Specialist Practice (District Nursing) MSc

Developing your leadership and influencing capabilities, you'll build the confidence to shape and enhance community nursing practice, and gain the skills to inspire and lead large nursing teams. You can choose to complete the course to PG Dip or MSc level.

Why study district nursing?

Working in the community, district nurses lead nursing teams to provide care and support for patients with a variety of acute and long-term health conditions.

Many employers require nurses in team leadership roles to hold the district nurse qualification.

An opportunity to take your career to the next level, it's also a chance to build your leadership skills and play a more strategic role in how care is delivered in the community.

Why UWE Bristol?

MSc/PG Dip Specialist Practice (District Nursing) is a professional practice programme for registered adult nurses working in the community and aspiring to move into team leader grade roles.

Once you have completed the programme to PG Dip level, you will be eligible to claim the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) specialist practitioner qualification in District Nursing.

You can then continue to full master's level if you wish, to continue your development and take your learning that step further.

With outstanding onsite facilities, and a 50/50 split between theory and practice-based learning, you'll gain the strong academic and practical grounding you need to practise competently and confidently as a district nurse.

Learn from a highly experienced team of community nurses at UWE Bristol, with a depth of knowledge across many areas, including advanced clinical practice, research and education.

Develop the higher level critical thinking skills that come with master's level study, as well as strong skills in decision-making and leadership.

You'll be equipped to lead, plan and evaluate care in complex and unpredictable contexts, and to lead teams effectively and confidently.

Highly relevant to the changing landscape of community nursing, the course will deepen your understanding of current issues, and help you take a more strategic and political view of the care you and your teams provide drawing on policies, literature and evidence that influence your care delivery.

We place a strong focus on nurturing positive relationships with team members and other colleagues, disciplines and agencies, and working in partnership with service users and carers to develop user and family-centred holistic care.

You'll evaluate knowledge relating to change and service improvement, and put forward your own ideas for initiating and leading service developments.

Completing the course full or part-time alongside your work, and studying at a pace that suits you and your organisation, you'll put what you learn into practice in your work, supported by your own mentor.

You'll graduate as an independent and self-critical practitioner, able to question and challenge practice, and well equipped to lead and manage teams of nurses to provide effective evidence-based care.

Where can it take me?

NHS employers increasingly require band 6 community nurses to hold the NMC recordable specialist practice qualification (SPQ) in district nursing. You'll achieve this by completing the course to PG Dip level.

You can then continue to master's level to take your learning and career further, carrying out your own research on an area of practice that interests you.

For more information, including the most up to date module listing, see the entry for this course on the UWE Bristol website, by clicking on the 'visit website' button to the left of this page.

You will be required to apply for each module, whether you are studying for the full Master's course or individual modules as CPD.