Advanced Assessment and Clinical Reasoning

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.

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.

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.

The summative assessment for this module consists of:

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.

Take a look at the module reading list.