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Distance Learning Taught Doctorate
Programme Information
Doctorate in Midwifery Practice
Doctorate in Nursing Practice
2010-11
School of Nursing and Midwifery
Queen’s University Belfast
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Educational aims of the programme
1. Provide students with the intellectual and critical skills necessary to promote and sustain innovative midwifery/nursing practice and leadership.
2. Provide students with the intellectual, analytical and transferable skills necessary to function in advanced practice and leadership roles.
3. Provide students with the skills necessary to both systematically review research and undertake research relevant to midwifery/nursing practice and leadership functions.
Why choose the School of Nursing & Midwifery at QUB?
The School delivers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs in the disciplines of nursing and midwifery. We pride ourselves on offering programs that integrate theory and clinical practice, preparing our students to be sought after practitioners capable of delivering care around the globe. Our training partners include internationally recognised clinical institutions, and ambulatory and community care services. Our research excellence is evidenced by our return in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. With a multidisciplinary approach to our programs of research in the fields of maternal and child health and evaluation of complex interventions we are known for our PhD research training program conducted by internationally recognised researchers. This taught doctoral programme marks a major international innovation in the advanced training and education of midwives and nurses. It is the emphasis on practice that makes this taught doctorate different from the traditional PhD, or even the traditional taught doctorate. It is not simply concerned with knowledge, but also with action. Its purpose is to equip the future leaders of midwifery and nursing with the knowledge and skills they need to make a dynamic and effective contribution to health care, whether that be as advanced clinicians, managers or educationalists.
Who is the programme for?
The Doctorate in Midwifery Practice (DMP) and The Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) aims to prepare midwives and nurses for leadership in areas such as practice, research, management and education and thereby shape professional knowledge and practice. The programme is targeted towards experienced midwives and nurses to pursue doctoral level studies relevant to their professional interests and will provide a variety of learning opportunities in an established research environment.
Programme Structure
The DMP/DNP is a taught doctoral programme incorporating eight taught (a combination of compulsory & optional) modules and a dissertation. The aim of the programme is for midwives/nurses to develop an innovation which will be introduced within practice, research, education or management and subsequently evaluated. It is offered online through a virtual
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learning environment (VLE) and each individual student is allocated at least 2 supervisors who will provide academic and research support as required.
Modules available
Compulsory
• Health Care Research: A Philosophical and Practical Overview • Systematic Reviewing
• Health Care Evaluation • Leadership and Management
• Contemporary Midwifery: challenges and opportunities* • The Social & Political Context of Reproduction*
• Dissertation Optional
• Ethics, Professional Practice and Governance • Knowledge, Theory and Practice
• Health Policy and Public Health • Education, Assessment and Practice • Independent Study
*compulsory modules for DMP students only
NB The format and contents of modules listed are for guidance only and are subject to change following annual review of the course.
Duration
Full-time students must normally complete the DMP/DNP within three years of first registration. The School Education Committee may grant an extension of time so that the DMP/DNP is completed within four years of the date of first registration. Full-time students may not complete the DMP/DNP within two years of registering on the programme and cannot undertake more than 6 taught modules per academic year.
Part-time students must normally complete the DMP/DNP within six years of first registration. The School Postgraduate Research Committee may grant an extension of time so that the DM/DNP is completed within eight years of the date of first registration. A part-time student may not complete the DMP/DNP within four years of registering on the programme and cannot undertake more than 3 taught modules per academic year.
Student Support
From the outset of programme each student will be allocated at least two or three Supervisors who will be responsible for monitoring the student's academic progress and providing academic/thesis support, advice and assistance to a student, including directing the student to other sources of help and guidance. The Supervisory Team will liaise closely with module
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ordinators as the student progresses through the programme. The primary source of support will be the relevant individual module co-ordinator throughout the taught component of the programme.
The Local ‘facilitator’
All students will be required to provide confirmation of a local facilitator prior to commencing the programme. The project facilitator will normally be a senior health care professional or academic who currently works within the clinical or educational environment in which the practice innovation is to be implemented. The role of the project facilitator is to:
Provide the student with professional guidance and support throughout dissertation stage of DMP.
Guide the student in the selection of the clinical issue to be studied within DMP dissertation.
Assist the student with access to the appropriate institutions and individuals Advise the student on local administrative and ethical requirements prior to
commencement of dissertation element of DMP.
Review the students’ progress in practice innovation and in the evaluation of innovation.
Meet with the student at regular intervals to discuss progress.
Record and report student progress to the designated Queen’s University supervisor and Programme Director.
Distance Learning
Students will receive access to a range of comprehensive learning materials with the aim of supporting independent learning. A variety of learning materials including printed materials downloaded from the module web pages and web-based resources are used. The majority of modules may provide a module handbook, giving information on planning studies, preparing for assessment of the module and direction regarding required study and use study guides or workbooks containing the text of the module, self-assessment exercises and worked examples of the module content. In addition, we are continually developing a range of e-learning materials for distance learning students.
