Emergency Nursing BSc (Hons) / Postgraduate Certificate; MSc; Professional Certificate

Program Overview

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The Emergency Nursing program at Nottingham Trent University equips healthcare professionals with specialized knowledge and skills for managing patients in emergency settings. It emphasizes person-centered care, evidence-based practice, and professional development. The program offers multiple levels of study, including certificates, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, and features a blended learning approach combining face-to-face teaching with online materials. Graduates are prepared for careers as emergency nurses, nurse practitioners, and other roles in emergency care.

Program Outline

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Degree Overview:

The Emergency Nursing course at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is designed to provide practitioners working in emergency care settings with the critical specialist knowledge and skills needed to effectively assess and manage patients within emergency settings.

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Objectives:

• Develop critical specialist knowledge and skills in emergency care.
• Effectively assess and manage patients within emergency settings.
• Provide person-centered care to individuals with complex conditions.
• Implement evidence-based practice and service improvement.
• Advance the standards of practice in emergency nursing.
• Develop research skills.
• Enhance career progression.

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Outline:

The Emergency Nursing course is available at the following levels:

• Level 6 Professional Certificate (ProfCert)
• Level 7 Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert)
• Undergraduate degree BSc (Hons)
• Masters degree (MSc)

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Module Descriptions:

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Core Modules (60 credits):

• Fundamentals in Emergency and Acute Medicine (30 credits): This module focuses on contemporary fundamental concepts in Acute Medicine and Emergency Care.
Learners develop core knowledge and critical thinking skills within these specialities. Through a symptom-based focus, learners improve their ability to assess patients, plan, manage, and critically evaluate their care. This is achieved through pre-learning, classroom-based activities, patient scenarios, simulation-based activities, and completion of a work-based portfolio.
• Emergency Care (30 credits): After completing the Fundamentals in Emergency and Acute Medicine module, learners focus on the Emergency Medicine speciality.
They gain the key knowledge and skills required for developing expertise and confidence in this unique speciality. There is a symptom-based focus to learning, with constant consideration of application to clinical practice.

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Core Modules (120 credits):

• Evidence in Clinical Practice (30 credits): This module develops an understanding of evidence-based practice (EBP) and explores key factors and barriers influencing the adoption of EBP in healthcare.
• Fundamentals in Emergency and Acute Medicine (30 credits): This module focuses on the contemporary fundamental concepts in Acute Medicine and Emergency Care.
Learners develop their core knowledge and critical thinking skills within these specialities. Through a symptom-based focus, learners improve their ability to assess patients, plan, manage, and critically evaluate their care. This is achieved through pre-learning, classroom-based activities, patient scenarios, simulation-based activities, and completion of a work-based portfolio.
• Emergency Care (30 credits): After completing the Fundamentals in Emergency and Acute Medicine module, learners focus on the Emergency Medicine speciality.
They gain the key knowledge and skills required for developing expertise and confidence in this unique speciality. There is a symptom-based focus to learning, with constant consideration of application to clinical practice.
• Independent Study: Nursing and Health & Social Care Practice (30 credits): This independent study module provides learners with the opportunity for originality and intellectual independence into a specific area of their clinical practice.
Students can choose between an impact study (e.g., service evaluation or audit), a clinical change project, or critical review of clinical practice. They will engage in analysis, interpretation, and comparison of data, and integrate the knowledge, understanding, and skills gained from their previous studies.

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Core Modules (150 credits):

• Fundamentals in Emergency and Acute Medicine (30 credits): This module focuses on the contemporary fundamental concepts in Acute Medicine and Emergency Care.
Learners develop their core knowledge and critical thinking skills within these specialities. Through a symptom-based focus, learners improve their ability to assess patients, plan, manage, and critically evaluate their care. This is achieved through pre-learning, classroom-based activities, patient scenarios, simulation-based activities, and completion of a work-based portfolio.
• Emergency Care (30 credits): After completing the Fundamentals in Emergency and Acute Medicine module, learners focus on the Emergency Medicine speciality.
They gain the key knowledge and skills required for developing expertise and confidence in this unique speciality. There is a symptom-based focus to learning, with constant consideration of application to clinical practice.
• Research in Nursing, Health and Social Care (30 credits): This module explores contemporary issues and debates in health research.
The module prepares learners with the knowledge and skills required to undertake research in their chosen field of professional practice.
• Independent Study (60 credits): This module provides learners with the opportunity for originality and intellectual independence into a specific area of their practice.
They can choose between an impact study (e.g., service evaluation or audit), a clinical change project, or critical review of practice.

