In order to be considered for entry to MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Child) course applicants will be required to have the following:

PROFESSIONAL:

• Current professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) or Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) or The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
• A minimum of 3 years post-registration experience on entry to the course.
• Currently must have at least 50% of their role working with infants, children or young people.
  

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Evidence of a minimum of 90 undergraduate degree level healthcare related credits.
  

PRACTICE EXPERIENCE & ACCESS TO SUPERVISION:

• Be employed at minimum of Band 6 or equivalent.
• Employed* for a minimum of 30 hours per week in one relevant clinical environment, with access to appropriate clinical support and supervision for the development of knowledge and skills to an advanced level.  *This excludes students who are working in a locum or agency basis. 
  

Applicants must also be able to demonstrate employer support for all of the following (even where individuals are self-funding):

• For the applicant to undertake this course at LSBU.
• Support for development of the applicant to an advanced level within the workplace while on the course, to enable evolution of the scope of practice and responsibilities.
• Willingness to release the student to enable them to dedicate the equivalent of 3 hours minimum per week throughout the calendar year (in addition to the study days in university) as protected learning time to enable the student to work in a 'supernumerary capacity' to focus on their clinical/professional development evidenced by completion of the Practice Based Learning activity requirements and the Practice Based Learning records.
• For the student to organise for a Doctor/qualified Advanced Practitioner to act as their designated "Practice Facilitator" to supervise and support the applicants overall clinical development and facilitate completion of specified practice-based learning activities. Sign off for specific aspects of learning is required during the course (this responsibility can be shared with other senior experienced clinical colleagues however nomination of an overall Practice Facilitator is required).
• Provision of day-to-day supervision and support by an experienced clinical team to enable the development of the knowledge, skills, behaviours, competence and confidence commensurate with this level of practice.
  

Selection process:

Advanced level clinical practice is by its very nature challenging and demanding. It is therefore important that appropriate students are selected who have the determination, professional attitudes and calibre that is needed for academic success and maximum impact in practice. Students are therefore selected for the course using the following strategies:

• Submission of an online application form including the personal statement, academic credit and level, professional registration and current role and duration of experience.
• An interview with representatives from the course team and a service-user.  This will assess motivation, understanding of the course requirements and potential challenges, and appreciation of the potential benefits offered by the course for personal and professional development and to the patient care on an individual and organisational basis. The following are also reviewed:
  

1. A supportive reference from the student’s current line manager.
2. Provision of a completed Practice Facilitators nomination and acceptance form.
3. Completion of a Clinical Practice Learning Environment profile which evaluates capacity of the student’s work environment (and other clinical opportunities) to meet the learning requirements for the course and includes an Action Plan to redress any issues.  This is signed by the student’s Line Manager and the Practice Facilitator.
4. Submission of a 1,000 word referenced essay, which critically analyses the opportunities for advanced clinical practice within their work setting.
   

Where students are unsuccessful, advice will be offered on alternative study or development opportunities.

Recognition of prior learning:

• This is considered on an individual basis, in accordance with the University Academic Regulations.  Credit awarded by another university may under certain circumstances contribute to the credit required for a London South Bank University award. For example, increasing numbers of applicants are already Independent Prescribers, having completed Non Medical Prescribing (NMP) courses at Level 6 or 7 so will be able to APEL this aspect if they can verify that they continue to prescribe in their current role.
• For credit to be transferred, the learning must be relevant to the module for which the claim for credit is being made. The learning must also have been at a comparable academic level and must have been assessed. The amount of credit transferred must be equal to or less than the amount of credit awarded by the university at which the learning took place.  For learning other than NMP, the learning activity must have taken place less than 4 years prior to entry to the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Adult) course. At least half of the credit required for an award of the University must normally be accumulated as a result of learning undertaken and assessed at London South Bank University.  The use of the same allocation of credit in order to meet the requirements of more than one academic award at the same level (“double counting”) is not permitted and students should not receive more than one allocation of credit for a single learning activity.
• The university also has a process for accreditation of prior experiential learning, with the details and submission requirements for each claim considered individually.