Programme Specification
A statement of the knowledge, understanding and skills that underpin a
taught programme of study leading to an award from
The University of Sheffield
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Programme Title
Clinical Practice
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Programme Code
NURU132
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JACS Code
B700
4
Level of Study
Undergraduate
5a
Final Qualification
Diploma
5b
QAA FHEQ Level
Intermediate
6
Intermediate Qualification(s)
None
7
Teaching Institution (if not Sheffield)
Not applicable
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Faculty
Medicine Dentistry and Health
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Department
School of Nursing and Midwifery
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Other Department(s) involved in
teaching the programme
None
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Mode(s) of Attendance
Part-time
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Duration of the Programme
Minimum 2 years with a maximum of 5 years
13
Accrediting Professional or Statutory
Body
None
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Date of production/revision
January 2014
15. Background to the programme and subject area
This programme sits within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Sheffield. The School was
established in 1995 following integration of the Sheffield and North Trent College of Nursing and Midwifery into
the University of Sheffield. The School of Nursing and Midwifery, along with the Schools of Health and related
research; Medicine; and Dentistry, form the Faculty of Medicine, which is one of 5 faculties within the University.
The School’s overall purpose is to pursue research to the highest standards, deliver high quality, health
focussed education and training programmes to nurses and other practitioners regionally, nationally and
internationally, and to provide an extensive range of academic and other services to the world-wide community
of health. We are committed to the enhancement of evidence-based practice through education and research,
both within the NHS and in the independent sector.
This programme is aimed at registered nurses and those in professions allied to medicine who have already
obtained 120 credits at Level 1, or the equivalent, and want to enhance their clinical and educational profile. In
addition, students will be required to demonstrate the appropriate clinical/professional background and
experience pertinent to the modules undertaken, it is therefore important that students are currently working
within the relevant area of practice in order to fulfil this particular aspect of the programme. Although not a
requirement of the programme, it is advisable for prospective students to have support from their managers.
Each module accepts students at either Level 2 or Level 3, as well as those choosing to study for professional
development only. Therefore within each group there will be a mixture of both new and more experienced
students studying at different levels. There will also be a mixture of students from a variety of nursing fields and
sometimes from allied health professions. The assignment criteria and learning objectives have been written
with these variations in mind so that each student can be prepared to fulfil their own diverse and challenging
roles as competent practitioners. The personal tutorials offered to each student will also ensure that individual
learning needs are being met. This diversity within the classroom is an integral part of the learning environment,
and offers numerous opportunities for student support; peer shadowing; discussion; MDT team working; and
formal or informal “buddying” systems.
There is the opportunity for students to access guided library sessions that are particularly useful for new
students or those who have taken a break from study.
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This Diploma programme offers a flexible means of preparing health care practitioners to fulfil the increasingly
diverse and specialist roles within their work environment, and therefore contributes to the continuing
professional development of skilled health care practitioners. The primary aim of all health care professionals
whether in the clinical or educational background is quality of patient care and enhancement of practice.
However, because the modules within this programme are considered desirable in practice areas, access of
these modules and completion of this programme will contribute to improved job prospects; career progression;
and academic advancement.
Students select from a menu of options to ensure that their learning is directly relevant to their clinical practice.
Each clinically focussed module may be studied in any order, and all of them offers wide-ranging opportunities
to examine areas of their practice against clinically related theory and contemporary practice. Some of the
modules incorporate practical clinical skills and in some cases these skills will be formally assessed, however, in
the majority of modules this is not the case. Students demonstrate their clinical competencies through the
production of a portfolio, that will be assessed against both learning objectives and clinical objectives.
Upon completion of the Diploma in Clinical Practice students may be eligible to study for one of the
BMedSci(Hons) programmes within the School of Nursing and Midwifery,. This can be discussed with one of
the personal tutors that students will be assigned to as they progress through the Diploma programme. Please
note, however, that any of the modules previously studied at Level 2 cannot be repeated at Level 3. Students
who successfully complete this Diploma programme would therefore need to select new modules to study in
order to progress towards Degree level.
16. Programme aims
Each of the individual modules has their own specific aims, however the overall programme aims are that at the
end of the programme the student will have achieved:
1. a maturing ability for independence of thought and the ability to evidence theories and concepts that will
contribute to the continuing professional development of themselves as skilled health care practitioners, and
an ability to make informed clinical judgements.
2. appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes which underpin professional practice and evidence based care.
3. understanding of client/patient and public health needs; the changing context of health care; and the
adoption of inter-professional approaches. This will enable and empower practitioners to rise to the
challenge of their roles.
4. accreditation for their continuing professional development and learning in their particular sphere of health
care practice.
5. the ability to meet their organisational and service needs, in addition to their personal and professional
developmental needs.
6. a personal commitment to life-long learning.
17. Programme learning outcomes
Programme learning outcomes Having successfully completed the programme, students will be able to:
K1
appraise current theories and models of care in order to develop reflective and analytical skills and thus
enhance the quality of care given within their specific area of clinical practice.
K2
develop specialist knowledge and skills in order to link theory to practice whilst reflecting upon the focus
of their specific clinical setting.
K3
discuss current practice in order to develop evidence-based and research-led care within their specific
area of practice.
Skills and other attributes:
S1
share the skills and expertise of other students on the programme thus enhancing networking links and
the possibility of collaborative working.
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18. Teaching, learning and assessment
Development of the learning outcomes is promoted through the following teaching and learning
methods:
A wide variety of teaching methods and strategies will be utilised to provide stimulation and to ensure the needs
of varying learning styles of adult learners are met. Strategies may include:
Lectures: Guided study which provides a structured opportunity to disseminate information, this is the medium
by which students access the main knowledge base.
Seminars: Often involves students completing an exercise and communicating information to fellow students,
and encourages group learning.
Tutorials: Small group or individual interactive learning events aimed at broadening theoretical knowledge and
individual learning, some of which will focus on preparation for assessment.
Problem based learning: Provides education that supports effective adult learning where the lecturer adopts
the role of facilitator and prior experience/learning is valued. This approach promotes learning for understanding
rather than recall of isolated facts and surface learning.
Independent study: Resources and facilities are provided to facilitate students’ independent study.
Negotiated learning: Students identify their own learning needs and negotiate with the unit leader methods of
facilitating these objectives. This is the strategy used for observation days where students visit other clinical
areas and peer shadow another health care professional.
Buddying: All students on the individual modules are actively encouraged to form buddy groups to support and
facilitate interactive learning, peer support, peer shadowing, both within the classroom setting but, more
importantly for short modules, in the clinical areas.
Skills training: Students are taught specific clinical skills, either within a simulated setting or within the
student’s clinical area. If this approach forms part of a module’s taught methods then this will be formally
assessed against clinical competencies.
Reflection: Students are encouraged throughout their learning to reflect on their own clinical area and their
own practice. This approach encourages critical and analytical thought and change to practice. The assessed
portfolio relies heavily on the students own critical reflections in order to assess clinical objectives.
By utilizing a combination of teaching methods throughout the modules, this ensures that all the appropriate
learning outcomes are achievable. A principle of the clinically focused modules is to share the knowledge and
expertise of programme members through group and individual participation.
All teaching and facilitation will be geared towards the students’ successful achievement of the outcomes in
each module across the joint theory and practice paradigms.
Student centred strategies embrace the process and competencies involved in adult learning. Students entering
this programme will be starting to develop skills in self-directed learning, and enhancement of personal
resources and extension of this ability will be encouraged. Students will also be encouraged to begin accepting
and exercising responsibility and accountability for independent learning, personal growth and self-awareness.
The role of the module leader will be that of facilitator, support and resource person, both within the subject
specialism and as academic supervisor. Each student will be offered the opportunity to discuss their
assessment within each module and an appointment can be made to discuss their progress on the programme
and the choices of further modules or programmes.
The subject content will be delivered to diploma and degree students together in taught sessions. This is
recognised as being mutually beneficial to both student cohorts. It increases the level of sharing and reflection
of experiences from practice, and enhances the learning opportunities available for the students. Contributions
to the learning process from all the students are equally valued.
Students are required to achieve different levels of learning outcomes that are appropriate to their award;
teaching and learning strategies are considered in relation to this need. Individual tutorials with personal
academic supervisors are seen as an important part of developing the student’s knowledge and understanding
at an appropriate academic level, as is the assessment strategy.
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Opportunities to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes are provided through the following
assessment methods:
The strategies adopted on this programme for summative assessment are strongly based on the integration of
theory and practice, and the ability of the students to reflect on their own clinical area and practice.
The achievement of learning outcomes for each module is outlined with each module details but is essentially
assessed by a theoretical assignment, theoretical portfolio or learning contract which contains a variety of the
students work e.g. reflective essays based on practice incidents; research critiques/literature review; role
analysis; executive summary/management style report; critical incident. The portfolio or learning contract will
incorporate a reflective account of experiences, which demonstrate personal and professional developments
arising from the clinical outcomes. In addition it is possible that participants will be able to offer documented
evidence of exposure to, or involvement in, relevant clinical work or observed skill by using testimony of others
(e.g. care plans, assessments) and the development of some learning packages or evidence of teaching
undertaken.
