Course overview
This degree apprenticeship enables the apprentice to develop their personal and professional autonomy, providing them with a comprehensive and critical understanding of professional practice, ensuring that they are fit for future challenges within health and social care.
The apprenticeship is flexible for multi-professional individuals from all areas of advanced practice within acute and primary care sectors – apprentices access the same core modules. The negotiated competencies within the first-year portfolio module give the apprentice flexibility to ensure maximum relevance and application to their clinical area. The apprentice has the opportunity to develop advanced and core transferable skills relevant to midwifery – they develop their advanced clinical decision-making skills, use evidence-based approaches to care, lead innovation and practice, and develop high levels of autonomy.
The apprenticeship is developed in partnership with key stakeholders from practice and delivered by an experienced team with knowledge and academic credibility both within and outside the University. This multi-professional team has a wealth of experience in developing and delivering modules of this nature for healthcare professionals at all academic levels. The apprentice studies this course on a part-time basis over three years. They are supported through their studies by an academic supervisor, and they also need to identify a practice supervisor.
Please note, we can only respond to enquiries from employers, or individuals with agreement from their employer to undertake an apprenticeship.
Supporting information for applicants
* Subject to University approval
Course details
Course structure
Year 1 core modules
Advanced Physical Assessment and Disease Management Skills
Designed to equip you as a registered healthcare professional, with the knowledge and skills required for focused clinical assessment, differential diagnosis, diagnostic triage and management of common disease presentations in primary and acute care. You attend sessions addressing the focused application of core clinical skills, and common symptom and sign presentations across the lifespan. This module is delivered over one semester through fortnightly sessions. Work-based experience is a strong focus to apply your knowledge to practice, supported by a workbook. You develop knowledge and skills in the assessment and management of patient cases.
Competencies for Advanced Midwifery Practitioner
Year 2 core modules
Develop the knowledge and skills you need to design and manage primary or secondary research, audit or evaluation project relevant to your practice, preparing you for dissertation. You also cover research governance and ethics, to prepare you to apply for ethical approval or release.
You are assessed through a written 4,000-word proposal for a research, audit or evaluation study, which is worth 100% of the module marks and should be submitted in week 13.
and one optional module
Advancing Non-medical Prescribing
Independent and supplementary prescribing is an integrated feature of health service delivery – some health-specific professionals are qualified to prescribe across a range of healthcare settings. Advancing roles within both nursing and allied health professions have provided a greater access to medicines. This award provides nurses and allied health professionals (physiotherapists, radiographers, podiatrists, dietitians and paramedics who are working in advanced practice roles) with the knowledge and skills to prescribe safely and effectively. You must work within your own scope of practice and area of competence, and be in a position to complete the care cycle in a holistic manner for clients within your care. You must meet the individual entry criteria for this course. Taught on Tuesdays.
Negotiated Learning in Advanced Clinical Practice
You explore a specific area of advanced professional practice or academic study in depth, critically evaluating relevant theory and research, and linking this theory to advanced professional practice. Your chosen topic should demonstrate development in your area of specialist practice.
You are encouraged and facilitated in an independent approach to learning with tutor support. The module leader introduces you to the module and assessment process at the beginning of the semester. You are allocated a supervisor who provides tutorial support. Alternatively you can study this module online through the virtual learning environment and email.
Assessment is negotiated within the learning contract and can take a variety of forms such as a 4,000-word written assignment, viva, defended poster or a report. The assessment must include a critical evaluation of the impact of the module on your personal learning and professional practice. Taught on Mondays.
Final-year core modules
End-point Assessment for Higher Apprenticeship Advanced Practitioners
This module supports the end-point assessment if you are studying this course as part of the integrated degree apprenticeship. The end-point assessment demonstrates that you have achieved the four pillars of advanced practice – research, leadership, education and clinical practice. You need to achieve 160 credits.
You draw on a combination of practice experience, clinical supervision and blended approaches to teaching. For the practice aspect of the module your allocated clinical supervisor provides guidance on the clinical aspects of your case study and the suitability of your topic for a clinical practice change report. You have three contact sessions, each lasting six hours within semester 2, to establish, develop and maintain your ability to address the criteria for the module and related assignments. Taught on Tuesdays.
Independent Project for Apprenticeship Advanced Practitioners
This innovative approach to developing your dissertation enables you to demonstrate how acquiring mastery impacts on your clinical practice. Your negotiated independent project demonstrates how you are achieving the four pillars of advanced practice – research, leadership, education and clinical practice.
Using a blended approach, you must attend for three, three-hour seminars in semester 1. The sessions establish, maintain and provide support throughout the dissertation module. You are allocated an academic supervisor in Year 2 of the course to guide and support you throughout the project.
This module is assessed by a 3,000-word journal article, demonstrating advanced practice within your area of interest. This can take the form of a research project, service evaluation, audit or systematic review. This informs your development of the specialist area of practice identified within your role. You are expected to write the research paper in a format appropriate for publication, although the paper does not need to be published as part of this module. Taught on Tuesdays.
Modules offered may vary.
How you learn
We use a range of teaching and learning methods throughout the course. These include key lectures, seminars, laboratory-based learning, structured resource-based learning, electronic discussion, action-learning sets, masterclasses, formative processes, tutorials, small-group work, research tutorials, practical skills-based sessions, reflective practice, independent working and work-based learning.
Initially, the apprentice attend University one day a week in the first semester. We offer an increasing amount of distance-learning, promoting independent learning within the course – except the Advancing Non-medical Prescribing module which is regulated. This culminates in the third year when the apprentice develops their independent dissertation portfolio.
How you are assessed
Modules within this course have summative assessments to assess the module learning outcomes.
The modules use a variety of assessment methods to help develop advanced knowledge and skills for clinical practice. Apprentices are assessed on the four pillars of advanced practice throughout the course. Assessment methods include a written assignment, work-based learning through advanced clinical practitioner competencies, consultation clinics, reflective accounts, portfolio development, critical appraisal and evaluation of the evidence base, modified objective structured clinical examination record, viva (oral exam), patient case studies to develop and exhibit high levels of clinical reasoning and practical exams to demonstrate advanced decision-making skills.
Summative assessment within the core modules requires the apprentice to critically evaluate key areas about their area of work.
Group discussions and student-led seminars enable both peer and tutor feedback in relation to learning.
Entry requirements
To be accepted on to an apprenticeship course you must have support from your employer and meet the course entry requirements.
Apprentices must:
> have current registration with a relevant professional healthcare body such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council or Health and Care Professions Council
> have an honour’s degree in a health-related subject (previous experience and evidence of study at Level 6 may be considered)
> work in a healthcare organisation, normally at the equivalent of band 6 (or above) within an area of advanced practice
> work in a midwifery role which requires diagnostic and therapeutic responsibility for a patient caseload for a minimum of 20 hours a week
> have a minimum of three years’, full-time or equivalent in part-time hours, post-registration clinical experience
> be able to organise for a suitable practitioner (for example, a medical doctor or an active advanced practitioner) to act as a practice supervisor
> hold Level 2 qualifications in English and maths before starting their Teesside University apprenticeship. Find out more.
For general information please see our overview of entry requirements
Employability
Career opportunities
