PG Dip Specialist Community Public Health Nurse – School Nursing

• Context & Scope of Public Health: Critically evaluate public health practice in its international, political, social and historical context. Develop an in-depth knowledge of the social determinants of health and their relationship with sustainable development and an understanding of inequities and inequalities in health and well-being, and their potential impact.
• Exploring & Evaluating Evidence: This unit will introduce you to various approaches to enquiry and knowledge production and you’ll develop your skills in searching for and evaluating published research.
• Population Health Improvement: Gain an understanding of the multiple social and economic determinants of health within a defined population. You’ll be able to evidence and influence local policy and service developments to meet the identified and expressed needs of defined populations.
• Addressing Health Inequalities: Critically analyse the factors that lead to health inequalities and inequity and propose evidence informed, co-produced public health improvement initiatives with relevant and robust evaluation strategies.
• Public Health Leadership – School Nursing: This unit aims to enable practitioners to demonstrate the achievement of the NMC (2022) SCPHN core and school nurse proficiencies in practice. You’ll develop your ability to lead, manage and provide school nursing services working in partnership with families, communities and other services. Critically explore school nursing service requirements and lead on policy development and strategic planning to address population health needs, lead on the co-design of local services and critically evaluate and report on outcomes.
• Professional Role – School Nursing: This unit aims to explore the professional role of the SCPHN School Nurse. You’ll learn the foundations and specialist knowledge and principles that enable specialist practitioners to make and articulate autonomous professional judgements and decisions in complex, unfamiliar and unpredictable environments. Focusing on person and place based approaches, you’ll develop the skills to promote, support and improve the health, wellbeing and inclusion of school aged children and young people.

The programme is run in partnership with 0-19 years public health service providers, and you will undertake 27 weeks of practice across the duration of the course, fully supported by practice supervisors and practice assessors, and working with your academic assessor.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

The normal requirements for embarking upon this course are:

• A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 or equivalent in any subject or equivalent. 
• Current registration on part one or part two of the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) register Level 1 Nurse or Midwife).
• A training contract or secondment from a 0-19 years' service provider/NHS employer, or if self-funding – confirmation that the proposed 0-19 years public health practice provider can, and will, support practice learning.
• Occupational Health clearance, through student self-declaration, GP statement and occupational health engagement including completion of relevant immunisations (undertaken and confirmed by employer)
• Satisfy criminal conviction checks including the Disclosure and Baring Service (DBS) at an enhanced level (undertaken and confirmed by employer)

If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter this course, there are several alternative routes to follow - some based on experience. 

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

• India: Bachelor’s degree (4 years) from a recognised HE institution with a minimum overall result of 55%
• Nigeria:  Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with a minimum classification of 2:2
• Thailand:  Thai Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution with a minimum GPA of 2.5/4.0
• Turkey: Bachelor’s degree (Lisans Diplomasi - four years) with a minimum overall GPA of 2.3/4.0
• Vietnam:  Bachelor's degree/Bang tot nghiep dai hoc with an average score of 6.5/10, or a Master’s degree/Thac si.

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English Language Requirement 

If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS 7.0 (Academic) with a mininum of 7.0 in listening and reading, with a minimum of 6.5 in writing and speaking, or Occupational English Test (OET)1 grade B in listening and reading and writing and speaking. 

We are looking for applicants who:

• Maintain current registration as Level 1 Nurses or Midwives on Part 1 or 2 of the NMC professional register
• Have a clear understanding of the role of the SCPHN within the pathway applied for
• Are committed and motivated to complete the demanding programme
• Have flexibility and personal skills to manage the demands of both academic and practice-based work
• Meet the professional entry requirements of both the University and the employing/seconding Primary Care Trust or practice placement provider
• Students on this course are expected to have a clear understanding of the SCPHN role they seek to pursue and therefore direct experience of working in primary healthcare and community settings is advantageous.
• Students must possess or wish to advance their leadership and communication skills in order to learn and demonstrate strategic leadership qualities and also work collaboratively with other health and social care workers.
• Students on the course normally possess a first degree however some suitably experienced practitioners with the aptitude for higher level study will be considered.

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Applicants should apply via their local 0-19 years’ service provider adverts for SCPHN Health Visitor or School Nurse studentships/training contracts. Shortlisted applicants will be jointly interviewed by service representatives and the Bournemouth University course lead. The academic application will follow your initial interview.

Self-funding and self-employed students should apply by emailing the course lead and confirm that their proposed 0-19 years public health service and practice provider can, and will, support practice learning meeting the NMC Standards for Student Supervision & Assessment requirements, programme learning outcomes and protected learning time. Practice providers may choose to charge a fee to the student to support practice learning. If you are seeking to self-fund a SCPHN programme please contact the course lead for guidance before applying: Dr Karen Rees - [email protected]

We’ll be selecting the candidates for this course by looking at their applications. Make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. 

Interview

Please note that interviews are part of our selection process and you must be able to demonstrate at interview that you show the necessary insight, motivation and commitment to become a health visitor. Shortlisted applicants will be jointly interviewed by service representatives from the proposed placement provider and the BU course leader.

Additional costs will be payable by the student as follows:

• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses
• Accommodation and living costs. 
• Travel costs to and from the University campus for taught sessions (and occupational health referrals if required).
• Travel costs to and from your placement which could be based at various locations across the southwest region.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee. 

If you want to continue your studies after achieving your Postgraduate Diploma, you can look into our range of Master’s programmes.