Neonatal Care: Qualified in Speciality PgCert

Program Overview

This part-time, online neonatal care program combines theory and practical elements to enhance understanding of neonatal physiology, pathophysiology, and family-centered care. Led by experienced educators, it prepares graduates to work autonomously in various neonatal settings, applying evidence-based practices and critical thinking skills. The program fosters ethical responsibilities and promotes professional development for healthcare professionals involved in neonatal care.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This program is designed to develop knowledge, understanding, and skills in neonatology. It is a multiprofessional program that aims to enrich the understanding of different aspects of neonatal care provision across various professions involved in delivering holistic neonatal and family-centered care. The program aims to provide a teaching, learning, and assessment experience that allows students to develop as reflective practitioners with in-depth knowledge of neonatal physiology and pathophysiology. It also aims to develop students as critical thinkers who can apply research skills to neonatal care and contribute positively to neonatal practice. The program explores the moral responsibilities that come with local, national, and global citizenship.

Outline:

The program is structured as a part-time blended online course that takes up to a year to complete. It is structured to support students through their journey. Students learn through a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, guest lectures, tutorials, and independent study. The program is constructed using two distinct modules:

• Special and Transitional Care of the Neonate (20 credits): This module focuses on the newborn baby who requires care in a special or transitional neonatal care setting.
It supports students in developing their knowledge and understanding of neonates as they transition to extrauterine life, together with the needs of their parents and families. The content is based on relevant embryology and fetal development, including exploration of maternal and perinatal factors that impact on the outcome of newborns as they adapt to extrauterine life. It includes dedicated time spent revising normal physiology, then learning the altered physiology and the pathophysiology relevant to the newborn baby. Students will critically engage with the global evidence base that guides how we provide care and treatment options for these babies.
• High Dependency and Intensive Care of the Neonate (40 credits): This module centers around complex physiology and pathological processes related to the respiratory, cardiovascular, central nervous, endocrine, renal, gastrointestinal, and immunological systems of the premature and ill neonate as they transition to extrauterine life.
This will enable students to recognize developing illness and initiate plans of care. Students will critically engage with the global evidence base that guides how they provide care and treatment options for these babies. Students will be assessed through activities that require them to show knowledge, understanding, creativity skills, and synthesis of research. Assessment methods employed to assess core knowledge and understanding include self-assessment, written professional development activities, case studies, and time-limited, unseen examinations. Skills and professional capabilities are assessed in the clinical practice area by way of completion of a set of professional-specific capabilities.

Teaching:

Students learn through a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, guest lectures, tutorials, and independent study. Live lectures are delivered using Microsoft Teams, allowing for live discussion with peers. These synchronous activities help students develop specific discussion skills and relationships with their fellow students. Asynchronous activities are set within each module site of the university's virtual learning environment in the form of workbooks, academic activities, peer and tutor-led discussion boards, action learning sets, and other forums for presenting/engaging in further discussion/review and application of learning.

Careers:

As a graduate from this education program, students will be in possession of the knowledge and skills to develop professionally and work autonomously in their chosen field of practice where neonatal care is provided. Within their scope of practice, they will work in a safe and innovative way and make challenging decisions within a multidisciplinary team.

Other:

The program is led by Anne Moylan, who has extensive experience in neonatal care both nationally and internationally and a clinical career in neonatology spanning 35 years, including many years as an advanced neonatal nurse practitioner. As an educator, she has taught within several universities in both Scotland and abroad and is committed to developing and delivering neonatal education programs that are committed to evidence-based holistic care of the neonate and their families.

Tuition fees for 2024/25 Students from 2024/25 2025/26 Module NMS11196 £1,575 £tba Overseas & EU £1,780 £tba Please note that the tuition fees liable to be paid by EU nationals commencing their studies from 1 August 2021 will be the Overseas fee rate. The University offers a range of attractive Tuition Fee bursaries to students resident in specific countries. More information on these can be found here.