MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Acute Medicine)
Course Overview
Developed for health and social care practitioners who want to progress to an advanced level in their field, our part-time MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice (Acute Medicine) is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary for roles that require greater responsibility and levels of decision making. Students from a variety of health and social care backgrounds come to us to build on their theoretical and practical abilities. On our MSc course, you’ll have the opportunity to get hands-on in our state-of-the-art Clinical Simulation Suites and learn the core curriculum of a programme proudly supported by Health Education NW and employing NHS Trusts.Covering content such as disease awareness, patient examination and diagnostics, leadership and innovation, this work-based programme aims to help you develop your clinical skills and leadership abilities to become a flexible practitioner able to respond to the challenges of your role and your developing service. As well as gaining skills in practice, you’ll have the opportunity to expand your knowledge and awareness with the relevant theory taught through blended direct and online learning approaches.
Highlights
- This course combines theory and knowledge with highly integrated skills practice, with the aim of both challenging and rewarding students.
- Designed for maximum flexibility, this part-time programme is largely work-based.
- Working in our state-of-the-art Bolton One facility, you’ll have the opportunity to apply your knowledge in practice.
- Bolton’s MSc Advanced Clinical Practice graduates are highly sought after – many of our successful students achieve promotion within their clinical area after graduating.
- On successful completion of this programme, you’ll be awarded an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice (Acute Medicine).
Key Features
- We welcome students from a variety of health and social care backgrounds, including nurses, paramedics, public health and allied health professionals and healthcare scientists.
- You’ll be allocated a learning facilitator who will advocate for you and help negotiate personalised work-based learning with your mentors and employers.
- Alongside your core modules, you’ll have the option to personalise the programme according to your professional interests by studying an elective unit of your choice.
- This course is supported by Health Education NW and employing NHS trusts.
Entry Requirements
- You are normally expected to have successfully completed an honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject and have appropriate work experience.
- You should also have an appropriate professional qualification/registration relevant to your area of practice (for example, as an allied health professional, healthcare scientist, nurse, pharmacist, or public health professional). Any professional registration must be current.
- You must have at least four years of clinical experience since qualifying.
- You must demonstrate current relevant employment and employer support for your studies. Your employer must be willing to enter a tri-partite agreement. Specifically you will need DBS Enhanced Disclosure clearance to the satisfaction of the employing health/social care organisation providing the practice placement; and support from the appropriate service manager for learning time, funding and learning support (i.e. mentors/assessors).
- You will be required to attend an interview and may be asked to provide a portfolio of work/evidence in support of your application. This may include undertaking preliminary assessments set by the University to enable us to assess your current academic ability and personal suitability for the course.
- 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.
- The University recognises prior learning, whether gained through academic credit and qualifications or through your professional and employment experience. Previous learning may be used towards meeting the entry requirements for this programme or for exemption from part of this programme. It is your responsibility to make a claim for recognition of prior learning, and each claim will be considered in accordance with the University’s policy and regulations for the recognition of prior learning.
- Qualifications gained outside England and Wales will be assessed on an individual basis.
- This course involves regulated activity so you must gain an Enhanced Disclosure certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) before starting your studies. Charges are payable to cover the cost of the DBS Enhanced Disclosure application and annual registration with the online Update Service. Please note that the DBS must have been completed within three years of the course start date.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 7.0 with 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's Fitness to Practice declaration.
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.
Career Opportunities
This course aims to develop both your clinical and leadership abilities, enabling you to achieve advanced practitioner level in an acute medicine specialty. You’ll be encouraged and supported to master the clinical content of the course, and have the opportunity to develop the necessary leadership skills to challenge and change practice, with a view to delivering innovative changes that provide real benefits for patients in your service.
What can I do with this qualification?
Graduates who have completed this programme may develop their career and progress into higher level roles in their specialist area of practice. The programme also provides a platform to move into a research role and complete a professional doctorate or PhD.
Alternative career options
Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles both relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Some of these careers include:
- Teaching and training
- Research and development
- Health services management
Professional Recognition
Currently, ‘advanced practitioner’ is not a restricted title although this issue is being explored by the professional bodies; for example, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health and Care Professions Council.
Fees & Funding
Home/EU Fees
Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £4,050 per academic credit, for the academic year 2025/26.
International Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
Bursaries
Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.
Important note regarding tuition fees: 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.
How to apply
Home Applicants
Please contact the programme leader for details of the application procedure. You can find their name, email address and phone number in the Programme Contacts section of this page.
International Applicants
Please contact the programme leader for details of the application procedure. You can find their name, email address and phone number in the Programme Contacts section of this page.
Teaching & Assessment
On this programme, you can expect a blended style of teaching, combining direct lessons and online learning, as well as practical learning sessions. The theory of the course is taught during lectures and built on during group discussions, seminars and tutorials. Simulations are delivered by tutors in the Clinical Simulation Suites to build your practical awareness.
You’ll be expected to complete self-directed study, such as background reading and class preparation, and you’ll also have various eLearning projects set through the University’s virtual learning environment, Moodle. Problem-based learning is a key technique used periodically for projects requiring investigation and synthesis of knowledge in practice.
We use a range of assessment methods designed to ensure you’re on track to achieve the learning outcomes and programme aims. These assessments include essays, reports, presentations, set exercises and portfolios. Assessment methods will vary according to each module’s content and desired outcome.
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.
- Acute Medicine
- Clinical Examination Skills
- Biological Basis of Diseases
- Diagnostics and Therapeutics
- Delivering Leadership and Quality Improvements in Practice
- Non-Medical Independent and Supplementary Prescribing for Nurses and Midwives HE7 (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)
- Portfolio of Clinical Practice 1
- Portfolio of Clinical Practice 2
- End Point Assessment of Clinical Practice
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Coursework 47% Practical exams 13% Written exams 40% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 80% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 20% |
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.
