Programme Specification
A statement of the knowledge, understanding and skills that underpin a
taught programme of study awarded by
The University of Sheffield
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Programme Title
Community Specialist Nursing Practice
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Programme Code
COLU26
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JACS Code (if applicable)
NA
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Level of Study
Undergraduate
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Final Qualification
Bachelor of Medical Science with Honours
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Intermediate Qualification(s)
None
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Teaching Institution
Institute of Health and Social Care Studies, Guernsey
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Moderating Department
School of Nursing and Midwifery
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Home Department
NA
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Other Department(s) involved in
teaching the programme
None
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Mode(s) of Attendance
Full-time or Part-time
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Duration of the Programme
32 weeks full time or 64 weeks part–time (plus existing
diploma/diploma equivalent in higher education)
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Accrediting Professional or
Statutory Body (if applicable)
Nursing and Midwifery Council
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Date of production/revision
March 2005
15. Background to the programme and subject area
The States of Guernsey government policy requires that all health and social care professionals practising on the
island must be registered, and maintain their registration, with the appropriate United Kingdom (UK) professional
regulatory body. All UK regulatory bodies require ongoing professional development to maintain registration and
further study after initial registration to practice in specialist areas.
This programme is designed to enable experienced registered nurses living in Guernsey, and other Channel Islands,
to develop their practice to meet the requirements for recording a community specialist practice qualification with the
Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC). Three routes through the programme are being offered – district nursing,
community mental health nursing and general practice nursing.
In addition to equipping practitioners to meet the delivery needs of contemporary health care in Guernsey, the
programme also affords students the opportunity for personal development and equips them with the knowledge
skills and attitudes required for lifelong learning.
The programme, which comprises 120 credits at L III (L H), builds on the existing knowledge and skills of candidates
and previous specific Level I and II credit accrued through pre- and post-registration nursing education. The
programme comprises 50% theoretical and 50% practice-based learning which is overseen by appropriately qualified
academic and clinical staff.
Nurses successfully completing this programme will possess a qualification which will allow them to seek
employment as a qualified district nurse, community mental health nurse or practice nurse in Guernsey or anywhere
else in the UK, a capacity in which they will be eligible to lead a team of other nurses working in the same area and
progress along a career ladder from that point.
16. Programme aims
The aims of the programme are those of the Institute of Health and Social Care Studies in general, which are to
enable health care practitioners in Guernsey to develop existing knowledge and skills and further their education on
island through access to high quality continuing education opportunities which increase clinical expertise, foster a
positive attitude towards life-long learning and nurture the development of transferable personal, interpersonal and
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management skills. Specifically, the aim of this programme is to prepare nurses for, and enable them to record, a
professional qualification which requires them to demonstrate graduate level knowledge, skills and attitudes in
specialist level clinical practice, care and programme management, clinical practice leadership and clinical practice
development.
17. Programme learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding: professional and graduate requirements
Successful candidates will:
PGK1
Critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data from the biological, behavioural,
social and environmental sciences relevant to their area of practice and frame appropriate questions to
achieve a solution or identify a range of solutions to a problem in clinical nursing care.
PGK2
Evaluate current diagnostic, therapeutic, resuscitative, technological and complementary interventions
relevant to their area of specialist practice.
PGK3
Evaluate the ethical and professional aspects of their practice.
PGK4
Evaluate strategies and models of health needs assessment of, and health promotion to, individuals,
groups and populations for whom they are providing care.
PGK5
Critically appraise the political and economic influences on health and health policy.
PGK6
Critically examine the concepts of social diversity and social exclusion.
PGK7
Evaluate theories of organisations and organisational leadership and management as applied to health
care.
PGK8
Evaluate educational strategies which may be used with patients/clients and peers.
PGK9
Critically appraise a range of research methodologies applicable to their area of practice.
PGK10
Describe and evaluate aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in their area of
nursing.
Skills and other attributes: professional and graduate requirements:
Successful candidates will:
PGS1
Competently assess, plan, implement and evaluate holistic nursing interventions for individuals, groups
and populations at a specialist level based on a systematic understanding of practice at the forefront of
their area of nursing.
