Northumbria University has an established reputation for
excellence and innovation in nursing education to build on the future nurse
standards in meeting the Community Nursing Specialist Practice Qualification (SPQ) - The
Nursing and Midwifery Council (nmc.org.uk).
The Community Specialist
Practice Qualification (SPQ) programme is designed to equip postgraduates with
the skills required for community specialist practice and there are four
pathways to choose from: District Nursing, General Practice Nursing, Adult
Social Care Nursing and Community Children’s Nursing.
As a Children’s Community Nurse (CCN) your role is pivotal in
supporting babies, children, young people, and their families through their
early years, very often with life limiting, life threatening, complex, and
acute health needs. We know there has been a steep rise in the complexity
of the care needed in recent years and with this comes complex ethical decision
making, enhanced technology and working across multiple agencies including
health, education, social care, private and voluntary agencies. This programme
will enhance your current skills and knowledge, developing your autonomy,
decision making and leadership skills and critical approach in further
developing services to meet the growing needs of babies, children, young
people, and their families. We hope that you will enjoy learning in a
stimulating environment with other passionate practitioners where you can learn
from others experience as well as through activity and work-based
learning. This is an exciting opportunity to develop yourself into a
community specialist practitioner to further develop and improve services for
babies, children, young people, and their families.
Each pathway has a
distinct approach to its delivery; however, all share a more practice focused
delivery, with a 60/40 split between clinical practice and protected learning
time at Northumbria University respectively. This ensures that the specialist field
of practice focuses on the specialist skills required for the pathway and is
evident in the optional modules and as pathway-focused learning and teaching
across all modules.
Students also benefit
from integrated learning with fellow community specialist practitioner
students. This programme has been innovatively designed and coproduced with a
vast range of stakeholders from all pathway routes in both health and social
care, to truly reflect contemporary specialist practice, need and service
provision requirements.
What can I expect from this Specialist Nursing Masters?
Registered nurses already hold recognised knowledge and skills of the profession from the Standards Framework for Nursing and Midwifery Education. This ensures that across all fields, registrants can deliver holistic care needs to people they encounter with a range of mental, physical, cognitive, behavioural, social, or spiritual needs. The Standards of Proficiency for Community Nursing Specialist Practice are designed to recognise new models to meet the diverse needs of people of all ages, in their home, in settings close to home and in the community.
These Standards of Proficiency for Community Nursing Specialist Practice will provide additional knowledge and skills for postgraduate community nurses to record Specialist Practice Qualifications on the NMC register. Equipped with the SPQ qualification, these community nurses will build on these proficiencies as they gain cultural competence, experience, and fulfil their professional responsibility. They will demonstrate their commitment to develop as a specialist community practitioner, building a career pathway, and engaging in ongoing education and professional development opportunities necessary for revalidation.