Specialist Practice in District Nursing PgDip

District nursing is a core service within the NHS. People are living longer with increasingly complex needs so more care needs to be delivered in the home environment. As a community nurse specialist, you learn the skills and knowledge to be a proficient, confident and innovative district nurse and non-medical prescriber, who can deliver evidence-based care while leading a team and managing a caseload of patients with complex needs. You achieve an academic award, and two professional awards (SPQ Specialist Practice in District Nursing and Non-medical Prescribing (V300)), enabling you to be an independent prescriber within your scope of practice.

You must: > have an NMC-valid registration as a registered first-level nurse and at least one year’s experience post-registration in the field you intend to practice (to meet the non-medical prescribing entry criteria, you must have 3 years’ experience post-qualifying at the point of commencing the module, which starts in January of year 2 of the course) > be successful at interview > have a degree or RPL equivalent > be professionally practising in a role where there is an identified need to prescribe > be approved by the employing trust or organisation’s non-medical prescribing lead and service manager who must provide verification of your suitability to prescribe > have an NMP practice assessor or designated prescribing practitioner to provide supervision, support and opportunities to develop competence in practice > pass a 20-question drug calculations entry test with a mark of 80% or above > successfully complete a clinical skills module or written evidence of assessment within practice (successful completion of the clinical skills module within the course enables the applicant to meet this criteria). You also need an employing organisation who is responsible for the following essential elements: > appropriate learning opportunities > supervision and assessment from the practice learning team, specifically a practice assessor > a completed work-based risk assessment > a satisfactory DBS. Self-funding applicants If you are interested in applying for this course and can self-fund but do not have an existing employer who is supporting your application, the course team can explore the potential for securing an honorary contract with a local employer to enable you to have a placement and be supported by a practice learning team. If this is the case, then the University will provide your occupational health assessment as well as seeking enhanced DBS disclosure. In these circumstances, please apply online and the course team will contact you to progress your application. You may take part in an occupational health work-based risk assessment check. If you have a disability, specific learning difficulty, mental health condition, autism spectrum condition, sensory impairment or medical condition that may require reasonable adjustments during an external placement or in the university or a clinical practice area, this must be declared as part of the enrolment process. Contact the relevant admissions or course tutor for guidance. Under recognition of prior learning (RPL) you may be awarded credits for previous study or related work experience which can be credited towards the course you want to study. Find out more about RPL.