Level 4 Category

Developing Professional Practice and Personal Leadership Skills for Healthcare Support Workers Short Course

The Developing Professional Practice and Personal Leadership Skills programme is designed for HCSWs and HCAs who wish to develop their professional skills and, in future, progress to a Nursing Associate role. Through our unique programme of interactive blended online learning, students will learn to reflect and build on their existing knowledge and experience in order to respond to future healthcare requirements and confidently manage change in the workplace.

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Study TypeInteractive blended online learning
Duration3 months
LevelLevel 4 (Certificate)
Start DateVarious
University of Hertfordshire

Please Note: All scheduled courses (unless clearly indicated) are delivered online using an Interactive Blended Online Learning Model. This includes a blend of live webinars, workshops and Q&A sessions with clinical tutors combined with eLearning and videos; all designed to enable participants to build the knowledge and skills needed to successfully complete their course.

Healthcare Support Workers (HCSWs) play a key role in delivering excellent patient care within all sectors of health and care, and therefore developing and retaining those workers is key to developing a workforce that is capable of meeting the future needs of the NHS. 

The Developing Professional Practice and Personal Leadership Skills programme is designed for HCSWs and HCAs who wish to develop their professional skills and who may, in future, explore a variety of career opportunities including Nursing Associate, personalised care roles (such as Health and Wellbeing Coach or Social Prescribing Link Worker), or Allied Health Professional roles. Through our unique programme of interactive blended online learning, students will learn to reflect and build on their existing knowledge and experience in order to respond to future healthcare requirements and confidently manage change in the workplace. 

The first part of the course focuses on key skills for professional development: 

  • Introduction to Leadership and Management 
  • Facilitation of Learning 
  • Coaching in Practice 

These interactive learning resources are supported by practical activities and provide an opportunity for learners to familiarise themselves with the course structure and online learning platform. Online learning will be supported by group tutorials, delivered online at regular intervals throughout the module.

The second part of the course enables learners to explore diverse aspects of care by introducing a range of themes such as promoting health, working in teams, and contributing to integrated care. Throughout the programme learners will also be supported to develop academic writing and research skills, in preparation for completing an assessed piece of work at the end of the programme.

At the end of the course (12 weeks in total) learners are required to submit a poster on a health promotion or health improvement topic of their choice, and an accompanying 500-word reflective commentary. Successful completion of the course (including passing the assignment) awards the learner 15 credits at HE L4. 

Completion of the programme is intended to support career progression by providing an enriched focus on quality care and support for people living with long-term conditions. The course aims to support learners to:

  • Develop their personal leadership skills in order to take a more proactive role in practice improvement; and
  • Develop a reflective approach to learning that enables constructive evaluation of their own knowledge and skills; and prepare for future study

Knowledge and Understanding:

Learners successfully completing this course will typically be able to:

  • Discuss how quality improvement models can be used in practice to improve patient care.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how developing personal leadership skills can benefit
    professional practice and support career progression.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the Public Health principles of health promotion, health
    protection, and health improvement.

Skills and Attributes:

Learners successfully completing this course will typically be able to:

  • Demonstrate an awareness of different learning and communication preferences and how these can
    be met through facilitation and information sharing.
  • Discuss how behaviour change strategies can be used to help patients make and sustain healthy
    lifestyle choices.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of Reflective Practice and its value in developing personal
    resilience and contributing to practice improvement.

Duration: 12 weeks online learning plus one Essentials Clinical Workshop (2 x 2 hour sessions)

Accrediting Institution: University of Hertfordshire

Notional Study Time: 150 hours

Course Assessment: E-Poster and 500 word reflective commentary (100%)

Enrolment: To enrol on this programme you must have achieved or be working toward care certificate level and actively be employed as a Healthcare Assistant or Healthcare Support Worker with aspirations to be a Nursing Associate. Functional skills or equivalent qualification is required for entry to the Nursing Associate course, support will be offered to gain this if required.

Our Short Courses are removed from the website at least seven days before the start date, so that students have all necessary information for their studies when they begin. Many of our courses fill quickly and are removed once all places are sold so we advise early booking to avoid disappointment.

This course is accredited by the University of Hertfordshire. After purchasing your place from Education for Health, your course information will include the requirement to register for the activity with the University of Hertfordshire before the start date. Failure to do this will result in you not being able to start the course. In this instance our normal Terms & Conditions will apply.

To help signpost you to the right information, here are some frequently asked questions and answers.

Learner FAQs – webpage

Learner FAQs – PDF

Our website and eLearning work best in Google Chrome, Safari or Microsoft Edge and we advise you use one of these browsers to minimise the risk of errors or screen distortion. Please see our eLearning requirements document if you need further advice.

Buying for someone else?

You need to purchase a Developing Professional Practice Learning Licence which you can then allocate to your learner/s.

I want to book my HCA/HCSW onto this course – what should I do?

If you are buying for someone else then for your example, you should purchase a Developing Professional Practice Learning Licence – you are then issued with a code which you pass to the learner to book themselves on.

I need to buy for at least ten people.

We have extra support for purchasers buying learning licences at this volume, including a dedicated Partnership Manager who can help with licence usage reports, learner progress on courses and completion data. This allows you to easily demonstrate a return on your investment. We also have discounts available when bulk buying – talk to the team on [email protected] to find out more.

eLearning

Our website and eLearning work best in Google Chrome, Safari or Microsoft Edge and we advise you use one of these browsers to minimise the risk of errors or screen distortion. Please see our eLearning requirements document if you need further advice.

University of Hertfordshire