This module is aimed at practising healthcare professionals who are in roles requiring, or that will require, advanced skills in history taking and physical assessment of patients. The module can be studied stand-alone or as part of the MSc in Advancing Healthcare Practice.
Through academic study days and workplace-based learning, students will be supported to develop skills in analysing, evaluating, and recording information in relation to enhanced patient care roles. This module is particularly suited for students who are working or planning a role as an independent prescriber and/or advanced clinical practitioner.
This 20-credit module will focus on supporting practitioners to apply clinical and scientific knowledge to assess and diagnose common disease states of the major body systems using physical assessment skills. The workshops will focus on history taking, consultation skills, therapeutics, and physical examination for ENT, respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, abdominal, and musculoskeletal conditions. There will be the opportunity for optional venepuncture training. The module is assessed through an OSCE and a mini portfolio of workplace-based learning.
Students who are uncomfortable with physical contact should contact the admissions tutor to discuss the module requirements prior to enrolling.
This module is run as a series of weekly half-day study days; the weeks when you are not attending campus are timetabled for directed study. Between each workshop, there are online activities of 30-45 minutes to complete. It is up to students when they complete these online activities, and whether they aim to achieve them between each workshop or complete them together on the directed study days. Students with limited exposure to clinical skills as part of their current role are encouraged to plan in directed study time to practise the clinical skills, ideally with the support of a workplace-based supervisor or mentor.
Other self-directed study time may be required, depending on individual learning plans, to complete the mini-portfolio. Although directed study time is included on the timetable as a guide, CIPPET encourages students and employers to discuss when and how protected study time is allocated so that it promotes positive work-study-life balances for individual students, whilst recognising the need to maintain a service provision.