Assessment
All taught modules within the DMP will be assessed by written assignments which are designed to relate module content to clinical, educational or managerial nursing practice and meet the DMP/DNP-level criteria published in the course handbook. Students will submit an assignment of 5,000 words within 12 weeks after completion of the taught element of the module. Students will be required to submit a 1000 word formative assignment to obtain formative feedback, prior to a full assignment submission. The Dissertation element of the DMP/DNP will be 40,000 words in length and will involve the introduction and evaluation of an innovative
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intervention in the area of advanced practice. The dissertation will be assessed by internal and external examiners with an oral examination conducted via teleconferencing or similar means.
Research Dissertation
Students who have had a satisfactory performance profile in successfully accumulating 240 D-points (8 modules) may undertake a research study to complete the doctoral programme. In addition, a satisfactory performance profile is deemed to be the accumulation of at least 120 of those D-points in modules for which the candidate's assignments are assessed to be acceptable on first submission (i.e. not requiring re-submission). Students whose profile is less than this will be advised about their suitability to undertake the doctoral research dissertation study. Students may be required to withdraw from the doctoral programme at this point with the opportunity to take a viva-voce examination for the award of a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree. The topic of study and the appointment of a Supervisor(s) must be approved by the Programme Director. The Dissertation should represent a contribution to knowledge, showing evidence of originality, critical insight and the capacity to carry out independent research. It is expected that students will introduce the intervention in the area where they are working (if they are part-time) or in their sponsoring institution (if they are full-time).
Programme requirements
Entrance Qualifications: Applicants must have a recognised professional qualification in midwifery or nursing and current midwifery or nursing registration in the country in which research for the thesis will be conducted. They shall normally hold a relevant primary Degree at 2:1 classification or above or a relevant Masters Degree level award. In addition applicants entering the DMP/DNP with a primary Degree award must demonstrate evidence of successful completion of both qualitative and quantitative research modules at Masters Level or equivalent; these must be commensurate with similar modules currently available within the MSc Nursing/Midwifery programme. Applicants will normally be interviewed (using skype or teleconferencing) in which their suitability for doctoral study, and the context in which they will study, will form the basis of discussion.
Additional Information for International Students: Overseas applicants must have achieved an IELTS score of 7 in all categories. Evidence of these qualifications must be presented at the time of application. Applicants with an IELTS score of 6.5 may access the International Nursing Students English Preparation Course (http://www.qub.ac.uk/tefl/webpages/nursingcourse.htm) On successful completion such applicants will be required to demonstrate a QUB equivalent to an IELTS score of 7 (http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/media/Media,131094,en.pdf), and as advised by the QUB Admissions and Access Service) prior to entry on to the programme.
Applying for entry to the programme
Application to the programme is via the Queen’s University Website:
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Expressions of interest in the programme should be submitted to Carolyn Crawford ([email protected]) prior to commencing the application process.
Student Fees
Students are required to pay a registration fee for each year of enrolment on the programme. Students who are paying their own fees can pay by instalments.
Fee information is available from The School of Nursing & Midwifery website:
http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofNursingandMidwifery/International/FeesFunding or the International Students webpage on the QUB website:
http://www.qub.ac.uk/home/ProspectiveStudents/InternationalStudents
Potential Sources of Funding
It is recognized that many students may be self funding whilst on this programme and the following links may provide some opportunity to apply for funding.
http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/researchanddevelopment/funding
http://www.rcm.org.uk/college/professional-development/bursaries-and-scholarships http://www.iolanthe.org
http://www.rdfunding.org.uk
Further Information
DMP/DNP modules may be taken as ‘Stand Alone’ modules, in which the student undertakes a short 12 week course which is formally assessed at doctoral level. On successful completion of a single module, the student is awarded CAT points which may count towards another academic award. Successfully completed DNP/DMP stand alone modules may be credited to a Doctor of Midwifery Practice or Doctor of Nursing Practice award, if the student enrols in the DMP/DNP programme within 3 years of completing the first stand alone module. To undertake a ‘Stand Alone module the student must have a recognised professional qualification in midwifery and current midwifery registration. They shall normally hold a relevant primary Degree at 2:1 classification or above. Overseas applicants must have achieved an IELTS score of 7 in all categories. Evidence of these qualifications must be presented at the time of application. Applicants with an IELTS score of 6.5 may access the International Nursing Students English Preparation Course (http://www.qub.ac.uk/tefl/webpages/nursingcourse.htm). On successful completion such applicants will be required to demonstrate a QUB equivalent to an IELTS score of 7 (http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/media/Media,131094,en.pdf)
Further information about the School of Nursing and Midwifery at QUB can be found at: http://www.qub.ac.uk/nur
