Programme Specification Programme Title and Name of Award Professional Qualifications / Accreditation Certificate of Achievement (CoA) in Multi-Professional Support of Learning and Assessment in Practice. This CoA is aligned to the practice standards set out by the following professions: Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2008), Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT), Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) and Society of Radiographers (SCoR). Academic Level Level 7 Total Credits 20 credits UCAS Code Not Applicable JACS Code X990 The University s standard criteria for admissions apply. Please refer to the Applicant Information pages of the University website for more information. Detailed criteria for admission to this programme can be found on the programme webpage: http://www.cumbria.ac.uk/study/courses/cpdand-short-courses/multiprofessional-support-of-learning-andassessment-in-practice/ Criteria for Admission to the Programme Candidates must be able to satisfy the post-graduate admissions criteria of the University of Cumbria. You must have current registration as a Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health Professionals Health Professional, and have been working as a registered practitioner for a minimum period of one year before you can enrol onto the programme (NMC 2008, HCPC 2014). For this award students are required to have post-graduate level study (relevant honours degree, classification (2ii) or above) from a profession recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). The following additional requirements apply for entry to this programme: you will need to have access to a practice setting to enable work-based elements of the award and, where required by the professional body, for the assessment of competence. You will need to be able to supervise, support and assess a learner (student, trainee, new member of staff) within your area of practice, under the supervision of qualified mentor (Nurses) or sign off mentor (Midwifery) who is live on the local mentor register (NMC 2008). You will be required to identify your nominated mentor as part of the application and admissions process, as the programme lead will need to undertake mentor status checks (NMC 2008) prior to you commencing the programme, therefore any offer of a place is conditional upon satisfactory confirmation of this. All rights including copyright in the content of this programme are owned or controlled by the University of Cumbria. Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law or by the University of Cumbria, the content of the programme may not be copied, duplicated, reproduced, republished, posted, distributed or broadcast in any way without the written permission of the University of Cumbria
For Allied Health Professionals Health Professionals you will need to be supervised by an educator who can support, facilitate and assess your mentoring activities in practice. You will be using IT and a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) throughout the award and it is expected that they will be able to use a computer to a basic standard, therefore you should have access to a computer and the internet for the duration of the award. Accredited Prior Learning (APL) is not be applicable for these programmes of study. However, those choosing to undertake the modules (or equivalent) through the CPD Practice Development Framework may apply for APL. Teaching Institution Owning Department Programme delivered in conjunction with Principal Mode of Delivery Pattern of Delivery Delivery Site(s) Programme Length Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) Exit Awards University of Cumbria (UoC) Nursing, Health & Professional Practice Offsite delivery within National Health Service (NHS) Trusts as named within the Health Education England s contract with UoC for the delivery of healthcare education NHS Trusts and Private and Voluntary Providers. Blended learning, Work-Based Learning, Distance Learning Part Time All University of Cumbria sites, campuses and approved partner locations. Off-site delivery will be in line with University of Cumbria policy. Standard registration period (part time) is 1 semester to the maximum registration period of 1 year. Upon successful completion of this programme, you may receive a Diploma Supplement/Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR). On successful completion, the exit award is a certificate of achievement (CoA) for 20 credits of study which is aligned to the practice standards by the following professions (NMC, RCOT, CSP and SCoR). Programme Features This is a multi-professional award designed for registered health and social care professionals to support their development as practitioners whose role requires them to facilitate and assess students learning in practice settings, including their fitness to practice. It can also be accessed by suitably registered applicants from third sector organisations, for example charities. It facilitates multiprofessional learning and enables the cross fertilisation of knowledge and skills. It enables the professional to apply learning and experience to the development of multi-professional practice based 3
