MSc Advanced Clinical Practice
- Study Mode: Part Time
- Location: Uxbridge
- Duration: Three Years
- Start Date: January and September 2026
Our course is designed to equip you with the skills and practical expertise to help you excel as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP). By choosing our course, you will have access to a team of experienced lecturers who will guide you through your academic journey with hands-on experience.
BNU will help you gain in-depth knowledge in key skills and enhance interprofessional collaboration ensuring you develop strong communication and teamwork skills that are essential for the role of a modern ACP. We’ll help you to build a demonstrable portfolio of work-based assessment to enhance your clinical competence and help give you a competitive edge in the job market.
Why study this subject?
Studying to become an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) is ideal for non-medical registered health care professionals who want to gain an expanded skillset and knowledge base and is perfect for you If you want to take on more advanced and diverse responsibilities.
Through advanced training and education, ACPs develop expertise covering the four pillars of clinical practice. The enhanced competence enables you to work alongside medical professionals, providing high-quality care and contributing to improved outcomes for patients and their teams.
Advanced clinical practice is vital for transforming service delivery and meeting local health needs effectively. It enhances capacity, capability, productivity, and efficiency within multi-professional teams, as emphasised in the NHS Long-Term Plan.
Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?
Gain experience at BNU, focus on your skillset and learn how to manage the high demands of a role in Advanced Practice.
This course is accredited by the and combines academic theory, simulated patient care and work-based learning to make sure you’re fully prepared to explore all your career opportunities from day one.
Our course includes a range of optional modules, to help you to tailor your education to the role that you wish to pursue on completion. Our major project module provides you with a choice on the type of project you undertake, allowing you to make this as relevant as possible to your professional setting.
As a key provider of healthcare education in London and South East, our campuses are fully equipped to deliver simulated learning in realistic clinical environments. With fantastic links to local NHS trusts in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire we aim to use the latest and best practices and research to prepare you to fill skill shortages and local demands.
What facilities can I use?
As a student on our MSc Advanced Clinical Practice course, you'll have access to our incredible state-of-the-art simulation labs at both the High Wycombe and Uxbridge campuses. Simulation is an important aspect of our healthcare courses. You will regularly spend time in these areas to practice technical skills and use new technologies in a safe and supportive environment.
We use simulation manikins coursed to act like humans, and ‘moulage’ – the process of applying mock, often gorily realistic injuries for training purposes. We also engage service users and professional actors in role-play sessions and during your summative assessments.
What will I study?
Advanced clinical practice and specialist practice are distinct from each other. Specialist practitioners demonstrate expertise in a specific clinical area, such as diabetes, asthma or minor injury management. On the other hand, advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs) possess comprehensive knowledge and skills that enable them to provide holistic care across many different patients.
Our course is designed to complement your role in clinical practice and ensure you have a strong educational foundation, are clinically competent and fit for purpose as an ACP in practice. In addition to university-based assessments, this will be evidenced through a portfolio encompassing work-based assessments covering the four pillars of clinical practice.
Some of the topics you will be able to understand at the end of this course are: Evidence-based practice, Clinical assessment and biomedicine and Medical investigations and diagnostics.
Other topics you can elect to study include:
- Minor Injury and Illness
- Emergency and Critical Care
- Healthcare Management
- Frailty and End-of-life care
- Recognition/Accreditation of Prior learning (APL) or related healthcare modules at level 7
How will I be taught and assessed?
Throughout the course you will be assessed in a variety of ways. Assessments are designed to be informative, positive and a learning experience and reflect real-world practice as much as possible.
Some of the ways you will be assessed include:
- OSCEs
- Exams
- Work-based assessments
- Essays/reports/literature reviews
- VIVAs
- Presentation
- Portfolio
- Formative and summative work-based assessments
- Work based projects
What are the course entry requirements?
The University’s general entry requirements will apply to admission to this programme with the following additions / exceptions:
- You must be a registered healthcare professional (e.g., paramedic, nurse, AHP *Pharmacists may apply but must either be prescriber-ready or complete their non medical prescribing course at another organisation).
- Recommended two years post-qualification experience.
- You should normally have a degree in a relevant subject area.
- You must be employed in a relevant area of clinical practice, with access to a named Consultant supervisor.
During the selection process, you will be expected to demonstrate:
- The appropriateness of the programme for your career aspirations.
- Awareness of Advanced Clinical Practice, and the Four Pillars.
- Awareness of the academic, practice and professional requirements of the programme.
Previous study, professional and / or vocational experiences may be recognised as the equivalent learning experience and permit exemption from studying certain modules in accordance with our accreditation of prior learning (APL) process.
Offers will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check and Occupational Health Assessment.
English language proficiency
- Applicants for whom English is not their first language will be required to hold an IELTs certificate graded 7 or equivalent, with no element below 6.5.
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exemption Orders 1975)
As these training posts involve or may involve direct contact with people receiving health care they are exempt from the provision of the above Act and you are required to give details of all previous convictions, all cautions, warnings, binding-overs, or detentions by police, including any spent convictions. Failure to disclose is a serious breach of entry requirements. Progression prior to any year of study will be subject to a self-declaration form being completed by the learner relating to the above statement.
Module specific requirements
Students studying these modules must have a clinical Supervisor that is a Qualified Advanced practitioner with an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice and minimum 3 years in the role, a Medical Doctor ST3 or above, or GP:
- Clinical Assessment and Biomedicine for Advanced Practice
- Negotiated Major Project
- Frailty and End of Life Medicine
- Emergency & Critical Care in Clinical Practice
- Health and Social Care Business Administration
- Medical Investigations and Diagnostics
- Clinical Management of Minor Injury and Illness
Modules
This provides a guide of the modules that make up your course. You can find more information about how your course is structured on our Academic Advice section.
What are the tuition fees
Home
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Home, Academic Year 2025 - 2026: £3,840 per year *
Following the Government’s announcement of 4 November 2024, we will be increasing our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for UK students to £9,535 per year from the start of the 2025/26 academic year. Our part-time fees for UK undergraduate students will increase to £7,145 per annum. Please visit , on the Government’s website, for more information about the changes.
Tuition fees for Home undergraduate students (including with foundation year) may increase in subsequent years for both new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by the Government.  
Tuition fees for both new and continuing international students may be subject to an inflationary increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12-month period to 31 January each year.  
Tuition fees for postgraduate courses and CPD may be subject to an inflationary increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12-month period to 31 January each year. This increase will apply to both new and continuing students.  
We understand, and really appreciate, the significant financial commitment our students make when they choose to study at BNU. We take our responsibilities to our students very seriously, and are ambitious for each to reach their full potential and succeed in their chosen career. Our fees help us to continue providing our students with a high-quality education, and to invest in the services and facilities which create an excellent student experience at BNU.
The following factors will be considered by the University when we set the annual fees: measures of inflation such as the retail price indices; projected increases in University costs; and any changes in the level of funding for teaching received from the Government.
What are my career prospects?
Pursuing a career as an ACP opens a range of career opportunities. With the growing demand for healthcare services and the need for multidisciplinary teams, ACPs are increasingly valued and sought after in a variety of settings. The role allows non-medical clinicians to apply to leadership positions, collaborate with other healthcare professionals, and play a crucial role in shaping and delivering the future of healthcare.
The increased responsibilities and the ability to work autonomously make the ACP role both challenging and rewarding, offering non-medical clinicians a fulfilling and dynamic career pathway which may include:
- Hospital and community settings
- Senior leadership roles
- Clinical and Higher education roles
- Research participation
- Doctorate/level 9 study
- Healthcare Business Consulting
- Commercial / Industry sector
