Advanced practice toolkit

Across the UK academic programmes attract credits and within Scotland these academic credits are explained through the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). This framework can help you to understand your academic journey and identify your academic level. You may have heard colleagues discussing various different levels but for advanced practice it is important to look at Masters (MSc) level SCQF level 11 in Scotland. For the rest of the UK it is level 7 - Register of Qualifications Framework (RQF), Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW) and Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA).

The minimum requirement for an advanced practitioner across the UK and internationally is a masters level qualification. This MSc qualification must contain specific theoretical content such as anatomy and pathophysiology, pharmacology and holistic clinical assessment for example. Detail about the core professional requirements can be found in the Transforming Roles papers 2, 7 and 8 for nurses and for pharmacists the Core Advanced Pharmacist Curriculum sets out the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of advanced pharmacists.

Some health boards have produced additional guidance to support the education, training and development required for advanced practice. 

Below we have shared NHS Lothians example taken from their Advancing Practice Policy. 

“Whilst some roles and professions have educational pathways agreed at national or regulatory level, it is recognised that other professions currently do not have these agreements or guidelines in place. Therefore, in the absence of these agreements, the following educational principles should apply for advanced roles within NHS Lothian. All practitioners recruited to work at an advanced level should be educated to Master’s level (SCQF level 11) or completed a Master’s level pathway with a post graduate diploma as a minimum. This may be as part of a specifically designed academic pathway or standalone modules relevant to the area of work and required role. Standardised educational requirements that are relevant to an advanced role must be used where available using agreed national guidelines or frameworks to support quality and consistency. It is recognised that this may vary within the healthcare professional groups and will depend on the requirements of the role and availability of academic modules and national guidelines Educational pre – requisites to apply for an advanced role or to study at an advanced level must be standardised within professional roles to support workforce planning and career progression”.

The table below outlines the credits required for masters programmes.

Different universities in Scotland and across the UK provide modules at different credit ratings, for example the prescribing module at the University of Dundee attracts 30 credits whilst at Edinburgh Napier University offers this module at 40 credits. For some universities you may have 4,15 credit modules to successfully complete for a postgraduate certificate award but other universities you may have 2 modules to do as each module may be 30 credits. The following table provides links to all the Universities in Scotland that offer MSc Advanced Practice programmes: