Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (School Nursing), PGDip / MSc

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PGDip School Nursing

Course Overview

Our Postgraduate Diploma aims to develop Specialist Community Public Health Nursing School Nursing (SCPHN SN) practitioners who are skilled at working autonomously in a range of public health community settings. School Nurses have a designated role as key contributors to early years development, targeting the health and emotional needs of school aged children and young people. They are instrumental in providing a holistic, individualised community and population level public health service, offering a significant contribution to improving health through prevention and early intervention. The SCPHN SN will strive to empower children, young people, and their families to use available resources within their communities and work with other multi-agencies / teams to develop individual and community capacity, support community health development and promote health and well-being throughout the population.

This course is available full or part time, and all candidates must already be qualified nurses and / or midwives with various levels of experience. The programme has been designed to meet Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requirements and prepares candidates to support community health developments and promote health and well-being throughout the population. We provide a balance of theory and practice and provide candidates with a range of learning and teaching strategies. This approach allows students to be taught the theoretical principles within the university environment and later apply them within a professional environment, providing a critical link between academia and practice.

If studying a PGDip, it may be possible to upgrade to an MSc exit qualification during your studies however please note this will not be accredited by the NMC.

Why study at Swansea University?

This course is delivered through our School of Health and Social Care, giving you the benefit of our extensive cross-disciplinary teaching and research expertise.

According to the most recent Research Excellence Framework results, 75% of research carried out at the School of Health and Social Care is 3* and therefore considerable in terms of reach and significance. Our focus on research outputs has resulted in a 21% increase in world-leading research (REF2021). This research expertise and excellence feed directly into our learning and teaching practice and your course content.

Your Specialist Community Public Health Nursing experience

Throughout the course your learning will be supported through 50% theory which is taught at university and 50% practical work placements. Your theory will be taught at our Singleton Park Campus, set in beautiful parkland overlooking Swansea Bay. You will cover a wide range of subject areas including public health, health promotion, using evidence and research, safeguarding and leadership and management.

Our Singleton Park Campus is home to our accredited cutting-edge Simulation and Immersive Learning Centre (SUSiM). Students on our SCPHN SN course will participate in Simulation Based Education (SBE), which will include group work and debriefing to capture the learning gained and recognised from different perspectives. Effective simulation facilitates safety by enhancing knowledge, behaviours, and skills within the curriculum. Simulation provides opportunities in which to develop non-technical skills, such as communication, decision-making, teamwork, clinical judgement, and leadership, which are safe and controlled so students are able to make mistakes, correct those mistakes in real time and learn from them, without fear of compromising patient safety.

School Nursing Careers

On successful completion of our Postgraduate Diploma, you will gain the recordable qualification of Specialist Community Public Health Nurse School Nursing. There will be an option to progress to part 2 of the programme in order to complete the dissertation module and to graduate with an MSc in SCPHN practice. Additional funding will be required in order to complete the final 60 credit dissertation module to gain the full Master’s degree.

Entry Requirements

We consider all applicants on their own merits and welcome applications from students with a wide range of qualifications.