PGS2
Demonstrate clinical decision-making skills commensurate with specialist level practice.
PGS3
Initiate and contribute to strategies to promote health and prevent disease in the individual, group and
population levels.
PGS4
Demonstrate the skills and attitudes necessary to lead a clinical team and manage the delivery of nursing
services in their specialist area.
PGS5
Demonstrate the skills and attitudes required to promote research-based practice and develop their own
practice and that of colleagues.
PGS6
Demonstrate high levels of interpersonal and professional skills within the multi-disciplinary team and
multi-agency contexts.
PGS7
Demonstrate an ability to deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry within nursing.
PGS8
Communicate information, ideas, problems, and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
PGS9
Apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply their
knowledge and understanding; and to initiate and carry out projects.
Knowledge and understanding: transferable
Successful candidates will:
TK1
Understand theories of communication and interpersonal relationships taken from social psychology.
TK2
Evaluate theories of leadership and management.
TK3
Critically appraise methods of data collection, analysis and presentation.
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TK4
Evaluate theories and models of reflection in and on practice.
Skills and other attributes: transferable:
Successful candidates will:
TS1
Demonstrate competency in word processing and the presentation of data
TS2
Demonstrate competency in use of libraries, databases and the internet as sources of information as a
basis for life-long learning.
TS3
Demonstrate excellent verbal and written communication skills.
TS4
Demonstrate competent teaching and presentational skills.
TS5
Work effectively within or at the head of a team.
TS6
Exercise initiative and personal responsibility (process outcome).
TS7
Make decisions in complex and unpredictable contexts.
TS8
Demonstrate the learning ability needed to undertake appropriate further training of a professional or
equivalent nature (process outcome).
TS9
Demonstrate self motivation (process outcome).
18. Teaching, learning and assessment
Development of the programme learning outcomes is promoted through the following teaching and learning
methods:
To meet professional requirements, this programme is designed with 50% theoretical and 50% practice based
teaching and learning. Learning in the practice setting is based in clinical areas approved for the purpose by the
Institute of Health and Social Care Studies and reviewed by the NMC, through the NMC Visitor during the validation
event. Clinical areas must meet specified criteria relating to the quality of the learning environment. Following
approval, placements are monitored by the Institute and External Examiners. Practice learning is overseen by an
appropriately qualified and prepared named practice educator. Academic staff support both the candidate and the
practice educator and meet with them each semester in relation to practice learning.
Outcomes expressed are both process (as indicated) and product outcomes. As the programme is at Level III (Level
H) product outcomes have been developed to reflect the knowledge and skills necessary for specialist level
professional practice and graduateness. They also reflect a number of transferable skills as indicated. Achievement
of the process outcomes is fostered through the experience of the programme and study at this level.
An adult learning approach determines the teaching and learning methods used. In keeping with the androgogical
philosophy behind the course, even sessions that are teacher-led will provide the opportunity for reflection and
discussion by the candidates.
A variety of teaching and learning methods will be used in the classroom – lectures and individual and group tutorials
to convey core knowledge and stimulate reflection and discussion (PGK1 to 10; TK1 to 4), problem-solving sessions
(PGK2, PGK3, PGS1, PGS2), role-play (PGK8, PGS6, PGS8, TK4,TS3) and other experiential strategies such as a
group project (PGK4, PGK5, PGS8, PGS9, TS1,TS3, TS4 TS5 and TS6), and workshops (PGK9, PGK10, PGS7,
TS1,TS2, TS6).
Teaching and learning in practice is directed by learning contracts negotiated between the candidate and the
practice educator and is candidate-led within the parameters of the course outcomes. In the practice setting, learning
is largely experiential with the candidate prepared to use experience as a source of knowledge and self-knowledge
through critical reflection.
Practice learning addresses the skills and attributes outcomes specified in PGS1 to 9 while reinforcing those
specified for knowledge and understanding indicated in PGK1 to 10. Transferable knowledge and understanding
outcomes which are integral to practice are TK1 and TK4. Transferable skills learned in the practice setting include
TS1 to TS7.
Opportunities to demonstrate achievement of the programme learning outcomes are provided through the
following assessment methods:
A variety of assessment methods are used to assess professional, graduate and transferable knowledge, skills and
attitudes. Theory and practice assessments are integrated - outcomes and professional competencies may be
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assessed in theory, practice or in both theory and practice. Assessment of theory involves written assignments and
presentations. These include a case management study presented to colleagues (PGK1, PGK 2, PGK3, PGS1,
PGS2, PGS8, TS1, TS3, TS4 and TS7), a report on a management concern and an analytical account of a change
undertaken (PGK5, PGK6, PGK7, TK2, TS1, TS3); a health promotion project with presentation (PGK 4, PGK8,
PGS8, PGS9, TS1, TS2, TS3), a critique of published research (PGK9, PGK10, PGS7, TK3, TS1), a practice profile
(PGK4, PGK5, PGK6. PGS3, PGS7, TS1, TS2, TS3) and a dissertation (PGK9, PGK10, PGS5, PGS7,TK3, TS1,
TS2. TS3). Practice is assessed through portfolio evidence which comprises direct observations of the candidate’s
practice by the practice educator as well as learning diaries, critical incident/reflective accounts, projects or case
studies written by the candidate and supplemented by the testimony of others or other supportive evidence (PGK1 to
10, PGS 1 to 9, TK1, TK4, TS1, TS2, TS3, TS4, TS5, TS7). All methods of assessment for each unit are identified
directly with the unit outcomes and professional competencies.
The three process outcomes (TS6, TS8 and TS9) are not formally assessed. Not everything that is valuable can be
separately tested, measured or quantified. It is widely recognised, for example, that one of the distinctive benefits of
a university education is the development of qualities of personal organisation and time management which follow on
from the attribution to candidates of considerable responsibility in directing their own learning. Independence and
self-motivation can be fostered but not taught in academic departments. The depth or extent of such personal
qualities cannot be directly examined, though successful acquisition of them is expected to show through in the
application of other skills which are explicitly assessed. In this programme achievement of outcomes TS6, TS8 and
TS9 is indicated by successful completion of the programme.
19. Reference points
The learning outcomes have been developed to reflect the following points of reference:
This programme has been developed in consultation with Nursing and Midwifery Council representatives and reflects
the current requirement for the recording of the community specialist nursing practice qualification with Council. The
programme is validated conjointly by the NMC and the University.
The requirements of the Standard for Specialist Education and Practice (UKCC1, 2001) have provided the framework
for the overall aim of the programme and course and unit outcomes. While meeting this standard, which governs the
practice of specialist nurses in the United Kingdom, conscious effort has been made to ‘Guernseyfy’ the programme
at unit level with candidates examining Guernsey society, policy and practice alongside that of the UK. If students
from outside Guernsey join the course, similar adjustments to the content will be made to accommodate their needs.
As a final year undergraduate programme, the course has been designed to reflect the QAA Framework for Higher
Education Qualification (2001) for candidates achieving Level III (Level H) outcomes.
The Institute values the existing knowledge and skills of candidates. This philosophy underpins its Teaching and
Learning Strategy and is reflected in the use of adult learning/student centred teaching and learning methodologies
The programme has been developed in close consultation with representatives of health care providers in Guernsey
who sat on the curriculum development group and participated in the course approval process. User representatives
were also involved.
20. Programme structure and regulations
To meet professional body requirements, the programme comprises 32 weeks of study at Level III (Level H).
Candidates must be registered nurses and are admitted to the programme holding 240 specific credits gained
through pre or post registration nursing programmes. The programme consists of 50% theoretical and 50% practicebased learning comprising a common core of preparation and specialist units. The core units must consist of not
less than 1/3rds and not more that 2/3rds of the total programme,
This programme is 32 weeks full-time or 64 weeks part-time in length, attracts 120 LIII credits at L III and is made up
of core units to the value of 50 credits and specialist units, including the dissertation unit, totalling 70 credit points.
The programme is normally delivered on a part-time basis over a period of two years although the option is available
for full time study should this be required. Candidates undertake study blocks at the beginning and end of each
semester and are supported in work-based and self-directed learning in the intervening periods by Institute lecturers
and practice educators.
There are three routes within the programme – district nursing, general practice nursing and community mental
health nursing. Candidates on all the routes share learning in the following units: Health Promotion and Education in
Community Specialist Practice, Evidence-based Community Specialist Practice and Leadership and Management in
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United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting, predecessor of the NMC
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Community Specialist Practice. Preparation for the dissertation is also shared. Candidates will also share learning
with students on the BMedSci (Hons) Specialist Practice (Adult Nursing) and the BMedSci (Hons) Community and
Public Health Practice programmes. Candidates undertake two units specific to their own area of intended practice,
the first focussing on enhancing their clinical practice, the second on developing their professional leadership skills.
To be awarded the degree and record the qualification of community specialist with the NMC, candidates must
successfully complete the following core units: Health Promotion and Education in Community Specialist Practice;
Evidence-based Community Specialist Practice; Leadership and Management in Community Specialist Practice;
Dissertation Specialist Practice – Adult Nursing and Community Specialist Practice Nursing. They must also
complete specialist units 1 and 2 in their area of specialist practice.
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. Candidate development over the course of study in the subject
This programme builds on the candidate’s existing knowledge and skills gained through study at Level I (Level C)
and Level II (Level I) and professional and personal experience. At the beginning of the programme, candidates are
expected to have some skills of critical analysis and evaluation, be able to communicate ideas effectively and
engage in arguments and debates and to have a broad knowledge of nursing and its underpinning theories. They
should demonstrate proficiency in all areas of personal, interpersonal and professional skills, and be expert in some
aspects of their professional practice.
B By the end of the course, it is expected that candidates will have developed their evaluative and analytical skills and
be able to synthesize new ideas based on their examination of current theories and research. They should be able
to present cogent arguments and discussions and debate effectively. Their knowledge of district nursing, general
practice nursing or community mental health nursing will have developed to the level of expert and they will use this
knowledge to problem solve and plan care at individual, group and population levels. Most personal and
interpersonal skills should have developed and be approaching the expert level. Although competency is required in
the professional skills in clinical practice, care and programme management, clinical practice leadership and clinical
practice development, candidates should be achieving proficiency if not approaching the expert level in some of
these areas.
22. Criteria for admission to the programme
For the district nursing route, candidates must be registered on the Nursing Part of the NMC Register (equating to
Parts 1 or 12 of the UKCC register).
For the general practice nursing route, candidates must be registered on the Nursing Part of the NMC Register
(equating to Parts 1, 8, 12 or 15 of the UKCC register).
For the community mental health nursing route, candidates must be on the Nursing Part of the NMC register
(equating to Parts 3 or 13 of the UKCC register)
All candidates must normally have 2 years experience in nursing practice. Candidates must also hold a diploma in
nursing from a UK university or equivalent credit determined through AP(E)L approved by the Board of Studies..
23. Additional information
As candidates are required to spend 50% of the time on this course in supervised and assessed clinical practice,
they must either be employed in the area in which they wish to obtain the qualification or have a written agreement
that they will be able to spend a minimum of 600 hours during the course working and being supervised and
assessed in the field in which they wish to qualify. For candidates already working in the field, support of managers
should be sought before applying because of the implications of supervision and assessment.
This course may be accessed by candidates living in other Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and, NMC approval
permitting, Gibraltar, providing they can travel to the island for study blocks and the Institute of Health and Social
Care Studies approves the clinical placement and supervision arrangements for the practice element of the course.
Supervision of learning between study blocks by Institute staff will incur additional costs for the candidate or
seconding employer.
Course costs and a detailed Course Handbook is available on request to the Course Administrator, Institute of
Health and Social Care Studies, Le Vauquiedor, St Andrew’s, Guernsey GY6 8TW.
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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 partner institution and the University.
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