Graduate Certificate/Diploma in Community Practice

Graduate Certificates are ideal for those wishing to expand their general, or specific, clinical knowledge and prepare themselves for further study at Masters level. Within the community practice course, Chronic Conditions Management is ideal if you hold the recordable District Nursing Qualification.

The Social Care specialism is ideal if you are already qualified as a social carer, health visitor or school nurse. Within the clinical practice course the Non-Medical Prescribing Graduate Certificate is intended as a qualification for pharmacists, podiatrists and physiotherapists.

Key facts

• Within the Graduate Certificate you may undertake modules in prescribing approved by your Professional Regulatory Body
• The modules available within the Certificate and Diploma have been developed at the request of local healthcare employers
• For most applicants fees are paid by either their employer or the Welsh Assembly Government
• You may negotiate learning specific to your area of practice to add to your programme
• An additional Graduate Certificate/Diploma in Healthcare Leadership and Management is being added to this portfolio subject to validation

Course content

Typical course content

For the generic option you may pick modules from across the specialist routes. To study a specialist route you must choose at least two modules for the Certificate or three modules for the Diploma out of the specialist modules for that named route.

Graduate Certificate/Diploma in Community Practice

Topics of study for the Chronic Conditions Management path include:

• Chronic Conditions Management for Community Nurses
• Chronic Disease Management
• Palliative Care
• Tissue Viability
• Dementia Care
• Care of the Person with Diabetes
• Staff Nurse Prescribing (V150)

Areas of study for the General Practice Nursing route include:

• Foundations of Community Practice which is compulsory if you don’t hold the NMC specialist practice qualification
• Health Promotion and Education
• Minor Illness
• Clinical Examination
• Chronic Disease Management
• Management of Coronary Heart Disease
• Care of the Person with Diabetes

For the Children’s Nursing option the choice of modules includes:

• Foundations of Community Practice which is compulsory if you don’t hold the NMC specialist practice qualification
• Health Promotion and Education
• Healthcare of Vulnerable Persons
• Working With Families

The modules for the Mental Health route include:

• Foundations of Community Practice which is compulsory if you don’t hold the NMC specialist practice qualification
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Principles and Practice
• Risk management in Mental Health Services
• Dementia Care
• Multi-disciplinary
• pproach to Assessment in Forensic Mental Disorder

Topics for the Family Health Nursing specialism include:

• Foundations of Community Practice
• Health Promotion and Education
• Working With Families
• Healthcare of Vulnerable Persons
• Assessment Processes & Managing Risk with Vulnerable Persons
• Working in Partnership

For the Social Care route the modules include:

• Assessment Processes & Managing Risk with Vulnerable Persons
• Working in Partnership
• Multi-disciplinary Approach to Assessment in Forensic Mental Disorder
• Dementia Care

Career opportunities

A Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma with a named route will enable you to demonstrate you have additional in-depth knowledge in a field of professional practice allowing you to undertake specialist nursing roles.

Course duration

Graduate Certificate: three years

Graduate Diploma: six years

Entry requirements and applying

You need to hold an honours degree in nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, radiography, physiotherapy, podiatry/chiropody; or professional registration and a degree in a cognate discipline. For modules leading to a professional qualification additional requirements apply, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance (previously known as CRB).\