Advanced Professional Practice

Overview
This taught Masters programme nurtures talented and innovative professional practitioners, placing practice at the forefront. The programme is delivered through nine specialist pathways, enabling students from different professional backgrounds to review and update their practice and benefit from shared learning and then contribute to improving the quality and effectiveness of health and social care provision globally.

This programme produces exceptional practitioners who have:
• Skills necessary to promote and enhance innovative and emerging practice
• Intellectual and transferable skills necessary in positions of leadership
• Skills enabling the review and application of contemporary evidence to practice

The programme and pathways will appeal to practitioners working in a wide range of practice areas who are committed to their own personal and professional development. Graduates of this programme move into senior practice roles, management and leadership positions, or progress onto a career in research or education.

The specialist pathways are:

MSc (Critical and Acute Care)
MSc (Cancer Nursing: Supportive and Palliative Care)
MSc (Leadership and Management)
MSc (Mental Health Care)
MSc (Care of Older People)
MSc (Midwifery Care)
MSc (Care of Children & Young People)
MSc (Intellectual Disabilities)
MSc (Practice Education)

Admission to a specialist pathway often requires students to be working in a related area. The Programme Co-ordinator will provide individual advice on module choices at enrolment.

The programme is offered on a full-time or part time basis and combines face-to-face teaching with online delivery. Those taking the programme on a full-time basis may be eligible to do so incorporating a Clinical Practicum by the agreement with the Programme Co-ordinator.

Advanced Professional Practice Specialist Pathways:
The pathways have been developed recognising that students are committed to personal and professional development. We have developed nine pathways and supporting modules, some of which require the student to be working in a relevant area of practice. To graduate with the MSc in Advanced Professional Practice with a specialist pathway, students must complete one of the compulsory research modules, two pathway-specific modules, three optional modules and a dissertation.

Pathway 1: Leadership and Management
The leadership and management pathway offers students the opportunity to develop their knowledge, critical thinking and skills in leading and managing services across health, social care and independent sectors. The pathway modules focus on leadership and management theories and models and their practical application to the transformation and delivery of care and support in the context of multi-agency collaboration and service design and delivery.

Pathway 2: Midwifery Care
The midwifery care pathway, open to Registered Midwives or those eligible for registration as a midwife with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, offers students the opportunity to develop their knowledge, critical thinking and skills in the contemporary advances and developments in midwifery care and support. The pathway develops the knowledge of midwives to enable the provision of infant, women, and birthing people centred care, and the support of their families. The pathway modules focus on advances and developments in midwifery practice and the provision of evidence based, safe, effective care within maternity services and in the context of inter-disciplinary team collaboration.

Pathway 3: Critical and Acute Care
The critical and acute care pathway offers students an opportunity to develop their knowledge, critical thinking and skills in the assessment, care and support of patients in critical and acute care services, including respiratory, cardiac, anaesthetics, HDU and ITU settings. The pathway modules focus on the assessment and management of patients in critical and acute care environments and the delivery of safe and effective care and support in the context of inter-disciplinary team collaboration.

Students completing this pathway must be an NMC registered Adult Nurse, or eligible to join the NMC register as an Adult Nurse. Some modules require experience in specific areas of practice.

Pathway 4: Mental Health Care
The mental health care pathway offers students the opportunity to develop their knowledge, critical thinking and skills in contemporary advances and developments in mental health practice to enable the delivery of empathic, holistic assessment and care of patients experiencing mental ill-health and the support of their families and carers. The pathway modules focus on advances and developments in mental health care and treatment and delivery of safe and effective mental healthcare services in the context of inter-disciplinary team collaboration.

Pathway 5: Cancer Nursing: Supportive and Palliative Care
The cancer pathway offers students the opportunity to develop their knowledge, critical thinking and skills in the specialist knowledge and skills required to deliver contemporary, holistic, high-quality evidence-based care for patients with cancer and the support of families and carers. The pathway modules focus on biomedical aspects of cancer and holistic care and the design and delivery of cancer services through strategic leadership in the context of inter-disciplinary team collaboration.

