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Professional Development Awards (PDA) are aimed at developing the skills of those in employment. They are principally designed for those who wish to extend or broaden their skills base in a particular area of work practice.
The aim of the PDA in Technology Enabled Care is to equip Scotland’s health, social care, social work and housing workforce with the knowledge and skills required to help embed technology and digital into health and social care practice supporting positive health, care and wellbeing outcomes for people.
The PDA in TEC does not focus on technology. The award is not learning about specific technology, it’s aimed at developing and broadening knowledge and skills, providing an opportunity for participants to build confidence reflecting on this ever-developing area of health care and social care practice.
This qualification will be of interest to people who are new to or have an interest in Technology Enabled Care and those who are already working in this area who want to further develop and advance their knowledge, skills and abilities in this ever-evolving area of health and social care practice.
The award will enable participants to develop their work-based learning skills and be able to use the award to progress in their career through Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
The group award is made up of 2 Higher National Unit credits and comprises 16 SCQF Credit Points at Level 7.
SCQF - stands for Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. It provides a way of comparing qualifications to help you make choices in your learning. SCQF are compared using two measures: level and credit points.
There are five characteristics in total that the PDA takes into account:
Characteristic 1 – Knowledge and Understanding
Demonstrate and/or work with:
Characteristic 2 – Practice, Applied Knowledge, Skills and Understanding
Apply knowledge, skills and understanding:
Characteristic 3 – Generic Cognitive Skills
Characteristic 4 – Communication, ICT and Numeracy Skills 4:
Use a wide range of routine skills and some advanced skills associated with a subject/discipline/sector, for example:
Characteristic 5 – Autonomy, Accountability and Working with Others 5
The above descriptions are for guidance only – it is not expected that every point will necessarily be covered.
The group award consists of one mandatory unit and 4 optional units. The Professional Development Award in Technology Enabled Care will be awarded on successful completion of the mandatory unit (8 SCQF credit points) and one optional unit (8 SCQF credit points).
Mandatory Unit:
Optional Units
The notional length for each unit is 40 hours, requiring approximately 80 hours of learning to achieve the full award. The PDA in TEC is not a regulated qualification so there is no specific timeframe. Individual delivery centres will advise on their expected timeframes for completion.
The SQA supports a flexible and responsive approach for each participant, however deliver centres will expect participants to progress at a reasonable pace. The participant assessment plan should confirm the agreed timeframe for completing the award.
Entry is at the discretion of the delivery centre. Participants would benefit from having attained the skills, knowledge and understanding required by one of more of the following or equivalent qualifications and/or experience:
Examples of formal entry qualifications include:
You will find more information, including the Group Award Specification and the individual unit specifications on the SQA webpage at: - https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/94657.html
Assessment Support Packs are available to SQA delivery centres once approved to deliver the PDA in TEC.
Contact individual delivery centres for this information.
You will find a location directory at: https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/94657.html.
You should access the location directory and contact individual delivery centres for this information.
You will find more information, including the Group Award Specification and the individual unit specifications on the SQA webpage at: - https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/94657.html
It would be up to individual organisations and approved delivery centres to agree participant numbers based on available resources and general business requirements.
There are 3 outcomes with associated knowledge and skills covered in this unit:
Outcome 1
Promote the use of digital technology as a contemporary approach to support health and care delivery.
Knowledge & Skills
Outcome 2
Empower people to adopt the use of digital technology to support their health and social care needs.
Knowledge & Skills
Outcome 3
Evaluate new and emerging digital technologies and reflect on how these could be used to assist people to self-manage and live independently.
Knowledge & Skills
The PDA in TEC does not focus on types of technology. The award is designed to increase and broaden knowledge, skills and confidence in digital health and social care helping ensure our workforce have the necessary skills and capabilities to support citizens to better manage their health, and wellbeing.
The PDA in TEC was developed in line with Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Strategy: Enabled, Connecting and Empowering, promoting the digital literacy and future education of the workforce.
Find the strategy at - https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-digital-health-care-strategy-enabling-connecting-empowering/
Information governance is covered in the mandatory and all optional units as an underpinning knowledge/assessment requirement when candidates are looking at accessing, handling and processing sensitive, personal and organisational information. There is a reminder of this in the Assessment Support Packs particularly if candidates are providing anonymised recordings or information about a patient/service user or organisation.
The qualification has been designed for new and existing TEC staff, or people interested in TEC. Staff can reflect, consolidate, and explore new and emerging technologies in their area of work. This is an opportunity for staff to receive a qualification that recognises their job role for the first time and by encouraging them to reflect and consolidate their experiences it should enable them to think about career progression.