Advanced Assessment and Clinical Reasoning

Key information

Start date:
12 March 2025
Attendance dates:

12, 26 March 2025

09, 15, 30 April 2025

14, 28 May 2025

11 June 2025

Venue:
Kate Granger Building, 30 Priestley Road, Surrey Research Park, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7YH

Depending on the subject and content, modules will be delivered via a combination of face to face and online.

Some modules may be taught at: Stag Hill campus, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH
Contact details:
  • Level
    7 (postgraduate)
  • Credits
    15
  • Module code
    NURM186

Overview

The module provides opportunities for participants to develop and demonstrate advanced practice knowledge, clinical reasoning and assessment skills. This includes analysis of information acquired from holistic advanced assessments, including the physical, social and psychological domains of health, and analysis of clinical investigations to inform care decisions.

Participants are empowered to participate in multi-professional dialogue, learning and working to support advancing their practice.  This is achieved as module participants come from a range of healthcare professions, from across the life span.

Workplace based learning, supervision and assessments will provide advanced practice developmental opportunities within the participant’s clinical practice area.

This module aims to:

  • Provide participants with the knowledge, skills and experience to discern and apply advanced clinical assessment methods, adapting them for different patient populations and clinical situations.
  • Cultivate advancing clinical professionals who can synthesise clinical data from multiple sources, including collaborating across disciplines, to make informed and best-practice decisions.
  • Develop the competency for advanced clinical reasoning, encompassing evidence-based practice, critical thinking, and ethical awareness, to enable the creation of holistic care plans and interventions for patients with diverse healthcare requirements.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

  • Demonstrate the ability to critically assess and select appropriate advanced clinical assessment methods and tools, considering their relevance to diverse patient populations and clinical scenarios.
  • Analyse and synthesize a range of clinical information for differentiated and undifferentiated presentations and complex situations, including physical and mental health assessments, diagnostic investigations, holistic patient histories, and interdisciplinary collaboration to make informed and best practice clinical decisions.
  • Cultivate advanced clinical reasoning abilities, integrating evidence-based practice, critical thinking, and ethical considerations to formulate comprehensive care plans and recommendations for patients with complex health needs.
  • Actively and effectively collaborate with multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals and networks, including patients, their families and carers, to optimise patient care, outcomes, and be responsive to changing requirements of local populations, agencies and networks.
  • Demonstrate accountability and self-awareness of individual capabilities and professional scope of practice, including when working with and managing complexity and risk, while working towards achieving autonomous and safe advanced clinical assessments and patient education, and seek help when required.

Course content

Indicative module content includes:

  • Advanced Practice – in the context of policy development, such as the multi-professional framework for advanced clinical practice and minimum standards for advanced practice supervision.
  • Assessing and managing risk in complex situations.
  • Advanced clinical reasoning and decision making.
  • Legal and ethical issues, such as safety netting and health inequalities.
  • Holistic, patient centred, systems based advanced assessments across the lifespan.
  • Clinical tests and investigations, such as analysis of venous and arterial blood results, X-rays, ECG.

Learning and teaching methods

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

  • Provide you with opportunities to apply current advanced practice theories and work-based learning to develop an advanced practice knowledge base.
  • Utilise interprofessional and experiential learning to promote and reflect the multidisciplinary working required of advanced healthcare professionals. 

Learning and teaching methods include:

  • Lectures
  • Online – captured content addressing module content, and discussion boards as a further opportunity to share multi-professional perspectives.
  • Guided learning – such as signposting to external materials and guidelines relevant to advanced practice.
  • Problem-based learning/case studies - to consider some of the complexities of advanced practice and how they can be approached, including time spent in the simulation centre.
  • Discussion – drawing on your clinical experience, and multi-profession perspectives.
  • Practice-based learning and supervision – application of advanced assessment knowledge and skills in the workplace setting.

Assessment

Reflective clinical log, 60%, 1500 words

Advanced assessments, clinical reasoning and patient management strategies will be assessed, for a range of body systems in clinical practice. Participants will be assessed by supervisors who meet the requirements in the Centre for Advancing Practice “Advanced Practice Workplace Supervision - Minimum Standards for Supervision”. Participants will also critically reflect upon their development of differentials, diagnosis and proposed clinical management plan following an advanced assessment of a patient.  The critical reflection will draw upon key concepts, evidence and debates, and reflect safe and autonomous advanced practice.

OSCE, 40%, 45 minutes

The OSCE provides an opportunity for participants to demonstrate their advanced assessment knowledge, skills, clinical reasoning and management strategies for an unseen presentation.

Reading list

Take a look at the module reading list.

Entry requirements

Students must hold a recognised healthcare professional qualification and current professional registration with NMC, HCPC, GPhC. 

Students must be employed within UK healthcare, in a clinical role appropriate for advanced practice development. 

All students must have access to an appropriate supervisor in the clinical workplace. The supervisor will have expertise in advanced consultations, history taking, advanced assessment skills, diagnostic skills, decision making skills and work-based supervision. The supervisor will be an experienced Doctor or advanced practitioner. If the supervisor is an advanced practitioner, they must have been working autonomously at advanced practice level for a minimum of three years. A minimum of 20 hours supervision, including completing assessments for the reflective clinical log is required. 

Pre-requisite

Health Assessment Child (NUR3346) or Health Assessment Adult (NUR3347) or Health Assessment Child (NURM194) or Health Assessment Adult (NURM195)

Co-requisite

If Application of Decision Making (HCR3017) or Application of Decision Making (HCRM034) have not been completed prior to taking Advanced Assessment and Clinical Reasoning (NURM186) learners should be in the process of completing either module.

Fees and funding

£1,217

How to apply

Please download and fill in an application form. 

Please note: 

  1. Applications close on 15 January 2025 or earlier if we reach a maximum number of applications. If we still have spaces on the course, we may extend the application deadline date.
  2. It is important to ensure that you complete all sections and answer all questions, incomplete forms will cause a delay and may result in you missing out on an available place.
  3. If you are registered on a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course then you will need to complete an application form for each CPD module you wish to apply for.

Send your completed application to postreg_admin@surrey.ac.uk.

Terms and conditions

When you accept an offer of a place at the University of Surrey, you are agreeing to comply with our policies and regulations and our terms and conditions. You are also confirming you have read and understood the University's prospective student privacy notice.

If your sponsoring healthcare provider is funding you for this module, by submitting an application you agree to allow all information regarding your module (for example your exam results) to be shared with the sponsoring provider.

Cancellation policy

If you withdraw less than seven days before the module commences or do not attend on the first day (without informing the module administrator) the full cost of the module will be charged. Withdrawals after the module commences will also be charged.

Module availability

Places are confirmed approximately one month before the module start date. Please note that modules may be subject to teaching availability, student demand and/or class size caps. 

Disclaimer

Modules listed are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. The University of Surrey has used its reasonable efforts to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publishing, but changes (for example to module content) may occur given the interval between publishing and commencement of the module. It is therefore very important to check this website for any updates before you apply for a module with us. Read the full disclaimer.

Course location and contact details

Campus location

Kate Granger Building

Our Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS degree, nursing and midwifery, and health science courses are taught at the Kate Granger Building (30 Priestley Road), on the Surrey Research Park.

Additional information

Depending on the subject and content of learning and teaching, modules will mainly be delivered via a combination of face-to-face and online.

Some modules may be taught at: Stag Hill campus, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH.

Post-registration Administration team
Address

University of Surrey
Guildford
Surrey GU2 7XH