MA Leading & Developing Services

Program Overview

This MA Leading & Developing Services program equips experienced health and social care professionals with advanced management skills. Delivered part-time, the program allows for a balance between study and professional commitments. By focusing on practical skills and leadership capabilities, it prepares graduates for senior management roles in healthcare, education, and research. Students can expect a variety of teaching methods and assessments, including lectures, seminars, workshops, and service improvement projects.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This MA Leading & Developing Services program is designed for experienced health and social care professionals who want to enhance their management skills and knowledge. It is a part-time program delivered in monthly two-day blocks, allowing students to balance their studies with their professional commitments. It focuses on developing practical leadership and management skills that can be directly applied to improve service outcomes.

Outline:

The program is structured into three stages:

• Postgraduate Certificate in Leading and Developing Services: This stage involves completing the core unit "Leading for Change" and two 20-credit option units.
• Leading for Change: This unit focuses on leading in a changing environment, developing an effective learning culture, and leading oneself and others.
• Option Units: Students can choose from a variety of units, including:
• Evidencing Professional Learning (EPL) 1, 2, & 3: This unit focuses on self-evaluation as a lifelong learner and applying learning outcomes in a professional context.
• Self-leadership: This unit focuses on enhancing self-leadership capabilities and managing oneself and others under pressure.
• Strategic Leadership: This unit focuses on understanding the organization of health and social care, developing and implementing strategies, and collaborating with others.
• Leading Integrated Services: This unit focuses on leadership in integrated care, developing collaborative working approaches, and leading person-centered provision.
• Professional Reasoning and Judgement in Health and Social Care: This unit focuses on developing critical thinking skills, informing judgment and decision-making processes, and understanding the complexity of professional practice.
• Practice Observation (Self-managed): This unit focuses on applying learning outcomes in practice and demonstrating the required standards for practice.
• Professional Supervision in Health and Social Care: This unit focuses on understanding the nature and context of supervision, reflecting on one's own practice, and aligning practice with professional values and standards.
• Improving Personal and Organisational Performance (IPOP): This unit focuses on reflecting on existing leadership skills, identifying areas for improvement, and setting personal and organizational objectives.
• Leading and Managing Teams: This unit focuses on enhancing knowledge and skills on team leadership and management.
• Postgraduate Diploma in Leading and Developing Services: This stage involves completing the core unit "Leading for Change" and five 20-credit option units.
Students can choose from the same option units as the Postgraduate Certificate.
• MA in Leading & Developing Services: This stage involves completing the following units:
• Preparing for your Service Improvement Project (PSIP): This unit focuses on learning about service improvement methodologies, conducting a literature review, and designing a service improvement action plan.
• Service Improvement Project (SIP): This unit focuses on implementing and evaluating a service improvement project.

Assessment:

The program uses a variety of assessment methods, including:

• Presentations: These are used to assess students' communication skills and their ability to present complex information in a clear and concise manner.
• Reflective journals: These are used to assess students' critical thinking skills and their ability to reflect on their own learning and practice.
• Service improvement projects: These are used to assess students' ability to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems and to make a positive impact on service delivery.

Teaching:

The program is taught by a range of staff with relevant expertise and knowledge, including senior academic staff and qualified professional practitioners. Teaching methods include:

• Lectures: These are used to introduce key concepts and theories.
• Seminars: These are used to discuss and debate key issues and to apply theoretical concepts to real-world situations.
• Workshops: These are used to develop practical skills and to provide opportunities for hands-on learning.

Careers:

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be equipped with the skills and knowledge required for senior management roles in various sectors, including:

• NHS (hospital and community)
• Private and independent healthcare sector (nursing homes and private hospitals)
• Education
• Academic research
Potential job roles include:
• Senior manager
• Academic lecturer
• Academic researcher

Other:

• The program draws heavily on students' previous experience and encourages them to contribute to group discussions and share knowledge.
• Students must be actively involved in service development and improvement and be able to research and learn independently.
• The program is designed to meet the development needs of leaders and managers already in post, including supervisors, team leaders, first-line managers, middle and senior managers.
• Experienced professionals who aspire to a management career may also access the program as long as they have supervisory responsibilities.
• The program is suitable for managers currently in first-line and middle manager positions who may be seeking promotion to a senior position.