Becoming a Professional Advocate (PA)

Program Overview

This 20-credit level 7 module develops the skills and knowledge needed to become a Professional Advocate (PA). Through the A-EQUIP model, participants critically appraise key areas, including leadership, advocacy, quality improvement, education, and professional development.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This is a 20-credit level 7 module developed with NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI) to support your development to become a Professional Advocate (PA).

• Understanding the role of the PA, utilising the A-EQUIP (Advocating for Education and Quality Improvement) model to enhance personal and professional practice of self and others via:
• Restorative clinical supervision
• Models of supervision and their function
• Building of personal and professional resilience
• Reflection, supportive challenge, feedback and feedforward
• Informed decision making.
• Personal action for quality improvement (QI)
• Advocacy and personalisation function of QI
• Contributing to systems of QI and quality assurance.
• Education and development
• Informing appraisal and revalidation
• Leadership development
• Effective use of mentoring and coaching

Assessment:

The module is assessed via a portfolio of evidence, and this is a Pass/Fail assessment. The assessment for this module requires you to complete in total a 4,000-word reflective portfolio.

Teaching:

• The course is delivered on-line via the University of Northampton Learning Platform.
• There are 60 hours of on-line activities with mediated tutor input and 160 hours of guided independent study.
• The module Features Dr, Fiona Barchard who will present her Doctoral thesis.
• Students will also have access to a Professional Midwifery advocate and receive Mental Health First Aid training from Senior Nurses within the Faculty of Health, Education and Society.

Careers:

• Working as a sessional or full-time Professional Advocate.
• Postgraduate Opportunities
• Advancing Practice PGCert, PGDip or MSc
• Other CPD programmes

Other:

• Timetable: You will be required to attend each day of this on-line 10-week program.
Each taught day is scheduled from 10.00 to 16.00 hours and each cohort is scheduled on the same day of the week for 10 consecutive weeks (unless your scheduled cohort falls in the Christmas period – for this cohort there is a slight adjustment to account for the university closed days).
• Dates: 2024/2025 dates coming soon.
• Note: Please note the modules shown here relate to the academic year 24/25.
The modules relating to the academic year 25/26 will be available from June 2025.