The MSc Advanced Clinical Practice course has been developed in response to the needs of stakeholders who require an advanced clinical practitioner who will be able to assess, diagnose and where appropriate prescribe as well as ensure that care and management of the patient is delivered and evaluated. As a student on this course, you will complete a range of challenging and stimulating modules that will help you advance your knowledge and skills and achieve success. I look forward to working with you, and please get in contact if you need any support.

Ollie Phipps
Course Director

Key dates

Course start date: 16 September 2024

Academic Calendar: Trimesters

View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2024-25 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays. 

Welcome and induction

Your Welcome Week is an essential introduction to your course and student life at CCCU, helping you to feel confident and prepared for your studies right from the very start.

It is important to check your Welcome Schedule for all the activities you are required to attend during the week.

If any of your welcome activities are in groups, your course team will contact you before your arrival to let you know which group you will be in.

Your teaching timetable 

UniTimetables provides an overview of all teaching activities on a course. Your individual timetable will be available via MyTimetable and is personalised to show you what modules and groups you are expected to attend.

Your individual student timetable can only be produced once you have engaged with online registration and created your computing account. It is essential you complete these tasks when invited, so that your course team can assign you to your teaching activities and publish your individual timetable.

Find out more about all aspects of timetabling for new students including user guides.

Welcome

The MSC Advanced Clinical Practice course, will offer you a course of study that has been developed to ensure that on completion you have reached the required educational level of an advanced clinical practitioner (ACP). The successful completion of the MSc Advanced clinical practice does not mean that you are able to work as an ACP, you must also meet your employer’s requirements through completion of their bespoke competencies, supported to enhance your scope of professional practice, to be able to be classified as an ACP.

The modules on the course will follow nationally prescribed guidance on the ACP role. The course at Canterbury Christ Church University is accredited by the Centre for Advancing Practice.

Please note that if your profession does not allow you to prescribe you are still able to complete the course and work as an ACP. Therefore, you will undertake modules that will enhance your role.

This course is based on developing your role to be able to fulfil this advanced practice specification. In addition, the course ensures that the 4 pillars of ACP are considered: Clinical practice, management/ leadership, education, and research. These 4 aspects are embedded within the modules.

We would encourage you to review the course structure and module options via your course page before you arrive.

Getting started

Pre-course Tasks

Before the course begins take some time to familiarize yourself with the four pillars of Advanced Clinical Practice. 

 You could also look at the NHS England ACP website as well as the Multi-professional framework for Advanced Clinical Practice. Think about your own learning outcomes and how you plan to achieve them. 

Finally it would be useful if you have identified a co-ordinating education supervisor who can support you during the course. This should be a senior clinician. 

Pre-course reading

Please make yourself aware of:

Further Reading
  • Diamond-Fox, S., Hill, B., Stone, S., Gardner, N., McCrea, C., Roberts, A. (2023) The Advanced Practitioner in Acute, Emergency and Critical Care. Wiley. London.
  • Higgins C (2007) Understanding laboratory investigations: for nurses and health professionals. Blackwell Publishing. UK 
  • Hill, B. (2021) Non-Medical Prescribing at a Glance. Wiley. London.
  • Hill, B. & Diamond-Fox, S. (2022) Advanced Practice at a Glance. Wiley. London.
  • Huether, S.E.; McCance, K.L. (2016) Understanding Pathophysiology. 6th edition. St Louis: Mosby. 
  • Kumar, P. & Clark, M. (2012) Clinical Medicine. 8th ed. London: Elsevier 
  • Japp A, Robertson C ( 2013) Macleads's Clinical Diagnosis. Churchill Livingstone . London. 
  • Llewelyn, H.; Hock, A.A.; Lewis, K.; et al. (2014). Oxford Handbook of Clinical Diagnosis. 3rd edition. Oxford University Press 
  • Lovell, B.; Lander, M.;& Murch, N. (2020) Clinical Skills, Diagnostics & Reasoning. Oxford: Scion
  • Peate, I., Hill, B. & Diamond-Fox, S. (2023) The Advanced Practitioner. Wiley. London.
  • Phipps, O. & Lugg, J. (2016). Rapid Emergency & Unscheduled Care. Wiley Blackwell. 
  • Phipps, O, Setchfield, I, Diamond-Fox, S. & Hill, B. (2024) Pathophysiology, Diagnostics, and Decisioning Making in Advanced Practice. Wiley. London. (In progress).
  • Talley N J, O Connor S ( 2014) Clinical examination: A systematic guide to physical diagnosis. 7th Ed. Elsevier. London.