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Nursing: Advanced Practice with Prescribing (PDip)

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Course Overview

Important: This course is NOT on offer for Entry 2021. 

Please see new Postgraduate Diploma (Advanced Practice Nursing) instead, which should be of interest.

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The programme will equip you with the knowledge and skills to pursue accreditation as an Advanced Nurse/Midwife Practitioner. The programme also leads to registration as a nurse prescriber. The outcomes of the programme include development of a portfolio of advanced practice competencies required for registration as a Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner (RANP) or Registered Advanced Midwife Practitioner (RAMP) with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI). Modules include ones that prepare students for advanced practice in their specialist area, for instance, physical assessment skills and clinical decision-making. 

Scholarships available
Find out about our Postgraduate Scholarships here.

Applications and Selections

Applications are made online via the NUI Galway Postgraduate Applications System. 

The programme team's decision is based on the applicant meeting all the entry criteria and on their written application, to include written evidence of support for the applicant from their Director of Nursing. This written support should include agreement to facilitate the applicants development of core and specific advanced practice competencies and written evidence of support for the applicant from an appropriate clinical supervisor.

Who Teaches this Course

Full staff list here.

Requirements and Assessment

Modules are assessed using a combination of coursework, objective-structured clinical examination, and clinical assessment.

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

All applicants must meet the following entry requirements: 

  1. Have attained a master’s degree in Nursing, or its equivalent;
  2. Be a registered nurse on the General, Midwifery, Mental Health, or Learning Disability Nurse divisions of the register maintained by the NMBI;
  3. Have practised as a nurse or midwife for a minimum of six years post-registration, four of which include experience in the chosen area of expertise (exclusive of post-registration educational programmes);
  4. Provide written evidence of support for the applicant from their Director of Nursing and written evidence of support for the applicant from an appropriate clinical supervisor.

Additional Requirements

Duration

1 year, full-time

Next start date

This course is not on offer for Entry 2021.

A Level Grades ()

Average intake

10 places (minimum)

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

Closing Date

This course is not on offer for Entry 2021. 

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

60

Award

CAO

Course code

1PMA1

Course Outline

The programme will equip you with the knowledge and skills to pursue accreditation as an Advanced Nurse/Midwife Practitioner. The programme also leads to registration as a nurse prescriber. The outcomes of the programme include development of a portfolio of advanced practice competentices required for registration as a RANP with An Bord Altranais agus Cnáimhseachais na hÉireann.

The course is approved by The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland and has a clinical focus, offering opportunities to develop specialist skills.

Blended learning is an innovative and flexible approach to learning, making it possible to combine working full-time with studying.

Modules include ones that prepare students for advanced practice in their specialist area, for instance, physical assessment skills and clinical decision making. Students also prepare a portfolio of advancing.

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits
You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module
An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Optional
A module you may choose to study.
Required
A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Semester
Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year.

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Required NU6508: Decision Making, Nursing and Advanced Practice Professional Roles


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

Content covered will include case management; clinical decision-making; standards of care; ethics; cultural competence; person centred care. Advanced Practice role development; professional issues; theoretical perspectives informing advanced practice roles; and self-management (time and stress management). Contemporary issues in health care; the future of health service delivery. Opportunities will be provided to explore issues related to case management, major pathophysiologic disease processes as applied to clinical decision-making, and standards of care, ethics and role development. Research related to these topics will be used to highlight the changing nature of heath care. Analysis of the role of the advanced nurse practitioner will be emphasised. Within the clinical environment, candidates will expand clinical decision-making abilities and practice advanced, complex, case management under the supervision of a designated clinical supervisor. The theoretical component of this module is applied in clinical practice.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Design case management algorithms combining quality assurance standards, evidence based practice, and clinical guidelines to support decision analysis.
  2. Integrate advanced pathology and pathophysiology in diagnostic reasoning and case management.
  3. Apply advanced health assessment and communication techniques in decision-making processes.
  4. Evaluate external stimuli that determine direction of the advanced nurse practitioner role in the delivery of quality patient care.
  5. Explore the use of an evidence-based evaluation framework in the context of the advanced nurse practitioner role.
  6. Appraise the professional role of the advanced nurse practitioner combining a nursing framework with standards of practice.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module NU6508: "Decision Making, Nursing and Advanced Practice Professional Roles" and is valid from 2018 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required NU631.I: Physical Assessment Skills


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This module aims to provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills to obtain a comprehensive health history and complete a physical assessment on a patient in the clinical setting.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Demonstrate the ability to review a patient’s health history
  2. Demonstrate clinical competence in physical assessment skills
  3. Critically analyse patient data and prioritise patient problems
  4. Explicate nursing interventions that meet the individual patient’s needs
  5. Integrate appropriate consultation skills with the patient and the multidisciplinary team for effective case management
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module NU631.I: "Physical Assessment Skills" and is valid from 2018 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required NU011.II: Drugs, Patients and Illness


