Advanced Practice (Critical Care)

This master's in advanced practice will build on your skills and experience as a critical care practitioner to advance your clinical practice, develop your professional career and enhance your knowledge of research and evidence-based healthcare.

KEY BENEFITS * Central location allows access to world leading clinical and academic resources.
* Access to extracurricular seminars and lectures given by leaders in healthcare from around the world.
* A multi-faculty environment drawing on clinical and academic expertise from a number of world leading schools and hospitals providing an unparalleled inter-professional learning experience.

PURPOSE For experienced critical care practitioners who wish to advance their clinical practice, develop their professional career and enhance their knowledge of research and evidence-based healthcare.

DESCRIPTION This pathway is designed for experienced critical care practitioners who wish to advance their clinical practice, develop their professional career and enhance their knowledge of research and evidence-based health care. The programme builds on your existing skills and experience to enable you to lead and support the development and subsequent delivery of evidence-based practice. It will enable you to develop a critical understanding of research methods and methodologies; use theoretical concepts from nursing and other disciplines to generate researchable questions focused around critical care; develop a scientific basis for examining critical care practice; use the skills of critical reflection; and understand the political context of healthcare and how it influences practice.
It is a suitable programme for practitioners from a wide variety of critical care areas, for example: accident and emergency departments; cardiac care areas; intensive care and high dependency units; liver units; renal units; perioperative departments; and neuroscience departments. Students undertake core modules in critical care, evidence-based practice and healthcare research. In addition students select options from a range of areas including:

* Advanced assessment skills
* Prescribing (for eligible practitioners)
* Clinical specialities
* Professional development and organisational change
* Leadership
* Specialist practice portfolios.

Other options from our BSc programme may also be available. Students who have already studied clinically focused modules at undergraduate or graduate level at King's may be able to incorporate that study into this programme, subject to certain limits, provided that the credits have not already contributed to an award. Modules studied elsewhere may be incorporated through accreditation of prior certificated learning (subject to a successful accreditation claim).
Students progressing to the MSc undertake a substantial research or service development project relevant to their own area of practice.

STRUCTURE OVERVIEW Core programme content * Measurement and Evaluation for Healthcare Practice
* Evidence Based Decision Making in Healthcare
* Critical Care (Policy and Practice)
* Dissertation.

For students wishing to undertake either an empirical study or a service development project as part of the dissertation module, additional modules must be taken and passed. These include:

* Issues in the Conduct of Healthcare Research (for empirical study)
* Professional Development and Organisational Change (for service development project).

Alternatively students may choose for their dissertation to undertake an indepth analysis of an area of policy or practice or to prepare three papers for publication.

Indicative non-core content Students select optional courses from a wide range of available options including:

* Advanced assessment skills
* Clinical specialities.

Other options from our BSc programme may also be available. Students who have already studied modules at undergraduate or graduate level at King's may be able to incorporate this study into the programme, subject to certain limits, provided that the credits have not already contributed to an award. Modules studied elsewhere may be incorporated through accreditation of prior certificated learning (subject to a successful accreditation claim).

FORMAT AND ASSESSMENT The majority of assessment is by coursework; some courses are also assessed by one examination.

MODULES More information on typical programme modules.
NB it cannot be guaranteed that all modules are offered in any particular academic year. Critical Care ( Policy and Practice) - Required Dissertation Module - Required Evidence-based Decision Making In Healthcare - Required Measurement and Evaluation For Healthcare Practice - Required Issues in the Conduct of Healthcare Research - Optional Professional Development & Organisational Change - Optional

For specialist pathways you must normally be working in a practice role, which involves regular patient/client contact. The College cannot arrange clinical placements. The normal entry requirement for graduate study is a first degree (minimum 2:1 honours or equivalent). Applicants with other backgrounds or qualifications, including those without a first degree, can be considered. If you do not meet the normal entry requirements or you have only the minimum academic standard you should pay particular attention in preparing your supporting statement and CV to ensure that you draw attention to evidence of potential success at graduate level. This might include publication, preparation of substantial reports or active participation in funded research.Applicants wishing to enrol on this pathway should be working in an appropriate critical care setting for the duration of the programme. English Language Requirements CAE score: (read more) Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) is part of the Cambridge English suite and is targeted at a high level (IETLS 6.5-8.0). It is an international English language exam set at the right level for academic and professional success. Developed by Cambridge English Language Assessment - part of the University of Cambridge - it helps you stand out from the crowd as a high achiever. 80 (Grade A)

FUNDING Staff from contracted Trusts are eligible to have their study funded, subject to agreement by their manager. Students not sponsored by their employer may wish to pursue other sources of funding. Some scholarships may be available. Prospective students may also wish to consult the Directory of Grant-making Trusts and Charities (available in local libraries). Self-funding students may wish to consider a Career Development Loan