AC7049 - Life Science and Pharmacology for Advanced Clinical Practitioners

This module will be delivered using a variety of teaching and learning methods, which encompass teacher facilitation and student centred learning. This content will be delivered at Northumbria University by lecturers from a multiprofessional background who have specialist experience within primary and secondary care, with knowledge and expertise of advanced clinical practice. The classroom-based sessions will be interactive and will be designed to help you to explore your topic areas identified within your guided study. You will be expected to participate in class discussion and group work, share your own expertise and develop debate and make recommendations for practice.

Although most of your study for this module will consist of either classroom based work, or guided study, there are additional hours to be spent in independent study. These are intended to encourage you to pursue areas of study that are not identified within the guided study, but may be related to or pertinent to the topic area being studied.

During this module, learning networks between peers and practice colleagues will be encouraged and facilitated by the module utilising eLP discussion boards and/or social media, inspiring classroom links to interact with your professional practice. Peer support sessions will be incorporated into most of the classroom days, and will be based upon structured group activities. The purpose of these sessions is to enable you to explore ideas from the module in depth with your colleagues, as well as providing an opportunity to receive and offer constructive feedback on the learning process.

You will be supported by the module team, who have specialist experience within primary and secondary care and knowledge and expertise of advanced clinical practice, through formative feedback in the group led seminars and available in tutorials throughout the module. You will also receive feedback from your peers as many of the activities are designed to be student led with module tutor facilitation. Contact with the module team is available in person, via telephone, email and the electronic learning portal.

You will be able to access both library and student support services. The latter is offered via a 24 hour IT Helpline, Student Support and Wellbeing Services, Skills Plus to support your academic work and an Ask4Help Service for other enquiries. These are all available in person at Student Central on Coach Lane Campus and online.You will be allocated an individual tutor for the duration of the programme who will provide appropriate pastoral support and guidance.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. You will critically discuss the manifestations of pathology and analyse the consequence upon health status.
2. You will apply a critical understanding of normal and altered physiology and relevant pharmacology and pharmacological interventions.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. You will demonstrate a critical awareness of the mechanism and action of common drugs used within the students’ specific area of clinical practice. This will include drug indications and contraindications and routes of safe administration.
4. You will evaluate quantitative research relating to altered physiology

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. You will critically reflect on your learning and its application to your advanced clinical practice.

Formative

There will be regular multiple-choice questions and student presentations during the module and, through academic and peer feedback, which will enable you to reflect on your learning, whilst a mock time-invigilated assessment will guide your learning and future self-directed study.

Summative

You will be expected to:

a) Electronically submit a 3000-word critical appraisal of literature based on a relevant organ dysfunction and evidence based pharmacological intervention of your choosing. This will represent 50% of your total mark.
This addresses module learning outcomes 1, 2, 4, and 5.

b) Undertake a timed invigilated assessment (TIA) on life science and pharmacology that will be comprised of short answer questions (SAQ) and multiple-choice questions (MCQ). This will represent 50% of your total mark.

This addresses module learning outcomes 1, 3, 4 and 5.

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The Life Sciences and Pharmology module aims to deepen your knowledge of life science and Pharmacology to enable development within your ACP role in relation to all four pillars of advanced clinical practice. You will critically examine the complex interaction of normal physiological processes involved in the control and regulation of metabolism. Within your study you will analyse the manifestations and consequences of altered physiology in response to disease processes. You will also critically appraise the means and methods of measuring the parameters of normal and altered physiology, and explore how various drug groups interact with and affect cellular physiology.

The module will be delivered through a combination of taught, directed, and self directed study, including structured lectures and seminars; within the seminars feedback will be given by lecturers and peers. The module will be summatively assessed through a timed invigilated assessment, which will be comprised of multiple choice and short answers questions and a 3,000 word essay.