MSc Leadership in Health and Social Care

This course is designed for health and social care practitioners looking to advance careers in a management or leadership direction. The programme of study is aimed at practitioners of health or social care who have progressed into management roles, or those who aspire to do so. It is designed for those who aim to take or develop a leadership role within the field.

The programme of study provides you with a wide choice of learning opportunities. These will allow you to focus on an aspect of management or leadership relevant to your position. If you’re looking to remain in nursing practice, clinically-focused options are available. The overall aim of the course is to give you the knowledge to underpin development of the skills identified in the NHS Leadership Qualities Framework.

Key facts

• Maximum flexibility: choose from a range of optional modules or negotiate up to 40 credits of learning to meet your own needs
• Enables practitioners to develop the skills of leadership required by a managerial role, or by practitioners aimed to develop managerial skills
• Registered nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses have the opportunity to study modules approved by the NMC. These will lead to professional NMC recognition or recordable NMC qualifications
• Offers the opportunity to study with a wide range of health professionals
• This programme will be continually developed during 2010/2011 to ensure its continued applicability to health and social care managers

Course duration

Part-time
MSc: 3-5 years

Career opportunities

Promoting leadership skills is high on the agenda of health and social care services. At all levels employees are asked to engage in service-run programmes. The degree has been designed to allow you to integrate your experience into the Masters degree. The course will also prepare you to undertake Doctoral level study. It will enhance your research expertise, and it’s the ideal platform to develop your skills of evaluation and synthesis towards originality in thinking.

Course content

The overall aim of the course is to enable students to develop a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and new
insights into leadership in and management of health or social care services as a basis for the development of leadership and management qualities.

Course modules

• Research methods in Health and Social Care
• Leadership and Professional Issues
• Dissertation

Optional modules

• Appraisal and Development of Theory and Practice (work-based learning)
• Negotiated modules (up to 40 credits)
• Human Caring
• Mentoring and Empowering
• Professional Judgment and Decision-Making
• Clinical Leadership and Professional Judgment
• The Policy and Practice of Health Promotion
• Independent Prescribing (V300)
• Narratives: Theory and Method
• Social Policy and Practice

Entry requirements

You need to have an honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject. If you’re not a graduate, you might also be admitted if you have held, for a minimum of two years, a responsible position which is relevant to the scheme you’re looking to join and can demonstrate aptitude for study at Masters level.