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

Welcome to this module entitled “Drugs, Patients and Illnesses”. As the title suggests, this module will focus on the pharmacological treatment of patients. It will take you from the basic principles of how drugs work and how the body deals with drugs, through to the application of these principles to commonly encountered drugs used in a range of clinical applications. Moreover, the challenges of patient variability in drug response, polypharmacy and risk and cost benefit assessments will be explored. The module provides opportunities for you to be able to apply knowledge to your own clinical setting.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Possess a firm understanding of the fundamental concepts of Pharmacology.
  2. Use the autonomic nervous system to illustrate the mechanisms of drug action.
  3. Identify the composite features of the “pharmacology” of a drug, and apply these in their work setting.
  4. Describe the pharmacological approach to a range of diseases and conditions.
  5. Be aware of the issues surrounding the pharmacological treatment of individual patients and their illness.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module NU011.II: "Drugs, Patients and Illness" and is valid from 2018 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required NU010.II: Professional, Ethical & Legal Issues of Nurse and Midwife Prescribing)


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module aims to provide nurses and midwives with the knowledge and skills to be competent, safe and effective prescribers within their own area of competence. This module addresses professional, ethical and legal issues associated with prescribing and provides the foundation for the other modules in this programme.

Learning Outcomes
  1. Understand and comply with the regulatory framework associated with medicinal product prescribing.
  2. Use evidence based knowledge to support their prescribing practice.
  3. Apply ethical principles and concepts in their prescribing practice.
  4. Analyse and form judgements on how to respond to ethical issues that may arise in practice.
  5. Undertake effective consultation with clients including appropriate history taking and assessment to inform diagnosis and prescribing practice.
  6. Demonstrate a client centred approach in their practice, emphasising personal choice and responsibility in line with best practice.
  7. Analyse and respond effectively to the factors that influence clients’ decision-making in respect to treatment regimes.
  8. Establish a support network, for example pharmacists, consultants or others, to support their prescribing practice.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module NU010.II: "Professional, Ethical & Legal Issues of Nurse and Midwife Prescribing)" and is valid from 2018 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required NU437: Transition to Advanced Practice - Part 1


Trimester 3 | Credits: 20

Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module NU437: "Transition to Advanced Practice - Part 1" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required NU012: Competency Assessment


Semester 2 | Credits: 0

‘Practice’ is considered central to learning on this programme because it is only in practice that the ‘real’ curriculum will be experienced and operationalised. All modules will emphasise the application of what is learnt in class in practice and students will be challenged to critically examine the relevance and applicability of the content explored in class in their practice. Students are required to work for the duration of the programme in the specific area of practice in which prescribing is proposed. This allows students to ‘test’ out their learning in the reality of their practice. Students will be supported and mentored by a designated nurse/midwife/medical practitioner for the duration of the programme. During the timespan of the programme (26 weeks) the designated nurse/midwife/medical practitioner (the student’s mentor) will provide 12-days of formal direct supervision. It is anticipated that students will spend the majority of their placement in their own work setting. However, discretionary placement experience may be selected on the basis of identified learning needs of the student and the competence to be achieved.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Clinical learning outcomes will be individualised to the student and developed in consultation with the student, the mentor and programme director. Clinical learning outcomes will focus on enabling students to achieve competency and will focus on the principles of good prescribing and the prescribing pyramid (An Bord Altranais, 2003; National Prescribing Centre 1999).
  2. To be deemed competent, and thus eligible for entry on the Register, students must reach the level specified in each of the five Domains of Competence identified by An Bord Altranais (2007). The five domains of competencies are: Professional/Ethical Nursing Practice Holistic Nursing Care Interpersonal Relationships Organisation and Co-Ordination of Nursing Care Personal and Professional Development.
  3. Professional/Ethical Nursing Practice
  4. Holistic Nursing Care
  5. Interpersonal Relationships
  6. Organisation and Co-Ordination of Nursing Care
  7. Personal and Professional Development.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module NU012: "Competency Assessment" and is valid from 2018 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional NU530: The Contexts and Issues Related to Advanced Practice


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module NU530: "The Contexts and Issues Related to Advanced Practice" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

Graduates have found employment in the health services, and can pursue accreditation with An Bord Altranais agus Cnáimhseachais na hÉireann to register as an Advanced Nurse or Midwife Practitioner.

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

 

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€4,240 p.a. 2021/22

Fees: Tuition

€4,016 p.a. 2021/22

Fees: Student levy

€224 p.a. 2021/22

Fees: Non EU

€13,250 p.a. 2021/22

Find out More

Catherine Meagher
T: + 353 91 492 829
E: catherine.meagher@nuigalway.ie

Downloads

  • Postgraduate Taught Prospectus 2021

    Postgraduate Taught Prospectus 2021 PDF (11.3MB)