Becoming an Advanced Practitioner

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Becoming and Advanced Practitioner
Becoming an advanced practitioner

There are several academic programmes which are aligned with specific healthcare roles. There are others which have more general applicability/flexibility where new roles are being developed. Currently there are 10 higher education institutes in Scotland offering advanced practice programmes. These programmes are aligned with the Scottish Government and NHS Education for Scotland requirements for Advanced Practice.

Advanced Practice Accredited Programmes

The following table provides links to all the Universities in Scotland that offer MSc Advanced Practice programmes:

Higher Education InstitutionAdvanced Practice Accredited Programmes
  • University of Dundee
  • Edinburgh Napier University
  • Glasgow Caledonian University
  • Robert Gordon University

In addition to pharmacist’s initial MPharm qualification, NES Pharmacy support the continuing development of advanced practice through university modules that support development across the four pillars of advanced practice.

For information on funding contact pharmacy@nes.scot.nhs.uk

  • Stirling University
  • Queen Margaret University
  • University of Aberdeen
  • University of the West of Scotland
  • University of Highlands and Islands
  • The University of Edinburgh
  • Open University
Practitioner Stories

In this video Kelly Stevenson talks about her experience of funding to support her advanced practice development.

In this video Kelly Stevenson talks about her academic journey.

Scottish Advanced Practice Educators Network (SAPEN)

To ensure a robust and benchmarked approach to Advanced Practice education across Scotland, the Scottish Advanced Practice Educators Network (SAPEN) was established in 2021. SAPEN is a multidisciplinary, inclusive and Scotland wide network. The 10 Advanced Practice programme leads from the 10 Scottish higher education institutes offering Advanced Practice programmes are members of the network as are multiprofessional Advanced Practice leads from the regional NHS board areas colleagues from NHS Education for Scotland NMAHP and Pharmacy directorates, the Scottish Ambulance Service, NHS24 and more recently colleagues from the Association of Advanced Practice Educators UK (AAPE UK) and the Welsh Advanced Practice Educators Network (WAPEN). The addition of AAPE UK and WAPEN aims to enable UK wide collaboration on key areas of educational practice or research.

The main purpose of SAPEN is to provide a coordinated approach to the development of Advanced Practice education in Scotland in line with Scottish Government and NHS Education for Scotland requirements. Members of the network also provide representation on the Scottish regional Advanced Practice academies and ensure information is shared across Scotland. SAPEN aims to use the expertise within the network to Influence and support the development of Advanced practice and Advanced Practice education programmes and to provide direction and support to ensure quality and consistency is maintained across Scotland’s’ Advanced Practice programmes.

Some examples of the work SAPEN are leading includes:

  • Publication of a Scottish Advanced Practice Newsletter twice yearly
  • Development of national CPD events and establishment and maintenance of a national CPD calendar
  • Collaboration on production of national guiding principles for advanced practice supervision.

 

Watch this short video from Colette Henderson chair of SAPEN explaining more about the network.

 

A transcript is available for this video.