10 credits represents 100 hours of learning.
Academic assignment wordage is approximately 2000 words per 10 credit module, 4000 words per 20 credit
module.
This is in line with the Northern Universities working parties on modularisation (1995) and the South East
Consortiate (1996).
Assessment of practice occurs in a number of ways that reflect individual module learning outcomes. In some
of the modules clinical skills will also be formally assessed. This may be the unit leader in a classroom setting
or simulated environment, and in other cases clinical mentors within the practice areas will assess students’
newly acquired skills by measuring them against clinical competencies. This is in addition to the academic
assessment and further details of specific assessments will be given in the module handbooks. In most of the
modules however, clinical competence is not directly assessed, but students are expected to evidence their
achievement of the stated clinical outcomes through the assessed portfolio of development.
The various assessment strategies employed within the Diploma in Clinical Practice ensure that the stated
learning outcomes are achieved by the students by the end of the programme.
The marking scheme employed will be the 100 point scale used within the School of Nursing and Midwifery,
University of Sheffield.
19. Reference points
The learning outcomes have been developed to reflect the following points of reference:
Subject Benchmark Statements
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/AssuringStandardsAndQuality/subject-guidance/Pages/Subject-benchmarkstatements.aspx
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (2008)
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pages/The-framework-for-higher-educationqualifications-in-England-Wales-and-Northern-Ireland.aspx
University Strategic Plan
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/strategicplan
Learning and Teaching Strategy (2011-16)
http://www.shef.ac.uk/lets/staff/lts
The School of Nursing and Midwifery mission statements/strategies.
QAA codes of practice.
NMC codes of practice.
HEIs/Schools strategic plan.
National service frameworks.
Department of Health guidelines.
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20. Programme structure and regulations
Students choose a number of modules to study from a menu of options. Each module varies in length and
varies in the amount of credits it has been accredited. Students therefore choose the ones that are most
appropriate to their clinical field or interest up to a credit value of 120.
Generally the modules can be studied in any order, however in some instances there is an introductory module
that must be studied prior to the more specialist modules. For example of the four diabetes modules, module 1
must be studied before the other 3 specialist modules.
Detailed information about the structure of programmes, regulations concerning assessment and progression
and descriptions of individual modules are published in the University Calendar available on-line at
http://www.shef.ac.uk/govern/calendar/regs.html.
21. Student development over the course of study
As the modules may be studied in any order, each is designed to have equal weighting of taught lessons and
independent study. Also, within each module both Level 2 and Level 3 students will be in the classroom
together. This means that both new and more experienced students will be studying alongside each other,
although the personal tutors offered to each student will ensure that individual learning needs are being met.
There is also the opportunity for students to access guided library sessions that are often taken by new students
or those who have taken a break from study.
Upon completion of the Diploma in Clinical Practice, students may continue to access the individual clinical
modules at Level 3 instead of Level 2. In this way students can build up their portfolio of credits that could lead
towards one of the BMedSci(Hons) programmes offered in the school of Nursing and Midwifery.
Please note however, that any of the modules studied at Level 2 cannot be repeated at Level 3. Students who
have completed the Diploma in Clinical Practice would therefore need to select new modules to study should
they wish to progress towards Degree level.
For further details regarding the degree programmes please refer to http://www.shef.ac.uk/prospective/
22. Criteria for admission to the programme
Detailed information regarding admission to the programme is available at http://www.shef.ac.uk/prospective/

For admission onto the Diploma in Clinical Practice, students need to have acquired 120 credits at Level 1
or the equivalent.

In addition it is important that students are currently working within the relevant area of practice in order to
fulfil the requirements of this programme.

Although not a requirement of the programme, it is advisable that prospective students have the support of
their manager.
23. Additional information
The School of Nursing and Midwifery is based at:
Barber House Annexe
3a Clarkehouse Road
Sheffield
S10 2LA
Telephone: 0114 222 2030
Email enquiries: snm.enquiries@sheffield.ac.uk
Information at: www.shef.ac.uk/snm
Units may be delivered at any site on the university campus
Different units may be delivered each year. The School produces information online identifying those that will be
available for students to access.
This specification represents a concise statement about the main features of the programme and should be
considered alongside other sources of information provided by the teaching department(s) and the University. In
addition to programme specific information, further information about studying at The University of Sheffield can
be accessed via our Student Services web site at http://www.shef.ac.uk/ssid.
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