consult the University’s Recognition of Prior Learning Policy and contact the faculty in which you are interested in studying.

Career Prospects

What are my career prospects?

On successful completion of the programme you will become proficient, creative and innovative in analysing and evaluating perspectives in health and social care practice.

You will have the knowledge and expertise to function at an advanced level within the contemporary political, social and economic environment, able to develop strategies for quality enhancement in both role and service development.

Finance

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees for part-time study on this MSc are:

  • £31 per credit for UK and EU students enrolling on the programme in academic year 2016/17, i.e. £620 per 20 credit module;
  • £32 per credit for UK and EU students enrolling on the programme in academic year 2017/18, i.e. £640 per 20 credit module.

180 credits are required to complete a Masters degree. Please note, the University may administer a small inflationary rise in part-time postgraduate tuition fees in subsequent academic years as you progress through the course.

Financial Support

For comprehensive information about the financial support available to eligible UK and EU students joining postgraduate courses at Edge Hill University, together with details of how to apply for potential funding, please view our Money Matters guide for your intended year of entry.

Apply

How to Apply

Apply directly to Edge Hill University.

Download the Health and Social Care Professional Development pathway application form (pdf) and notes for guidance (pdf).

Should you accept an offer of a place to study with us and formally enrol as a student, you will be subject to the provisions of the regulations, rules, codes, conditions and policies which apply to our students. These are available at www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentterms.

Get in Touch

If you have any questions about this programme, please contact:

If you would like to talk to the programme leaders about the course in more detail, please contact:

or

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Course Changes

This page outlines any material changes to course content, programme structure, assessment methods, entry criteria, and modes of study or delivery, implemented since 1st September 2015.

No material changes have been made to the information for this course since 1st September 2015. Any future amends will be tracked here.