learning opportunities and also to utilise their skills in the supervision and mentorship of learners from a range of the health and social care professions. The theoretical component for credit bearing modules at levels 5, 6 and 7 will be delivered together, the differentiation of levels will be achieved through the learning outcomes for each level of study and in the assessment of practice. The award aims to develop communication, analytical, judgement, evaluation, planning and organisational skills together with the knowledge, training and experience to support continuing professional development (CPD) and the development of career pathways. It will run on a part-time basis for the equivalent of one semester. Specific professional requirements may dictate a longer completion period up to a maximum of one year. In order to successfully complete the practice elements of the programme you must be able to supervise, support and assess a learner (student, trainee, new member of staff) within their area of practice, under the supervision of qualified mentor (Nurses) or sign off mentor (Midwifery) who is live on the local mentor register (NMC 2008) or an educator (Allied Health Professionals Health professionals) who can support, facilitate and assess your mentoring activities in practice. The award is aligned to relevant professional standards (NMC, RCOT, CSP, SCoR) and successful completion demonstrates you have met the NMC (2008) standards to support learning and assessment in practice. This includes the requirement for NMC registrants to demonstrate completion of 5 days, or 37.5 hours, learning in practice additional to the 5 days academic content, resulting in 10 days of content in addition to spending a minimum of 40% of your practice hours being supervised by your mentor. Completion of this award meets the entry requirements for the postgraduate certificate (PgC) in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education which is aligned with the NMC (2008) Practice Teacher award. Also you will be added onto the local live mentor database within your organisation, in order to maintain your competence as a mentor in practice, you will be required to attend an annual mentor update and complete triennial review every three years (NMC 2008). For Allied Health Professionals Health Professionals from the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) this can lead to Accreditation of Practice Placement Educator Scheme (APPLE) and this programme is also aligned to the practice standards (CSP, SCoR). Aims of the Programme The overall aims of the Programme are: 1. To develop you as a skilled practitioner who is able to critically discuss, analyse and evaluate contemporary education and mentorship perspectives, theories and models applicable in practice based settings. 2. To provide a forum to share experiences of learning, teaching and assessment across the professions and within the range of health and social care settings. 3. To enable you to critically analyse and apply judgement when assessing learning and fitness to practice. 4. To enable you to analyse evidence based practice and leadership skills in mentorship, using a critically reflective approach. 5. By the end of the programme Nurses and Midwives will have met the requirements of the NMC (2008) standards. Level Descriptors 4
Level Descriptors describe in general terms the expected outcomes you will achieve at each level of study as you progress through your programmes. They describe the relative demand, complexity, depth of learning and learner autonomy associated with a particular level of learning and achievement. The University s Level Descriptors are aligned to the national Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) and are a key mechanism for ensuring the academic standards of the University s provision. At Level 7, you will be able to demonstrate that you have the ability: To display a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of your academic discipline, field of study or area of professional practice. Employ advanced subject-specific and cognitive skills to enable decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations. Generate new ideas and support the achievement of desired outcomes Accept accountability for decision making including the use of supervision Analyse complex concepts and professional situations by means of synthesis of personal and work place reflection and data drawn from scholarship and research in the field. Programme Outcomes Knowledge and Understanding The programme provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate the following: After 20 credits of study (CoA) you will be able to demonstrate: K1. Critical analysis and evaluation of theories of learning and teaching and contemporary approaches to mentorship in order to facilitate learning within practice based settings. K2. An ability to critically analyse and evaluate principles of assessment and apply these to learners in practice settings with consideration to accountability and responsibility (with reference to relevant professional codes). K3. Critically analysis and review of the management and organisational issues involved in mentorship. Programme Outcomes Skills and other Attributes (including Employability Skills) The programme provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate the following: After 20 credits of study (CoA) you will be able to demonstrate: S1. Critically evaluation of effective working relationships as part of a wider inter-professional team, which recognises the diversity of all individuals in practice based settings. S2. Critically analysis of evidence based practice and leadership skills in mentorship. External and Internal Reference Points The following Subject Benchmark Statements and other external and internal reference points have been used to inform the Programme Outcomes: 5
