community nurse and patient

Faculty of Health Sciences

Specialist Community Public Health Nursing & District Nursing

Continuing Professional Development PGDip

Start in September

Qualification Full time
Postgraduate Diploma 1 year

About the course 

PGDip Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting or School Nursing) & PGDip District Nursing - Specialist Practice Qualification

These programmes are aimed at post-registration nurses or midwives who wish to become a Specialist Practitioner (District Nurse) or a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (Health Visitor or School Nurse). These programmes are for qualified nurses (and qualified nurses or midwives in the case of health visiting and school nursing) who are currently registered on the NMC register. The course will develop your professional nursing practice and enable you to qualify in your chosen pathway as either a:

  • Community Nursing Specialist Practice Qualification - District Nurse
  • Specialist Community Public Health Nurse - Health Visitor
  • Specialist Community Public Health Nurse - School Nurse

The programmes are compliant with NMC (2022) Standards of Proficiency for specialist community public health nurses for the health visiting and school nursing pathways and the NMC (2022) Standards of Proficiency for community nursing specialist practice qualification (District Nursing). Applications for 2024 are subject to NMC programme approval. 

All pathways enable you to develop your skills to become a competent, highly skilled, autonomous community practitioner committed to improving people’s health and wellbeing through: leadership and implementing evidence to improve practice in specialist community nursing, evaluating approaches to leading improvements in safety, quality of care, and providing care coordination and system leadership.

 

Assessment information

A range of different assessment strategies will be used including, individual presentations, essays, OSCE and a practice portfolio. The programmes require attainment of both the theoretical and practice components, with the programmes centred on application of the theory to the student’s chosen specialist pathway.

Attendance requirements

A combination of workplace learning and University attendance, depending on the selection of modules and the modes of teaching and delivery identified for each module.

Students will be committed to the programme for five days per week. The days will be split between theory and practice, with the overall structure of the programme comprising 50% theory and 50% practice.

The programme will normally be completed during one 52-week academic year. Students are expected to attend for all theory and practice sessions.

 

Where you'll study

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What you'll study 

The modules you will study depend on which pathway you have chosen. There are two core modules which all students will undertake regardless of their pathway. For the chosen pathway (SCPHN or SPQ) students will undertake 4 pathway specific modules.

Core modules
  • Research Methods for Evidence Based Specialist Community Practice

    Specialist community nurses need to have the knowledge and skills to locate, identify, critically evaluate, and proactively apply multiple sources of evidence and research relevant to people, communities, and populations, to promote health and well-being and prevent ill-health. The module will focus on developing the student’s ability to appraise health and social care evidence and research and to use this knowledge to consider what works in practice, explain what may need to change in practice, and why. The module will allow students to propose and lead on implementing new and innovative ideas and research to inform and improve the health and wellbeing of people across the life course.

  • Leadership in Specialist Community Practice

    Leadership is a fundamental aspect of the specialist community practitioner role for both the Standards of Proficiency for Specialist Community Public Health Nurses (Health Visiting and School Nursing) (SCPHN) and the Standards of Proficiency for Community Nursing Specialist Practice Qualifications (SPQ) District Nurse (DN) awards. The ability to lead teams, services, and individual caseloads, while acting as a role model for good practice are key roles and responsibilities of registered nurses with a SCPHN and DNSPQ qualification. To provide the skills and knowledge for students on these programmes to fulfil these roles, the course will look at a range of topics associated with leadership, with a particular focus on effective collaboration and communication, managing conflict and delegation ensuring the appropriate use of available resources.

 

Specialist Practice Qualification (District Nursing)

Core modules
  • Supporting Adults with Long Term Conditions

    The number of people living with a long term condition is on the increase. This contemporary module gives you the skills, knowledge, approaches, and behaviour needed to support people living with chronic illness.

