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Advanced Clinical Practice (Critical Care) PgCert, PgDip and MSc

Course code

Various

Start date

September

Subject area

Advanced Clinical Practice

Mode of study

3 years part-time

1 year (staged study) part-time

Fees

2024/25

UK £11,550

International £23,615

Entry requirements

Degree in a relevant health profession with at least one year of clinical work experience

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Overview

Are you a nurse or allied health professional that cares for critically ill patients? Perhaps you work in a critical care area and wish to learn more about the management of your patients? Or maybe you care for patients in step-down units (SDUs)? If so, this advanced clinical practice pathway in critical care, is designed to provide you with the solid academic foundation you’ll need to progress as an advanced clinician.

On this course, you’ll develop advanced assessment and clinical reasoning skills for the acute management and rehabilitation of critically ill patients from intensive care units through to their discharge. You will acquire a comprehensive knowledge of critical care, which will enable you to work at an advanced level of practice and apply your knowledge to the acute management and rehabilitation of critically ill patients.

By studying the latest practices, policy and research, you will then be able to contribute to practice development initiatives to help your patients and improve their quality of care and health outcomes.

At Brunel, we understand the challenges of fitting study around work and family life. For this reason, we have designed this course to be flexible, so that it can fit around your current commitments. The full master's course can be studied 3 years part-time starting in September.

If you don’t want to commit to part-time study of the entire master's, you can develop your educational portfolio over a longer period of time by undertaking staged study that leads to the award of Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) after one year of study, Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) after two years of study and full Masters (MSc) after three years of study.

Each stage can be studied 1 year part-time starting in September. You could even just take one or more CPPD modules for your professional development and return to complete your course at a later date.

You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.

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Course content

This course is designed to incorporate a multidisciplinary perspective that follows the patient pathway from admission to hospital discharge, which is essential when entering leadership roles in today’s healthcare systems.

You’ll learn a holistic approach to patient care alongside clinical leadership skills and how to use evidence-based practice and research to make informed decisions that grow your knowledge and expertise in critical care.

Your learning will be underpinned by the national Advanced Clinical Practice framework as set out by Health Education England, encompassing the four pillars: clinical practice, leadership and management, education, and research.

As well as studying key modules in advanced clinical leadership, teaching and learning, evidence-based practice and research, you’ll select modules to define your specialist pathway in critical care.

You will have the opportunity to explore anatomy and physiology at an advanced level, giving a strong foundation for the clinically-orientated modules. These explore acute care interventions, specialist patient populations, and rehabilitation for the critically unwell patient.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

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Careers and your future

Following successful completion of this programme, you’ll be prepared for senior clinical or leadership positions within critical care settings at Band 7 or 8a level in critical care.

You’ll graduate as a practitioner that makes a positive impact on patient care. You’ll gain a deep understanding of a range of clinical skills and knowledge that will allow you to manage critically ill patients. Alternatively, you could advance to a PhD or research degree and enter into a clinical academic pathway.

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UK entry requirements

All applicants must have a pre-registration degree in relevant allied health profession and the following of relevant experience as a minimum:

1. Students currently working in the UK - At least 1 year of post qualification clinical work experience in the specialism they have applied for. Typically this should be work experience from a ‘Band 6’ level role.
2. Students currently working outside of the UK – At least 2 years post qualification clinical work experience, ideally including at least 1 year in the specialism you have applied for.

You must have met the minimum work experience requirement at the point you apply for the programme. For example, if you submit your application in February 2023, you must have 2 years experience by February 2023 (depending on whether you are working in or outside the UK). This is to make sure that you will definitely have enough experience when you join the course. This does not include internships as they are supervised and therefore technically still part of your training. You should aim to provide documented evidence of your clinical work experience. All applicants should include a detailed CV as part of their application. Applicants who are working outside of the UK should could include letters of recommendations and/or confirmation of employment (we appreciate that what you can provide will vary from one person to another and be dependent on your specific background and employer, so please aim to provide as much documentary evidence when you apply).

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EU and International entry requirements

If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 7 (min 6.5 in all areas)
  • Pearson: 64 (59 in all subscores)
  • BrunELT: 68% (63% in all areas)
  • TOEFL: 98 (min 23 in all areas) 

You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.

Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.

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Fees and funding

2024/25 entry

UK

£11,550 full-time

£5,775 part-time

International

£23,615 full-time

£12,000 part-time

UK Staged Master £3,850 per stage.

International Staged Master £7,870 per stage.

More information on any additional course-related costs.

Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase. 

See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.

Scholarships and bursaries

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Teaching and Learning

How the course will be delivered

Required equipment

How you'll learn on your course

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Assessment and feedback

The course uses a range of flexible and engaging approaches to assessment. You'll be assessed through exams, critical essays, portfolios, oral presentations, and your dissertation.

The choice of the specific type of assessment will be appropriate to the intended learning outcomes of the taught modules. The assessment strategies will balance the need to demonstrate knowledge and competencies with more in-depth and critical approaches to learning. Such assessment approaches will include examinations, presentations of relevant clinical case scenarios, and coursework, which will take the form of critical assessment of literature and research, critical essays, and the development of the selected portfolio of learning.

Finally, the dissertation provides demonstration of an ability to synthesise and critically evaluate current research underpinning clinical practice and to develop and undertake relevant research, as well as its dissemination.

Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.

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