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Optional Modules (30 credits):

• Leadership in Nursing, Health & Social Care Practice (30 credits): This module considers contemporary leadership theory, policy, and research and engages learners in critical reflection on their leadership approach.
It aims to support learners to develop a critical awareness of different leadership theories and styles, critically analyze the challenges facing leaders working in healthcare and/or social care environments, construct strategies to lead change and innovation in their local area, and consider the role of the leader in addressing resilience of self and colleagues in the healthcare and/or social care environment.
• Maintaining Function and Quality of Life in the Frail Person (30 credits): This module consolidates learners' understanding of person-centered care, re-enablement, and the wider determinants of health, and critically evaluates their working practice with emphasis on families and carers as partners in care; and collaborative practice across care settings.
Learners will critically reflect on their clinical practice and identify their strengths and limitations, with particular reference to Advanced Care Planning and shared decisions for End of Life Care. The aim is to produce Health Care of Frail People practitioners who demonstrate that they have developed effective and competent practice, informed by appropriate theory, research, and skills to promote optimal outcomes for people living with frailty and comorbidity. Learners will be able to demonstrate effective leadership and communication through observed practice and assignment work. The module considers contemporary approaches to the assessment and management of people living with frailty, including management of frailty syndromes, along with strategies to promote patient engagement and participation in self-management. Learners will develop their skills to be able to assess, diagnose, and prescribe for a range of conditions, be introduced to the knowledge and skills to work in partnership with other professionals to deliver evidence-based care in diverse health and social care settings, and be equipped with professional values and behaviors to demonstrate self-awareness, leadership, and resilience.
• Clinical Assessment and Management in Emergency and Urgent Care Practice (30 credits): This module aims to produce practitioners who promote optimal outcomes and demonstrate effective and competent practice in clinical assessment and management in both face-to-face and via remote methodologies, for patients presenting with undiagnosed and undifferentiated urgent or emergent injury or illness.
• Contemporary Development in Emergency and Urgent Care Practice (30 credits): This module is designed to support registered health care practitioners working in the Emergency and Urgent Care who want to develop their knowledge and skills in the management of patients presenting with undifferentiated and undiagnosed injury and illness.
• Innovation in Nursing, Health and Social Care Practice (30 credits): This module explores creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking in nursing, health, and social care.
Learners will critically analyze approaches to creative problem solving, and be equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to innovate in response to an ever-changing environment and associated challenges.
• Fundamentals of Neonatal Care (30 credits): This module provides learners with a critical understanding of anatomy and pathophysiology, which informs neonatal care and therapeutic interventions in the low dependency and special care settings.
Learners will critically appraise the psychosocial and cultural needs of the family unit in the neonatal setting, communicate knowledge & associated clinical reasoning to peers drawing on complex situations to synthesize decision making, develop therapeutic relationships between the family unit and the MDT, and develop critical reflective skills to enhance personal & professional development.
• Fundamentals of Renal Care (30 credits): This module aims to develop a critical understanding of acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease.
The module considers contemporary approaches to the assessment and management of renal conditions, along with strategies to promote patient engagement and participation in self-management.
• Contemporary Approaches in Renal Disease (30 credits): This module aims to develop a critical understanding of active therapeutic interventions which are used in the management of renal pathology.

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Assessment:

The assessment methods vary depending on the level of study:

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Prof/PG Certificate:

• Viva
• Observed structured clinical examination
• Written assignment
• Multiple choice questions
• Portfolio

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BSc:

• Critical review of the literature
• Viva
• Observed structured clinical examination
• Written assignment
• Multiple choice questions
• Project report
• Portfolio

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MSc:

• Research proposal
• Viva
• Observed structured clinical examination
• Written assignment
• Multiple choice questions
• Project report
• Portfolio

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Teaching:

The teaching strategy is multi-modal and adopts a blended approach, with a clear commitment to face-to-face teaching and learning supported by online learning materials, small group discussions, presentations, and practical exercises. Lectures develop students' subject knowledge and understanding and aim to build on previous learning. Throughout the course, each module encourages students to not only examine the knowledge and skills requirements for advanced and competent practice but also explore specific themes based upon experiences in practice. This allows students to integrate learning across the "theory and practice" divide and emphasize the importance of the practice component. Where appropriate, learning on the course is led and enhanced by the contributions of external professional staff with specialist expertise. This co-delivery of education enables learners to benefit from both clinical and academic expertise to augment their learning and provides a symbiotic approach to professional development.

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Careers:

The Emergency Nursing course prepares graduates for a variety of career paths in emergency care settings, including:

• Emergency Nurse
• Advanced Emergency Nurse Practitioner
• Emergency Department Manager
• Clinical Educator
• Researcher

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Other:

• The course is designed as a professional development framework through which practitioners and health service providers can meet and advance the standards of practice, develop research skills, and support staff to gain a relevant qualification and enhance career progression.
• The course is collaboratively designed with specialist colleagues from Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust.
• Students should work within an appropriate healthcare setting while studying this course.
This enables students to reflect on their current practice and apply the knowledge and skills learned throughout the course.
• The course uses case studies relating to the specialty and workplace along with discussion of professional practice to facilitate the integration of theory and practice.