Apprenticeship Course

Assistant Practitioner Higher Apprenticeship

Course details

Next course date

September and January

Duration

2 years

Location

Online

Course description

This programme is aimed at individuals entering the Assistant Practitioner role, looking to develop their skills beyond those of the traditional Healthcare Support worker. Entrants will come from a wide variety of backgrounds reflecting the breadth of the health and social care workforce. The programme has been developed to reflect key policies shaping the workforce, the NHS, Health and Social Care sectors today with the skills and attributes needed within the workforce to deliver care with compassion and to ensure the best outcomes for patients and service users. The programme has been developed through close consultation and collaboration with employers and is directly linked to the delivery of care in practice.

A smiling male nurse with thinning hair wraps the ankle of a female nurse in a bandage.

Choose one of these pathways

Online delivery - one day per week

There are nursing modules available such as Essential Clinical Skills and Medicines Management which will help tailor the programme towards the nursing profession.  There are also mental health modules which would be of benefit to Assistant Practitioners working in any setting.  Assistant Practitioners completing this pathway can enter the Nursing Degree Apprenticeship at the beginning of Year 2.

We have a well-established radiography pathway that caters for different modalities and enables progression to the Radiography Apprenticeship at the halfway stage.  If you want to become a Diagnostic Radiographer, it will take 2 years as an Assistant Practitioner plus 18 months on the Radiography Apprenticeship progression programme.

The Assistant Practitioner role within theatres is growing as organisations look at their workforce mix and look to upskill to take on higher-level duties.  Through undertaking theatre modules as part of this programme, Assistant Practitioners can enter the Operating Department Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship at the beginning of Year 2.

There are Occupational Therapy modules available to select, such as, Occupation & Wellbeing, Guiding Principles & Practice, Falls & frailty, Independence Dignity & Occupation.  By taking these modules Assistant Practitioners can enter the Occupational Therapy Degree Apprenticeship at the beginning of Year 2.

The Assistant Practitioner Maternity is a full-time apprenticeship, which awards graduates with a foundation degree and can serve as a pathway toward a career in midwifery. The Cert HE/FdSc Assistant Practitioner (Maternity) developed with local maternity providers prepares students for various roles in maternity settings as skilled, senior Maternity Support Workers, meeting the Health Education England Competency and Development Framework standards.

The Assistant Practitioner Maternity pathway is delivered one day per week, encouraging students to engage in teaching and learning activities in both academic and clinical practice settings. Students will explore maternity-focused modules that will enable them to undertake in-depth studies relevant to their role within maternity services. They will gain the skills and knowledge required to care for women, babies, and their families per their scope of practice. The course has been carefully designed to provide students with the skills necessary to undertake the role of senior maternity support worker assisting midwives and working within the wider maternity team. Students will have the opportunity to develop their knowledge, skills, and behaviours relating to their roles such as delivering compassionate care, effective communication, responsibility and accountability, assisting at births, health promotion, and infant feeding to name but a few.

This apprenticeship requires applicants to be employed in a maternity setting and have the support of their employer. Candidates need Level 2 Maths & English/GCSE Grade 4 (C) or equivalent before applying.

Structure, certificates and assessment

Our assessment approaches are varied and include poster presentations, exam, essays, assignments, case based discussions and practical skills assessments.

Our teaching team includes qualified health professionals with extensive experience of nursing and leadership roles within the NHS as well as nurse education. They have professional interests across children’s, mental health learning disability nursing as well as Occupational therapy and science.

Your Programme Leader, Julia Woodland, has 25 years’ experience as Registered Nurse (Adult) as well as being a qualified teacher for over 10 years.

Core Modules

  • Communicating Health Promotion - 40 credits
  • Developing Safe Care - 30 credits
  • Practise Module - 10 credits (pass/fail module)

Work with employer organised placements

Student selected modules (choose two - 20 credits)

  • Mental Health Across the Lifespan
  • Occupation and Wellbeing
  • Work Based Project
  • Complex Health and Social Care Needs in Maternity Settings
  • Essential Clinical Skills
  • Maternity Care and Skills
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Guiding Principles and Practice
  • Principles of Scrub and Circulating Practice
  • Principles of Anaesthetic Practice
  • Radiographic Imaging
  • Science and Technology of Imaging
  • Introduction to Computed Tomography
  • Introduction to Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Core Modules

  • Leadership and Learning - 30 credits
  • Practice Module - 10 credits (pass/fail module) including preparation for the EPA
  • End Point Assessment - 40 credits

Work with employer organised placement 

Student selected modules (choose two - 20 credits)

  • Falls and Frailty
  • Independence, Dignity and Occupation
  • Listen Without Prejudice
  • Music and Care
  • Work Based Project
  • Medicines Management
  • Assisting at Births
  • Care of the Mother and
  • Newborn in the Postnatal Period
  • Caring for People with Learning Disabilities
  • Human Anatomy and Physiology for Healthcare
  • Developing Anaesthetic Practice
  • Developing Scrub and Circulating Practice
  • Anatomy and Physiology for ODP
  • Developing Imaging Practice
  • Diagnostics and the Patient Journey
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Request more information about our apprenticeship programmes

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Benefits

Delivered online, accessible for all

This programme is delivered via our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) platform, meaning that students do not need to attend campus for lecture. This means that the programme and training can be accessed remotely from anywhere in the UK.

In tune with latest developments

This course is closely mapped against the needs of employers, which will ensure that your learning is up to date and relevant. In delivering the programme, we respond to national changes such as latest government policies. As a result, some of the information about the course may change.
As health care is increasingly delivered by multi professional teams, we offer opportunities at each stage of the course for you to learn with, and from, students from other disciplines. This is really important in preparing you to work in more flexible ways after graduation. By learning to work together, you can help achieve the best outcomes for your patients.

Entry requirements

Strongly Recommended Qualifications (your employer may set these as entry criteria):

To apply for this apprenticeship you must currently be in paid employment of at least 30 hours per week. Your employer must cover the costs of the apprenticeship.

Interview information

Fees and funding

Employers

Cost of the apprenticeship will normally be in line with the funding band £12,000, but individual agreements will be considered depending on student numbers and involvement of employers.

Apprentices

Fees will be paid by your employer with government funded support or through the apprenticeship levy.

Additional costs and optional extras

How to apply

For more information call +44 (0)800 001 5500 or email apprenticeships@derby.ac.uk

Applications to this apprenticeship must be made through the employer. If you are an individual who is not yet employed within this sector, you may find the following links useful:

Contact us

EnquiryEmailPhone
Apprenticeship Hub apprenticeships@derby.ac.uk +44 (0)800 001 5500

Apprenticeship Hub

Additional information about your studies

Additional costs and optional extras

We're committed to providing you with an outstanding learning experience. Our expert teaching, excellent facilities and great employability prepare you for your future career. As part of our commitment to you we aim to keep any additional study costs to a minimum. However, there are occasions where students may incur some additional costs.

The information below is correct for entry in the academic year September 2020 - August 2021 only. Entry for future academic years may be subject to change.

Included in your fees
Mandatory costs not included in your fees
Optional costs not included in your fees

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