  • Promoting Health in Individuals and Communities

    The module will provide students with key theoretical knowledge to prepare them for their role as a Specialist Practitioner (District Nurse) in promoting health in individuals and communities. Being able to engage effectively and work with people in their own homes to support them to make informed decisions to improve their mental and physical health are key roles of the District Nurse. This module will focus on health promotion at individual and community level, the assessment of health needs in partnership with people, families, communities, and populations to support them to take decisions and actions that improve their own mental, physical, and behavioural health and wellbeing and involving families in health promotion. The use of technologies in health promotion will also be explored.

  • Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning

    The NMC (2022) Standards of proficiency for community nursing specialist practice require the District Nurse to exercise a high level of professional judgement and be capable of complex decision making. They need to be highly skilled in using an evidence-based approach and undertake an individualised holistic assessment. This module will focus on developing the students’ ability to conduct a precise and thorough consultation and holistic patient assessment enabling them to co-produce evidence-based care plans with people.

  • Professional Practice for Specialist Community Nursing (District Nursing)

    This module is a practice-based learning module that culminates in the students achieving all of the core standards and field specific proficiencies for their Specialist Field of Practice (District Nursing). Students are required to demonstrate a high level of knowledge and critical thinking consistently in practice with minimal guidance and supervision by the end of this module.


Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting and School Nursing)

Core modules
  • Family Focused Public Health Practice

    Health Visitors and School Nurses have a key role in ensuring that the health of children, parents, carers, families, communities, and populations are promoted, improved, and protected to create the best foundation for their long-term sustainable health and wellbeing. This module will equip students with knowledge and skills to develop open and meaningful dialogue with children, young people and families, and advanced assessment and communication skills to identify and assess need and prioritise support based on assessed risk. The module will focus on the core skills for Health Visitors and School Nurses in developing interventions to support and empower school-aged children, parents, and families in their life choices to promote health and wellbeing, prevent ill health, manage emerging health risks, and improve ongoing health and life outcomes.

  • Working with Families and Communities to Safeguard Children and Young People

    Designed for public health nurses and other community nurses and practitioners, this module will give you the up to date knowledge of the theory and practice skills to work safely to safeguard children and young people.

  • Public Health and Health Promotion

    The module will equip students with the theoretical knowledge to prepare them to practice with a high level of autonomy and innovation as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse. School Nurses and Health Visitors are required to actively seek out opportunities to promote and improve health services and the quality of health care that is provided to children, parents, carers, and families. The module will focus on equipping School Nurses and Health Visitors with the skills and knowledge in health promotion, for collaborative working with other services while recognising the individual needs of children, young people, parents, and families.

  • Professional Practice for Specialist Community Nursing (Health Visiting or School Nursing)

    This module is a practice-based learning module that culminates in the students achieving all of the core standards and field specific proficiencies for their Specialist Field of Practice (Health Visiting or School Nursing). Students are required to demonstrate a high level of knowledge and critical thinking consistently in practice with minimal guidance and supervision by the end of this module.

 

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Benefit from the amazing facilities of our new £28-million Health Campus with its mock operating theatre, hospital ward and intensive care unit.

Find out more

Developed with our NHS partners, our programmes are constantly updated to reflect the very latest in health care thinking.

Clinical placements give our students the skills, experience and support to become confident and compassionate health practitioners.

Expert staff work with NHS clinicians to deliver programmes from ‘bite-size’ taster sessions to PhDs in some of the UK’s finest facilities.

Fees and funding

This course is currently fully funded by NHS England.

There are some extra costs that you might have to pay, such as books, printing and photocopying, and memberships.

Entry requirements 

To apply for this programme you must:

  • Hold current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council of the United Kingdom (NMC)
  • Possess a Bachelors degree
  • Demonstrate evidence of recent academic study or equivalent within the last 5 years.

How to apply

The recruitment process is in two stages, the first being an employer-led advert and interview process. If successful at interview, you will complete an online application with the University of Hull.

All pathways enable you to effectively monitor and improve the standards of care through: supervision of practice; clinical audit; development of practice through research; teaching and the support of professional colleagues; and the provision of skilled professional leadership.

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