Certificate of Higher Education in Healthcare Practice

Key Details

Available at:
Rhos-on-Sea, Online
Study Mode:
Part-time
Course Length:
Part time 1 year: one day per week (9am-5pm)

Certificate of Higher Education in Healthcare Practice

Degrees (Higher Education)

If you would like to enquire about or apply for this course, please email hcpapplications@gllm.ac.uk or call 01492 546 666 ext. 1307.

Course Description

The Higher Education Certificate in Healthcare Practice develops and upskills Healthcare Support Workers who are working or willing and able to take on placement within an NHS trust or an alternatively suitable clinical-approved employer. The majority of students are seconded by their employers to study this programme. This programme combines work-based experience and practice with higher-level academic study to Level 4. Successful candidates are often able to progress in their place of work during or following study, with many going on to pursue nursing careers.

Cost

Course fees are fully covered by Health Education Improvement Wales for all candidates. However, during the programme, there may be additional costs that are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies.

This could include childcare costs, travel associated with attending the programme and work experience, or placements, outside visits, field trips, suitable clothing for work/placement, additional printing above allowance, memory sticks and other stationery-related costs.

To apply:

If you are employed by BCUHB, and wish to apply for the course please contact BCU.HCSWTrainingGroup@wales.nhs.uk

If you are employed by Powys Health Board, and wish to apply for this course please contact PowysPEF@wales.nhs.uk

If you are not employed by an NHS Health Board, please click the ‘Enquire Now’ button at the top of this page.

The programme is delivered across one full year with intakes in September and February of each academic year. Students will need to access the programme one day a week, each week during academic weeks.

We have hybrid delivery courses running from Rhos-on-Sea and Wrexham and we also have an online-only distance learning route. We embed digital skills training as part of all of our learning programmes.

Start Date

Our intakes for 24/25 will be starting the week commencing 9th September 2024 and 10th February 2025.

Entry Criteria

Entry criteria are usually a Level 3 Vocational qualification or your workplace’s equivalent requirements. For BCUHB employees the requirement is the Level 3 QCF. We embed literacy and numeracy alongside the course so there are no other formal qualification requirements. You will also need to be either working or have exposure and support to appropriate clinical practice. In some cases, we can support this. Our success rates with learners who access this higher education programme are extremely high with success rates over 90% every year and many learners achieving with Distinctions and Merits.

If your qualifications do not meet the entry requirements listed above, we would still encourage you to apply for the course you're interested in, as many of our courses will consider learners based on their previous work and skills experience rather than their qualifications.

Delivery

The course is delivered through a blend of the following:

Classroom-based and online formal lectures
Online resources using the college’s Virtual Learning Environment, - Moodle.
Discussion groups
Reflective practice
Problem-solving sessions
Group activities
Visiting speakers
Self-directed study
Case study-based learning
Practice (linking theory to professional practice)

Assessment

The course is assessed through a blend of the following:

Practice Assessment Document (that includes a minimum of 767 clinical practice hours throughout the course)
Essays
Case Study
Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) Simulation
Care Plan
Presentation
Academic Poster
Reflection
Individual Assignment
Exam

Feedback

Where relevant, assessments will be marked and returned to students with constructive and developmental feedback. Effective feedback combines information which enables students to understand the strengths and limitations of their past performance, and information which enables them to recognise how future performance can be improved. Students will be provided with feedback in a timely manner and this feedback will justify how the grade has been awarded. Students will have the opportunity to reflect on the feedback given and identify their strengths, things they found challenging and areas for development that they will feed forward to their next assessment. Feedback will include linking evidence to assessment criteria to demonstrate how the student will have met the learning outcomes.

Progression

This programme allows for progression for all routes of nursing to a range of universities across Wales and beyond. In particular the programme is fully mapped against the first year of the BN (Hons) Adult Nursing Degree at both Bangor University and Wrexham University. This means successful learners have the possibility to progress directly onto the Level 5, second year of Nursing programmes to complete the programme and become a registered nurse. Some employers allow for career progression, for example to Band 4 HCSW roles too. All successful learners find that they are able to improve and develop their practice.

Other details

Course type: Degrees (Higher Education)

Level: 4

Programme Area:

Health, Social Care and Childcare

Awarding Body: Bangor University

Bilingual:

Depending on the campus, students may be able to access elements of the programme in both English and Welsh through some programme learning materials being made available bilingually.

Details will be provided to you at interview.