PGDip Specialist Practitioner Qualification (Community Children's Nursing)

Why study this subject?

Community children’s nursing is rewarding and challenging work that requires different skills and knowledge to those needed in a hospital. Studying at specialist practitioner level will hone your critical thinking and leadership capabilities, so that you become highly skilled at caring for children in their own homes, and leading large teams of nurses in this area of practice.

This course is for qualified nurses with a degree. You will be sponsored by a health organisation or trust and achieve a postgraduate diploma, 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?

Specialist community nursing is an area of nursing practice which has a focus on assessing, and reacting, to the health needs of children, young people or adults with particular health needs in the community setting. Working in the community requires specialist knowledge, skills and behaviours that are distinct from working in the hospital setting.

Learning about the main aspects of contemporary community children’s nursing practice, you will study topics such as mental health across the lifespan, safeguarding and effective caseload management.

During your time on the course we aim to ensure that you develop your skills of leadership and independent learning. By the time you graduate from the course you will be able to demonstrate a refined level of decision making when providing quality care in the community, as well as enhanced decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations in the community setting.

How will I be taught and assessed?

Developing strong leadership, critical thinking and research skills, you will also learn to take a more strategic view of the way children’s healthcare is delivered in the community, drawing on the latest research, ideas and policy.

This course covers all the areas needed to meet the NMC professional requirements for community children’s 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 children in their homes
• analyse how decisions about care are made, drawing on relevant research
• work at the forefront of caring for children with a range of healthcare needs.
• flexible, practice-based learning.

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 children’s community 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.

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.

Using your extended knowledge of community practice and utilising a critical, evidence based approach you will leave the programme as a safe and competent Specialist Community Practitioner (SPQ).

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