MSc Clinical Practice

• You should be a health professional with at least a lower second class honours degree (2.2) in a subject relevant to health or social care practice, or recent evidence of relevant study at level HE6 or above.
• If you don't meet these requirements but have significant relevant experience, a professional qualification, or show significant promise to excel on the course and have a positive impact on clinical practice, we'll be happy to consider your application.
• You'll be invited for an interview to ensure that you understand the requirements and level of this course and ensure it's the correct course for you. We may also ask you to submit a portfolio of evidence in support of your application or undertake an assessment so that we can gauge your current academic ability.
• You’ll need to satisfactorily pass a fitness to practice assessment.
• We'll consider applications where appropriate work experience can be demonstrated in lieu of, or in addition to, the published academic qualifications in line with the University’s Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) procedures.
• If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 7.0 with normally no less than 6.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
• Please note that this course is subject to the University of Bolton's Fitness to Practise procedure.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

The University of Bolton's MSc Clinical Practice is designed for professionals from various clinical settings who want to develop their research and leadership skills and clinical expertise at the master's level. This programme will support you if you wish to work at an advanced level of practice or if you're currently working as a specialist practitioner in a specific clinical area. The course will allow you to develop a range of transferable employability skills, including critical appraisal, decision-making, problem-solving, diagnostics and clinical management abilities.

What can I do with this qualification?

Successfully completing the MSc Clinical Practice will prepare you to seek an advanced or specialist practitioner role. As a graduate of this course, you'll also possess the necessary skill set to take on a more strategic leadership role in a secondary or primary healthcare setting. Our graduates have progressed to various clinical positions, including nurse clinicians, nurse practitioners (in hospital and community settings), ward managers, advanced paramedics, community matrons, critical care outreach teams and nurse specialists.

Alternatively, you could progress to a higher-level research course, such as a PhD/MPhil in health and wellbeing or a similar level course in subjects such as primary care research and health services research. You may also consider the possibility of training as a doctor by progressing to a four-year accelerated programme in medicine and surgery.

Alternative career options

You can also use the qualification to enter a range of other careers. Some roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Some possible careers include:

• Medical communications
• Medical writing
• Research and development
• Teaching and education
• Health care/services management
• Armed forces
• Clinical psychology
• Health promotion
• Overseas aid and development
• Prison service
• Occupational health
• Counselling
• Mental health

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2023-2024 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

Bursaries

Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.

To provide you with a comprehensive learning experience, we use a blended range of teaching methods, including one-to-one sessions and online learning. Case studies are an integral aspect of this course, with patient studies forming the basis of learning activities to provide an appropriate context for the knowledge learned. You'll also attend seminars to discuss and debate issues with your classmates and tutorials with your tutor, which are designed to provide guidance and support. Additionally, self-directed study is an important aspect of this course. We'll expect you to spend time engaging in background reading and preparing for assessments.

Problem-solving is a key area of learning, so you'll investigate seminar content in practice using enquiry-based learning methods. You'll need to research particular cases and present your findings to your peers for review. This will prepare you for independent learning while building your research and analytical skills. You'll also participate in clinical simulation and resource-based learning activities using specialised equipment and use our virtual learning environment to access online course material.

We'll assess your work and progress using various techniques, including structured clinical exams, online questions, presentations and journal article submission. We use a range of assessment methods to maximise opportunities for successful achievement, taking into account how different students have preferences for different assessments and learning styles.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

• Clinical Examination Skills
• Multidisciplinary End of Life Care
• Acute Medicine
• Care of the Frail Adult
• Non-Medical Independent and Supplementary Prescribing for Nurses and Midwives (26 weeks)
• Non-Medical Independent and Supplementary Prescribing for Allied Health Care Professionals (26 weeks)
• Non-Medical Independent and Supplementary Prescribing for Pharmacists (26 weeks)
• Respiratory
• Geriatric Medicine
• Advanced Clinical Practice in Primary Care
• Advanced Physical Skills Assessment in a Mental Health Setting
• Advanced Clinical Practice in Oncology
• Delivering Leadership and Quality Improvements in Practice
• The Human Body Anatomy and Physiology for Health Care
• Biological Basis of Diseases
• Diagnostics and Therapeutics
• Developing a Specialist Interest in Clinical Care

Assessment methods

Learning activities

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.