General OverviewThe School of Health and Life Science is the largest in Scotland and has a portfolio of four-campus provision across West, South West and Central Scotland and works in partnership with 6 Health Boards (NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Highlands, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS The State Hospital) and key partners in the Private Sector, Independent Sector and Voluntary Organisations.
The MSc Adult nursing programme is a 2 year, full time programme and must be completed within 5 years in accordance with the NMC Standards for Pre-registration Nursing Education (NMC, 2010). This innovative post graduate programme is a major modification of the recently validated BSc adult 2012 curriculum. The programme was the result of collaborative working with NHS Partners, Alzheimer Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. The programme was designed with the expressed intention of maximising opportunities for students to experience a contemporary and flexible curriculum that reflects modern nursing.
The MSc Adult nursing programme produces post graduate nurses who are effective, competent and safe practitioners. They meet the requirements of a modern healthcare system, work in a multi-professional team and demonstrate leadership and management abilities. The programme is commensurate with the NMC Standards for Pre-registration Nursing Education (NMC, 2010), Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education statement for degree nursing (QAA, 2009) and Quality Assurance Agency Benchmark statements for MSc degree characteristics (QAA, 2010).
This programme has been prepared in accordance with the NMC (2010) Standards for Pre-registration Nursing Education and the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) Recognition of Prior Learning guidelines (RPL). Students with an appropriate degree can be awarded RPL if they can demonstrate relevant prior learning. This learning is mapped against the MSc Learning Outcomes and enables the full programme (3 years undergraduate) to be completed in a shorter time (2 years).
Post graduate students of the adult nursing field can competently meet the holistic healthcare needs of patients across the lifespan and in particular will have developed a high level of nursing expertise in the complex needs of adult patients. Pre-registration nursing as a benchmark has many similarities across the fields of adult nursing, mental health nursing, learning disabilities nursing and children's nursing. As a consequence generic approaches to all fields of nursing are represented in the adult nursing programme. Educationalists who are expert in their nursing field collaborate to ensure that student learning is of the highest quality and that professional standards are consistent across all nursing fields, thus ensuring that best practice is reflected in the nursing curriculum.
Patient autonomy is central to professional nursing practice and the design of learning, teaching and assessment strategies reflect the real life context of nursing. Holistic nursing care is directed by the NHS Scotland Quality Strategy (Scottish Government, 2010), is culturally sensitive. Students will be engaged in the theoretical evidence base of nursing and will be provided with access to a wide range of Practice Learning Experiences.
Aims of Post Graduate MSc Programme;
1. To prepare students who are fit for practice, award and employment.
2. To develop autonomous practitioners committed to personal development and lifelong learning. 3. To develop post graduate level decision making skills, critical thinking skills and the ability to engage with enquiry, evidence and research to influence adult nursing practice.
4. To profile adult nursing within a multi-professional/multi-agency framework and positively influence a collaborative approach to learning and the delivery of healthcare.
5. To equip students with enhanced employability skills and the ability to plan a career pathway in the context of a dynamic and evolving healthcare system.
6. To develop safe proficient and adaptable nurses who can facilitate person centred, values based nursing care considering the needs of the service user, carers and their families across the lifespan.
7. To develop specific skills, knowledge and understanding of interventions in adult nursing practice including holistic care, health promotion, team working and medicine management.
8. To foster a commitment to contemporary practice in adult healthcare and to enable students to critically examine the underpinning models, philosophies and theoretical frameworks in adult nursing.
9. To prepare students with the academic and research skills required for undertaking further post graduate studies including research at doctoral level.
During the programme the student will undertake a range of both theory and practice modules. All theoretical modules will be taught at Hamilton campus and assessed a SCQF Level 11. Practice Learning Experiences will generally be undertaken within the Health Board localities in which the student resides and students must acquire all of the NMC competencies in their chosen field of nursing by the end of the programme (NMC, 2010).
On successful completion of the programme, students will receive a MSc award and be eligible to enter the NMC Register as an Adult Nurse.