Pathway 6: Care of Older People
The care of older people pathway offers students an opportunity to develop their knowledge, critical thinking and skills in contemporary advances and developments in the care and support of older people. The pathway modules focus on the assessment and management of older people across primary, secondary and tertiary care, frailty and rehabilitation, and health and wellbeing in later life in the context of inter-disciplinary team collaboration.

Pathway 7: Intellectual Disabilities
The intellectual disabilities Pathway offers students the opportunity to develop their knowledge, critical thinking and skills in the contemporary advances and developments in intellectual disability practice to enable the delivery of empathic, holistic assessment and care for people with intellectual disabilities and the support of their families and carers. The pathway modules focus on advances and developments in intellectual disability care and support and delivery of safe and effective services in the context of inter-disciplinary team collaboration

Pathway 8: Care of Children & Young People
The children and young people pathway offers students the opportunity to develop their knowledge, critical thinking and skills in the contemporary advances and developments in the care and support of children and young people in the delivery of empathic, holistic care of patients and the support of their families and carers. The pathway modules focus on advances and developments in the care and support of children and the delivery of safe and effective care and services for children and young people in the context of inter-disciplinary team collaboration.

Pathway 9: Practice Education
The practice education pathway offers students the opportunity to develop their knowledge, critical thinking and skills in contemporary theories and models of practice education to enable the delivery of clinical interventions to meet the needs of patients in a range of care settings. The pathway modules focus on education research, theories, models, assessments, skills teaching and evaluation to support the delivery of safe and effective skills sharing and clinical interventions in the context of inter-disciplinary team collaboration and person-centred care.

Research Modules and Dissertation
All students must undertake at least one of these modules:
Applied Research Methods and Statistics in Nursing; OR
Qualitative Research Methods

All students must undertake a 15,000-word dissertation, focusing evidence of critical appraisal, analysis and thinking to support rational and cogent arguments and practice discussion at Master’s level.

Specialist Optional Modules
Students can combine modules from the specialist pathways above with a selection of options including:

Clinical Inquiry and Applied Practice Based Research
Pharmacotherapeutics for Practice
Independent Study Module

Please note that modules are subject to viable numbers, so the modules offered may vary. If you are interested in a subject that is not listed above, please contact the school for advice.

Graduate
Applicants must have a professional qualification in Nursing, Midwifery or Allied Health and Social Care Services. They shall normally hold a relevant 2.2 Honours degree or above, or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.

Applicants with a 3rd Class Honours degree (or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University) plus level 7 Post Graduate study will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Students can elect to join a pathway or remain on the general Master’s programme. Admission to a specialist pathway often requires students to be working or have experience in a related area and may be dependent on viable numbers. Further details on the pathways and any professional prerequisites are available under Course Content on the course webpage here Advanced Professional Practice (MSc) | Courses | Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk)

Applicants who do not meet the entry requirements should contact the Programme Co-ordinator for advice.

Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 31st July 2024 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal. Notifications to this effect will appear on the Direct Application Portal against the programme application page.

*CLOSING DATE FOR JANUARY 2025 INTAKE IS 21st NOVEMBER 2024 at 12pm*.

Students must successfully complete six modules including one compulsory research module and a dissertation. The pass mark for all taught modules and the dissertation is 50 per cent. Each module is assessed by coursework (some modules have a written examination).

1 year (Full Time), 3 years (Part Time)

Entry Year: 2024/25

Career Prospects
This Masters in Advanced Professional Practice offers an opportunity for students to develop skills of analytical thinking within a clinical context. Alongside this, the programme facilitates the student's continued professional development. Graduates of this programme progress into management and leadership roles, or continue into a research or education capacity.

Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with our local world-class healthcare providers helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally.

Career Development
This programme enables the development of exceptional practitioners who have the skills necessary to promote and sustain innovative and emerging practice. Graduates of the programme go on to positions of leadership or research and teaching careers.

Further Study Opportunities
Graduates from this programme can progress to PhD research opportunities within the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Our research team are engaged in high quality, impactful cross-disciplinary work which advances health and social care provision around the globe.
http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofNursingandMidwifery/Research/