Is Advanced Practice Right for You?
If you are considering applying to undertake the Advanced Practice (AP) Training Programme, please read the below carefully. It is important that you understand what is meant by advanced practice and to work out if you are suitable to undertake the training.
Level
Master’s Level (MSc)
Duration
3 Years
Focus
Four Pillars of Practice
Outcome
Advanced Practitioner Role
What is Advanced Practice?
The definition of advanced practice was developed and agreed by all stakeholders.
“Advanced practice is delivered by accomplished registered health and care professionals. It is a level of practice characterised by a high degree of autonomy and designated responsibility for complex decision making. This is underpinned by a post-registration master’s level award or equivalent undertaken by an experienced practitioner that encompasses all four pillars of clinical practice, leadership and management, education, and research.
Advanced practice embodies the ability to manage care in partnership with individuals, families, and carers. It includes the analysis and synthesis of complex problems, and management of clinical risk and uncertainty across a range of settings, enabling innovative solutions to expedite access to care, optimise people’s experiences, and improve outcomes”
What Does This Mean in Practice?
In practice, if you work as an AP in primary care, clinically you will be seeing patients with ‘undifferentiated’ problems (a cough, chest pain, headaches etc) and you will need to take a history, do an appropriate physical examination, order relevant tests, interpret results, make a diagnosis, refer, manage, prescribe. You will also be expected to take a lead role in supporting the development of other staff, participate in the overall management of the practice and take a wider view of the practice population within the wider NHS.
It is NOT doing more specialist chronic disease reviews – this is SPECIAILIST practice, not necessarily advanced practice.
Key Questions
What is the training programme & how long is it?
The programme is a 3 year Masters studied at University. Normally, the clinical pillar takes up a large proportion of the first 2 years of teaching. Modules will include History taking and Physical Examination, Clinical Reasoning, Complexity, Independent Prescribing, Education, Leadership and Management. Universities vary how they teach the required framework but most will dedicate the third year to doing the Dissertation which is a requirement of any master’s qualification.
Do I have the support of my colleagues / practice?
If you are thinking of applying to do the AP training, having the support of your colleagues and practice is absolutely vital. They need to come on the journey with you and accept that you will be out of practice to attend university, that you will need to practice your advanced skills in practice with dedicated time to do this, that you will need to be assessed on your advanced skills and that you will be under increased stress whilst you are studying as well as trying to still work!
You also need to be assured that you will have an Advanced Practitioner job at the end of the programme – there is no point going through this programme and not using your newly acquired advanced skills at the end of it. So, for example, if you currently working as a Practice Nurse, once you become an AP, you will no longer need to undertake some of the GPN work eg smears, childhood imms. Your practice therefore needs to think about how they will fill that gap when you transition into an AP.
What funding is available to support my training?
The cost of a full MSC is about £18k, just for the tuition fees. There are 2 ways that this can be funded:
- Directly by NHSE
- Via an apprenticeship
If the MSC is funded directly by NHSE, your practice will receive £2.5k per year of study (termed as ‘supervision fees’). NB In the handbook it states more than this but the remainder is taken as overheads to pay for the AP lead to do the coordination.
If the MSc is funded via an apprenticeship, your practice will receive £6k per year.
How do I apply and what is the process?
1. Discuss
Discuss your thoughts and wishes with your colleagues – your PM, clinical manager, GP, team etc. Do you have their support? Prepare before this conversation. Provide reasons why your practice would benefit from you doing this training and how they can think about recruiting someone to fill your current role. Why do you want to do the training and where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
2. Screening Form
Complete the attached Screening form and send back to the NWL AP Primary care lead via email below
3. Review Meeting
The form will be reviewed and if all ok, a meeting will be set up with you, your proposed clinical supervisor, your PM and your local Borough TH lead. It is important that everyone is at the same meeting.
4. Wait for Meeting Outcome
If the meeting outcome is that you are deemed suitable to apply for the training, then you need to start applying to your chosen university.
5. Apply to University
Be prepared when applying – you will likely need to submit a short essay and you will definitely be interviewed.