MSc Advanced Leadership for Professional Practice (Nursing)

The Dissertation is an extended piece of written work completed following successful completion of required course work.

The aims are to enable students, through the systematic, in-depth, exploration of a specific area of policy, practice, and research to extend their understanding and ability to contribute to the advancement of nursing, midwifery, social work or professional knowledge and practice at an individual and/or organisational level.

• Allocation of a supervisor who will provide academic and professional support and guidance regarding the selection of the dissertation topic, methodology, data analysis and preparation for publication
• A programme of Dissertation workshops will be available for students undertaking Masters dissertation. The principal purpose of the workshops will be to offer introduction to the dissertation unit, peer support and solve emerging problems.
• General electronically based resources will be available via Blackboard to support independent study

• Consolidate, synthesise and critically apply the in-depth knowledge and understanding of relevant policy, literature and research acquired through the taught components of the programme to the formulation of an extended dissertation relevant to a specific aspect of nursing, midwifery, social work or other healthcare professional practice, policy, research or service development
• Justify the choices made within the dissertation regarding the design, data collection and analysis, and management of any ethical issues 

• Engage in a systematic exploration of the literature, policy and research related to a specific area of nursing, midwifery, social work or professional in order to demonstrate an in-depth and critical insight of the relationship between theory and practice, and identify key aspects for scholarly investigation
• Formulate an original proposal for change, educational learning package or research proposal to challenge the boundaries of current thinking and demonstrate a sophisticated level of knowledge and understanding of a specific area of nursing, midwifery, social work or professional practice

• Construct a cogent and workable dissertation in order to select and critically examine a specific aspect of nursing, midwifery, social work or professional relevant to their own practice or service

• Communicate effectively (verbal, non-verbal, written) in a variety of settings with a range of individuals, service providers or commissioners
• Effectively utilise information technology/health informatics
• Demonstrate research and enquiry skills by accessing and analysing literature in order to inform and develop practice
• Work co-operatively and effectively with others as a member of a team
• Reflect on own academic and clinical performance and utilise strategies to improve these.
• Use logical and systematic approaches to problem-solving and decision-making

Students will normally receive regular feedback from their supervisor as the primary mode of teaching; learning is via individual supervision.

Provisional feedback based on internal marking will be made available prior to the Exam Board on the basis that these marks are yet to be ratified at the Exam Board and therefore may be subject to change. A standard feedback mechanism in Grademark is utilised across all postgraduate programmes within the School which provides detailed and constructive feedback on each component and aspect of assessment and identifies areas of strength and those aspects which could be enhanced.

Student feedback via formal University unit evaluation forms and also qualitative, in house evaluations at the end of the unit.