The award is compliant with the NMC (2008) Standards to support learning and assessment in practice: https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards/additional-standards/standards-to-support-learning-andassessment-in-practice. Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) Accreditation of Practice Placement Educators Scheme (APPLE): https://www.cot.co.uk/accreditation-practice-placement-educators-apple/apple-scheme Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP): http://www.csp.org.uk/ Society of Radiographers (SCoR): https://www.sor.org/ UK Quality Code for Higher Education, Part B: Assuring and enhancing academic quality, Chapter B3: Learning and Teaching, Section 2: work based and placement learning, Indicators 1, 2 and 7 (QAA 2011) The framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (QAA 2008). Teaching, Learning and Assessment Strategies employed to enable the Programme Outcomes to be Achieved and Demonstrated This programme is designed to ensure the acquisition and development of appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills, which are required to become a mentor/educator, who is responsible for facilitating and assessing students learning in practice based settings, which includes their fitness to practice. Sharing experiences through face to face and distance learning, the discussion groups and debate are integral to this award to develop critical thinking, learning and reasoning skills and to enhance the concept of multi-professional support in the practice setting and to place emphasis on independent learning to foster depth of knowledge and understanding. Peer discussion, feedback and activities will be used throughout the programme, which will be implicitly integrated into the patchwork text portfolio. You will also need to provide a range of evidence of your development as a mentor in practice which may include reflections on teaching and assessments undertaken, testimonials, examples of learning resources developed for learners. This evidence will be mapped to the learning outcomes of the programme and the NMC (2008) domains, this is also aligned to the RCOT, CSP, and SCoR practice standards and APPLE accreditation. The Nursing and Midwifery Council require evidence of 5 days (37.5 protected learning hours), the hours of which must be logged within the qualificatory practice component for all modes of delivery. Sign off mentor (SOM) status: is compulsory for Midwives. Nurses are encouraged to complete this, although this is entirely voluntary. Both Nurses and Midwives must be supported by an appropriate SOM in practice on the same part of the register and from the same field of practice (NMC 2008). To achieve SOM status, summative assessments must be undertaken with a final year student in their final placement where an assessment is required in order for them to be registered with their professional body. This additional element of the programme involves either undertaking three summative assessments on three separate occasions in practice or two of these assessments can be simulations and one must be a summative practice assessment. If you need to complete SOM status, please contact the programme leader to obtain access to the SOM blackboard resource which provides access to the two simulations, simulation test and SOM assessment paperwork. VLE will be utilised to support the flexibility of delivery of the award. In summary in accordance with UoC Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy: 1. To place student learning at the heart of what we do 2. To promote learning partnerships 6
3. To embrace innovative approaches to learning, teaching and assessment 4. To continue to recruit well qualified, high quality staff 5. To provide staff development opportunities appropriate to a University focused on student learning 6. To ensure quality provision through robust review and enhancement processes. Student Support Academic Support: You will also be allocated a Personal Tutor. Your Personal Tutor will be proactively involved in the delivery of your programme and will have contact with you throughout your time at the University. They will support your learning and development, including tutorials and other support as outlined in the Personal Tutor Policy. Practice Based Support: Nurses will need to be supervised by a qualified mentor and sign off mentors for Midwives, both of which should be live on the local mentor register (NMC 2008). Allied Health Professionals health professionals will require supervision by an educator who will provide support with your development as a mentor during the completion of this programme to ensure the application of theory to practice. Library and Student Services (LiSS) Library and Student Services (LiSS) offer a wide range of support, including; access to library learning resources, academic skills, careers and employability, financial help, counselling, health and wellbeing and support for disabled students and those with specific learning requirements. We know that you want to get the most out of your programme, make the best use of your time and find or continue in the career you always dreamed of. Access university support and facilities easily and quickly via our help is at hand search. The Skills@Cumbria service can help support your academic skills and success throughout your programme. The service is delivered by a team of professional Learning Enhancement Advisers within LiSS. It includes a suite of online self-help resources accessible 24/7 via the University s website and Blackboard site. It also provides group and individual advice and guidance accessible through and alongside your course and by different means such as face to face, email or virtual. Programme leaders will collaborate with LiSS advisers to ensure that your reading lists are current and items are available via the library collections. In order to maximise access, availability and usefulness, ebooks and electronic journal titles will, in most cases, be prioritised. You can access a wide range of great electronic and print content using OneSearch and you can find out more about key texts and journals for your subject by accessing the library s subject resources webpages. Where appropriate, programme reading lists will be made available to you electronically using the university s online reading list system. In addition to the range of guidance above, you have the opportunity to further develop your personal, academic and professional skills by taking part in a number of initiatives coordinated and delivered by LiSS Advisers: Headstart Head Start is a self-learning pre-entry module that is completed online and at your own pace. The module gives new undergraduate students an opportunity to prepare for their transition into university and to start to develop the academic skills that will help them become successful students. All UG students are given the opportunity to register and complete Head Start prior to entry on their main programme of study. If you haven t been able to complete Head Start before starting your course, you can access the module via Blackboard by selecting the Skills@Cumbria tab and then the Head Start tab in the bottom right hand corner. Learning at university, academic writing and 7
referencing are the key topics introduced in the module and previous students have told us how useful they have found the online resources and activities. Preparing for M Level Study This free online pre-entry Master s level course is available free of charge through the Open Education Platform powered by Blackboard as is Head Start Plus. It provides a useful insight into the academic requirements of study at postgraduate level and is recommended to students who are about to start their PG qualification. To access the course simply follow the link to https://openeducation.blackboard.com/cumbria and setup a free account with Open Education. Once logged on, select the course free of charge and work through it at your own pace. 8
Programme Curriculum Map Academic Level Module Code Module Title Credits Module Status * Programme Outcomes achieved 7 HLLM7010 Multi-Professional Support of Learning and Assessment in Practice 20 Core K1, K2, K3, S1, S2 Notes If you do not successfully complete the module, you will be permitted to re-register on the same award subject to the approval of the programme lead in accordance with University s Academic Regulations and Academic Procedures and Process. * Key to Module Statuses Core Modules Must be taken and must be successfully passed Compulsory Modules Must be taken although it may possible to carry as a marginal fail (if the award permits) Optional Modules Are a set of modules from which you will be required to choose a set number to study. Once chosen, unless indicated otherwise in the table above, an optional module carries the same rules as a compulsory module as per the Academic Regulations Qualificatory Units These are non- credit-bearing pass/fail components that are used to satisfy relevant professional, statutory or regulatory body professional requirements that are associated with the programme 9
Programme Delivery Structure: Part Time Module Code Module Title Delivery Pattern Autumn Semester / Spring Semester / Extended / Year-Long Method(s) of Assessment Approximate Assessment Deadline HLLM7010 HLLM7010 HLLM7010 Multi-Professional Support of Learning and Assessment in Practice Multi-Professional Support of Learning and Assessment in Practice Multi-Professional Support of Learning and Assessment in Practice Autumn Semester Patchwork Text Portfolio End of Semester 1 Winter Semester Patchwork Text Portfolio End of Semester 2 Spring Semester Patchwork Text Portfolio End of Semester 2E On successful completion, the exit award is a certificate of achievement for 20 credits of study which is aligned to the practice standards by the following professions (NMC, RCOT, CSP and SCoR). 10
Methods for Evaluating and Improving the Quality and Standards of Learning Mechanisms used for the Review and Evaluation of the Curriculum and Learning, Teaching and Assessment Methods Mechanisms used for gaining and responding to feedback on the quality of teaching and the learning experience gained from: Students, graduates, employers, WBL venues, other stakeholders, etc. Programme Evaluation Programme validation and revalidation Annual Evaluatory Reports Peer Review of Teaching External Examiner Reports Departmental Quality Committees Nursing, Health & Professional Practice Department Business Plan. Staff Student Forum Programme Evaluation Forms Programme Evaluation: National Student Survey, Penultimate Year Survey Module/Programme/Personal tutorials Meetings with External Examiners Meetings with stakeholders Link Lecturer Visits Practice Assessment Record Evaluations Date of Programme Specification Production: Date Programme Specification was last updated: November 2016 April 2012, May 2017 For further information about this programme, refer to the programme page on the University website. 11