Nursing - Cardiac and Intensive Care Nursing

Course details

The Postgraduate Diploma in Cardiac and Intensive Care Nursing course will help coronary care or intensive care nurses to improve their career prospects by enhancing their professional and personal development.

 It is a one-year course offered in partnership with health service providers. The course consists of 46 weeks of clinical placements in a variety of settings. Within the four block weeks and seven separate days of theory in UCC, specialists from clinical practice, as well as UCC staff, will facilitate you to become a more knowledgeable and skilled practitioner within critical care nursing. During some of your weeks in clinical placement, you will have the opportunity to attend extra placements. The course helps you to improve your cardiovascular assessment and to become proficient in implementing research-based practice in your critical care environment. You will also have access to our state-of-the-art Clinical Skills Simulation Resource Centre (CSSRC).

Course Details

The Postgraduate Diploma in Cardiac and Intensive Care Nursing course incorporates two orientation days and eight modules (three core and three specialist theoretical modules) which include 46 weeks of clinical placements in a variety of clinical settings (two clinical practice modules).

You will complete a range of core and specialist modules that are designed to meet the overall course learning outcomes, support core transferable skills and achieve specialist knowledge, know-how and competence. This course is awarded 60 credits at Level 9 major award on the National Framework of Qualifications.

 Pathway 2: Cardiac and Intensive Care Nursing

Theory modules

• NU6005 Research Methods (10 credits) (Shared module across all pathways)
• NU6030 Cardiac Care Nursing (10 credits)
• NU6031 Intensive Care Nursing (10 credits)
• NU6053 Ethics for Specialist Practice (5 credits) (Shared module across all pathways except 9)
• NU6070 Practice Enhancement for Nursing and Midwifery (10 credits) (Shared module across all pathways except 5 & 9)
• NU6126 Physical Assessment for Nursing Practice (5 credits) (Shared module across pathways 1, 2, 4 & 8)

Clinical Practice/Practicum modules:

• NU6130 Clinical Practice in Specialist Nursing 1 (5 credits)
• NU6131 Clinical Practice in Specialist Nursing 2 (5 credits)

Our teaching methods range from lectures to seminars to small group work as well as cardiac assessments conducted within the Clinical Skills Simulation Resource Centre(CSSRC).

Detailed Entry Requirements

PROGRAMME PATHWAYS

There are 11 clinical pathways to the degree of Masters in Nursing, all of which have an exit route available for the award of a Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing. The pathways to degree of Masters including Postgraduate Diploma exit route are as follows:

• Pathway 1: Emergency Nursing
• Pathway 2: Cardiac and Intensive Care Nursing 
• Pathway 3: Gerontological Nursing 
• Pathway 4: Peri-operative Nursing 
• Pathway 5: Recovery Focused Mental Health Nursing
• Pathway 6: Neonatology Nursing - Not on offer for 2015/16
• Pathway 7: Contemporary Issues in Intellectual Disabilities - Not on offer for 2015/16
• Pathway 8: Medical Surgical Nursing
• Pathway 9: Nursing in the Community - Not on offer for 2015/16
• Pathway 10 Orthopaedic Nursing
• Pathway 11: Oncology Nursing

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS 

Applicants for the MSc in Nursing, including Postgraduate Diploma exit route, should normally:

(a) hold active registration on a pision of the professional register maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland or be eligible for such registration as required for inpidual pathways:

• Pathways 1, 2, 8, 10 and 11: Applicants must be Registered General Nurses
• Pathway 3: Applicants must be Registered General Nurses or Registered Intellectual Disability Nurses or Registered Psychiatric Nurses
• Pathway 4: Applicants must be Registered General Nurses or Registered Midwives
• Pathway 5: Applicants must be Registered Psychiatric Nurses
• Pathway 6: Applicants must be Registered General Nurses or Registered Midwives
• Pathway 7: Applicants must be Registered Nurses in Intellectual Disability or Registered General Nurses/Registered Children's Nurses/Registered Psychiatric Nurses currently working in an intellectual disability setting
• Pathway 9: Applicants must be either Registered General Nurses or Registered Intellectual Disability Nurses or Registered Children's Nurses or Registered Psychiatric Nurses or Registered Midwives

(b) have clinical practice experience (and support structures, if applicable) as required for inpidual pathways:

• Pathways 1, 2 and 4: Applicants must have a minimum of six months of post-registration experience (excluding courses) and at least six months experience in the speciality pathway applied for. In addition applicants must be certified in Basic Life Support (BLS).
• Pathways 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11: Applicants must have a minimum of six months of post-registration experience (excluding courses) and at least six months experience in the speciality pathway applied for.
• Pathway 7: Applicants who are Registered Nurses in Intellectual Disability must have a minimum of six months of post registration experience (excluding courses) and at least six months experience in intellectual disability nursing OR if a Registered General/Children's/Psychiatric nurse must have a minimum of four years post-registration experience (excluding courses) in intellectual disability nursing.
• Pathway 10: No experience required but must work in orthopaedic speciality area.

Course Practicalities

You will be expected to attend lectures for four block weeks (three in semester 1 and one in semester 2) for specialist modules and seven separate days (five in semester 1 and two in semester 2) for Core modules. Lectures take place from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday on block weeks. Core modules will be delivered by ‘blended learning’ both online and direct contact. Ten-credit core modules (200 hours learning) will involve 184 hours of online learning and 16 hours of direct contact time. Five-credit core modules (100 hours learning) will involve 92 hours of online learning and eight hours of direct contact time.

Specialist modules will continue to be delivered mainly through direct contact. You will have 34 hours of direct contact on10-credit modules and 16 hours of direct contact on 5-credit modules

Assessment

Core modules are assessed through continuous assessment. Specialist modules are assessed through continuous assessment and/or an end of year examination. The 10-credit modules may have two separate assessments. The latter normally involves the submission of an academic assignment but can also include an in-class test/ end of year examination or both, depending on whether the module is 10 or 5 credits.

One 10-credit module assessment involves a clinical audit and a poster presentation of the audit results. The exception is the Clinical Practicum Modules (5 credits). Assessment of clinical competence is continuous and obtained through acquisition of core competencies and reflection on clinical practice experience, all of which is recorded in the student Competency Booklet during scheduled clinical placements.