Clinical Assessment and Examination for Advancing Practice CPD Course with 15 credits at SCQF level 11

Program Overview

This course equips healthcare professionals with the skills to conduct clinical histories and examinations, analyze patient information, and make clinical decisions. Delivered online or on campus, it includes virtual or face-to-face OSCE assessments and requires a clinical mentor for supervised practice. The course is part of the MSc Advancing Healthcare Practice program but can also be taken independently.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This course will prepare you to independently undertake a clinical history and examination and critically explore the impact of pathophysiological processes and their impact on patient care to aid clinical decision making.

Objectives:

• To gain knowledge and skills in clinical history taking and examination for different age groups.
• To be able to critically analyze patient information and construct a differential diagnosis.
• To understand and apply clinical decision making principles.
• To develop documentation skills for clinical findings.
• To explore the scope of autonomous practice.

Assessment:

• January and September cohorts: The course is assessed via a virtual Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).
• April cohorts: The course is assessed via a face-to-face on campus Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).

Teaching:

• January and September cohorts: The course is delivered online with 5 single online study days and online learning (including online chat, virtual classroom and discussion forums).
• April cohorts: The course is delivered using a blend of face-to-face (5 single study days) on campus teaching and online learning (including online chat, virtual classroom and discussion forums).

Other:

• This module is part of the MSc Advancing Healthcare Practice programme, but can also be undertaken as a stand-alone module.
• The course is suitable for registered nurses, midwives and health and social care professionals.
• Students must identify a clinical mentor within their workplace to facilitate supervised practice of clinical skills.
• The University regularly reviews its courses.
Course content and structure may change over time.