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Acute Care PgCert

2024-25 (also available for 2023-24, 2025-26)

Start date

16 September 2024

6 May 2025

Duration

1 year part-time

Places available (subject to change)

20

About the course

Reasons to study

  1. The course was designed and validated in conjunction with local employers and aims to develop you academically as well as clinically.
  2. Engage in simulation-based learning activities in order to develop teamwork and critical understanding.
  3. You will be taught by experienced acute and critical care practitioners. Guest speakers with clinical expertise will also contribute to the teaching.

This course is aimed at registered healthcare professionals working within an acute secondary care environment. It is designed to enhance your knowledge and critical understanding of managing and caring for patients within an acute or critical care setting. You will explore and discuss the attributes that influence care decisions within this specialist area, this will allow you to reflect and build upon existing experiences and knowledge.

  • The course was designed and validated in conjunction with local employers and aims to develop you academically as well as clinically.
  • You will be taught by experienced acute and critical care practitioners. Guest speakers with clinical expertise will also contribute to the teaching.
  • The course provides you with an opportunity to study with colleagues from other disciplines and specialties. You will engage in simulation-based learning activities in order to develop teamwork and critical understanding.
  • You will study modules which are designed to provide you with a better understanding of assessing and caring for patients with acute, critical and emergency care needs.

The material that underpins acute and critical care will be complimented by the opportunity for you to focus your learning on specific areas relevant your clinical practice.

Course detail

Assessment, Care and Management of the Acutely Ill Individual

This module provides you with the opportunity to enhance your knowledge and understanding of the pathophysiological effects of acute illness or traumatic injury along with the examination of current evidence and developments in this field of care. Emphasis throughout the module will be placed on the holistic assessment of the individual with development of subsequent management plans from which to provide optimum care.

Personal and Practice Development

You will be provided with the opportunity to enhance your knowledge and understanding of an area of interest to support your continuing professional development needs. Informed by robust evidence based, you will have the flexibility to apply and reflect your individual personal and/or practice development learning needs expanding your knowledge and abilities within your practice.

Please note that students cannot double count Personal and Practice Development if a second Postgraduate Certificate is taken.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for this course are normally:

  • Be a Healthcare Practitioner, registered with a professional body such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) with at least 12 months post-registration employment within an acute healthcare setting.
  • Have an honours degree at 2:2 or above, have studied at honours level or can demonstrate appropriate knowledge and skills at honours degree standard. We will consider other qualifications and experience on an individual case basis.

Postgraduate Study Fair


Come along to one of our Postgraduate Study Fairs to discover all your study options from short courses to PhD.

Our award-winning academic staff will be on hand to chat about all our postgraduate study and research options, flexible teaching and how postgraduate study can help you to advance your career or prepare for a career change.

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Placements


You will be required to undertake practice based learning and assessment, which will normally be within your own emergency care setting. However, if there are core competencies that are not achievable you will need to arrange alternative settings which will allow you to meet these.

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you will find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you will soon discover that you are never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

A wide range of resources are also offered within the School of Human and Health Sciences, which provides you with support in a variety of areas. These include:

Student Hub: a one stop shop for students, studying within the School. Their services include offering advice on extenuating circumstances, extension requests, course progression, suspension and welfare support, organising appointments with academic staff and signposting to other support networks.

Academic Skills Development Team: support students to develop their academic skills and build their confidence in order to improve their grades. The team provide support with academic skills including essay writing, being critical, reflective writing, numeracy, research skills, presentations and group work skills; as well as personal development for example time management.

Learning Technology Support Unit: helps students with any problems they experience with the University’s Brightspace Learning System, including logging on or difficulties experienced when accessing and using modules, and with the PebblePad platform, which is used by students when they go out on placements.

Important information

We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

Changes to a course you have applied for

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment.

Cancellation of a course you have applied for

Although we always try and run all of the course we offer, we may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants to ensure you have a good learning experience. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will contact you to discuss other suitable courses with us we can transfer your application to. If we notify you that the course you have applied to has been withdrawn or combined, and you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

We will always try to deliver your course and other services as described. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below:

Changes to option modules

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have a range of options to choose from and we will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes

We will only make major changes to the core curriculum of a course or to our services if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change in this context is a change that materially changes the services available to you; or the outcomes, or a significant part, of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), classes, type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.

For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators; to meet the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body; to improve the quality of educational provision; in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback; and/or to reflect academic or professional changes within subject areas. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but this may not always be the case. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation with affected students. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

Termination of course

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed and we will notify you as soon as possible about what your options are, which may include transferring to a suitable replacement course for which you are qualified, being provided with individual teaching to complete the award for which you were registered, or claiming an interim award and exiting the University. If you do not wish to take up any of the options that are made available to you, then you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the course without liability to the University for future tuition fees and you will be entitled to a refund of all course fees paid to date. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. These include regulations regarding the assessment of your course, academic integrity, your conduct (including attendance) and disciplinary procedure, fees and finance and compliance with visa requirements (where relevant). It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to. You should read these carefully before you enrol. Please note that this information is subject to change and you are advised to check our website regularly for any changes before you enrol at the University. A person who is not party to this agreement shall not have any rights under or in connection with it. Only you and the University shall have any right to enforce or rely on the agreement.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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