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Overview

This course is designed to help experienced nurses and allied healthcare professionals take on the role of assessing and managing minor illness within their clinical setting. It provides you with the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills in relation to clinical consultations, history taking, physical examination and clinical decision making/diagnosis for patients presenting with undifferentiated/undiagnosed minor illness problems.

  • Real case studies will be used in order to enhance your learning.
  • You will be taught by Advanced Clinical Practitioners who are experts in this area of practice.
  • You will have an opportunity to practice physical examinations and history taking in a skills lab and will be supported to demonstrate competency in applying these skills to your clinical practice.
  • Taught lectures will focus on the evidence-base behind minor illness assessment and management.

Minor illness assessment and management skills are needed more and more by nurses and allied health professionals in a variety of areas including general practice, urgent care, emergency departments and pre-hospital care. The course aims to provide additional theoretical, clinically focused education around minor illness.

Teaching and assessment:

Learning and teaching is delivered through lectures, group work, practical experience lectures, and completion of an e-portfolio. Student-centred learning is used where appropriate and peer review and support is an integral part of the learning process.

All modules are supported by the University’s virtual learning environment, Brightspace. The development of on-line delivery and material, is a key component of the teaching and learning strategy in this course. Your module specification/course handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria applying to your course.

Feedback (usually written) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results. Feedback on exam performance/final coursework is available on request after the publication of results.

The University of Huddersfield operates an attendance monitoring system. Further details can be found in the Attendance Monitoring Policy.

Key Information

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for this course are normally:

  • You must be a registered Health Care Practitioner, working in a Health and Social Care setting where patients with minor illness are present.
  • You must be registered with a relevant statutory body such as the NMC or HCPC if you would like to undertake modules linked to UK professional body recognition.
  • International students must be registered with a relevant professional body in their country of origin and will not be eligible for any NMC or HCPC recognition whilst undertaking this course or on its completion.
  • An Honours degree or equivalent professional qualification appropriate to that of the proposed programme to be followed.
  • Have access to a clinical educator and be able to negotiate access to a 3 week clinical placement to support application of theory to practice and assess competence.

Start dates

22 September 2025

Duration

8 months, part-time

Credits: 30 Masters level credits

Code: HMH2055

Placements

In order to support the application of theory into practice you are required to undertake three weeks of practice based learning supported by a clinical educator to guide your development and assess your competence in practice. You must secure a placement prior to your commencement.

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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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