On completion of the programme, graduates will be equipped for further study in a variety of academic and clinical pathways. The following are an example of some further study/progression routes:- Master Degree by Research (MRes), Master of Philosophy (MPhil), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Professional Doctorate, MSc Gerontology, MSc Leading People Centred Integrated Care, MSc Forensic Mental Health, MSc Advanced Clinical Practitoner.
The MSc programme embraces students who have already completed a relevant undergraduate degree and are keen to build on their existing knowledge, skills and graduate attributes. The School's approach to the nursing programme is directed by the UWS Education and Enabling Plan (UWS 2015-2020) and is focused on optimising student engagement in learning and the development of personal growth and professional autonomy. The assessment strategy aims to support learning and has been designed to assess students' knowledge of nursing at SCQF Level 11 whilst also ensuring that the professional requirements for competency to enter the NMC professional register are achieved (NMC, 2010). The achievement of the award of MSc adult nursing and the development of professional standards that meet the criteria for entry to the NMC professional register are closely interlinked throughout the programme. The programme has a dynamic mix of blended learning that equips students with crucial transferrable skills, both academic and skills based. The methods employed range from traditional modified lectures, practical skills sessions, debates, student presentations, group work, workshops, self-directed study (including Virtual Learning Environment, eLearning), guided study, personal development planning and clinical simulation mediums. The School is highly commended for its approach to clinical simulation and the adaptation of technology to enhance teaching and learning. The techniques of clinical simulation are optimised through the cognitive apprenticeship model, where the student moves through distinct stages of instruction, modelling, scaffolding, articulation, reflection and exploration. In line with the UWS Quality Handbook (QuEST 2018 - 2019), this programme offers a full range of assessment tools designed to enable student learning, not just to test student knowledge. Summative assessment strategies include the following: - written assignments, unseen examination, presentations, case studies, critical reflections and the final module is assessed by dissertation. Formative assessment will be managed through the use of tutorials, seminars, debates, student presentations, Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and self/peer review in the clinical simulation environment. To ensure both engagement and satisfactory progress with the dissertation process there will be a requirement for the student to meet with their personal lecturer on a regular basis for formative assessment and feedback. The student experience is built logically as increasingly more challenging levels of practice are encountered and the student masters both an effective level of competence and self-confidence. Subject delivery recognises not only nursing theory but also the importance of drawing on that of other disciplines who play a key role in developing and supporting nursing practice. Nursing knowledge is both inductive and deductive as theory informs practice and in reciprocation, practice contributes to theory development. To develop the students' graduate attributes the programme focuses on enhancing the role of research teaching links and the ability to critically reflect and analyse nursing practice (QAA, 2009). At the outset of each of the Practice Learning Experiences, the student will be allocated a named mentor who fulfils the requirements of the NMC (2008) Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in Practice. Mentors shall implement teaching and learning strategies throughout the Practice Learning Experiences in order to enhance student's understanding and application of skills. The cognitive apprenticeship approach will be adopted and strategies employed will include 1:1 discussions and constructive feedback, critical reflection, role modelling, skills demonstration and supervised practice. The student-mentor relationship has primacy and learning will be supported by the Liaison Lecturer and Practice Education Facilitator/Care Home Education Facilitator. Student learning will be facilitated and structured by the use of a Learning Development Plan contained within the Scottish Ongoing Achievement Record (SOAR). Mentors will provide the student with regular, balanced feedback regarding all aspects of their clinical performance at scheduled intervals and recorded within the SOAR. Critical reflection is also integral to the student's learning experience. To satisfy professional requirements of the programme, modules with a practice component have a number of co-requisite, ensuring NMC Progression Point Criteria are met in order to successfully complete the module. Academic credit for practice and theory modules will be evidenced by written assessments at SCQF Level 11 and assessed by academic staff. The programme structure is modular and divided into 3 parts. Parts 1 and 2 each consist of three 20 credits modules and Part 3 has one 60 credit module all assessed at SCQF Level 11. The students must achieve 4,600 hours evenly distributed between theory and practice to meet the mandatory requirements of the NMC (2010). The MSc programme consists of 2320 hours of practice learning and 1500 hours of theory. As the theory hours fall short of the NMC statutory requirement for entry to the professional register, 800 hours of theory will be derived from RPL; the content of which will be mapped to the MSc learning outcomes.
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