Advancing Renal Nursing Practice (Online)

Who is this for?

This module is aimed at NMC-registered nurses who have gained a minimum of two years' experience in caring for patients with renal disease and wish to further enhance their knowledge and skills. It is preferable that applicants have completed prior learning on a course/module that focuses on caring for patients with renal disease. This can include successful completion of the Care and Management of the Renal Patient module.

The Advancing Practice module is intended for staff who wish to work towards more senior roles or who are already in such roles and wish to build on their knowledge and experience.

This module can be undertaken as part of the BMedSci Renal Nursing Care degree or as a stand-alone module.

If taken as a stand-alone module, this unit can be completed at degree level for 20 credits or masters level for 15 credits. If you're considering this module at masters level, it is recommended that you have completed some academic study at degree level recently and within the UK. If unsure which level to choose, please contact the programme/module lead.

The module is six months in length, with the first half being spent on completion of the online materials and the remainder spent on completing the summative assessment.

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Content overview

This module builds on the learning undertaken in the Care and Management of the renal patient module, exploring the complex care needs of people with renal disease. Subjects covered during this module include leadership and management within a renal context, addressing complex care needs, pharmacological considerations, nutrition, patient empowerment and contemporary issues in renal care.

The module is structured in a way that promotes discussion and collaboration between students, learning from each other’s experiences and viewpoints. It is tailored to meet the needs of nurses working in practice and examines current national guidance and best practice in the identification, treatment and management of renal disease. As the module is an online course and covers a wide range of renal related subject matter, it requires a strong level of commitment and students are expected to maintain a minimum level of activity within each module and participate regularly.

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Learning and assessment

This module is conducted entirely online. You will need to be available for the first day of the module – this is an online day where you are introduced to the resources and supported to access the various online tools. 

After the first day, there are also regular live online lectures. These are usually an hour long and are delivered by subject experts.  All live lectures are recorded so students have access to them throughout the duration of each module, however students are expected to make every effort to attend the live sessions. Dates for live online sessions are sent to students prior to the module commencing.

The module is delivered via the University of Sheffield’s virtual learning environment (VLE). Asynchronous learning is via the content held on the VLE, discussion forums and the development of group learning resources. 

Within each module there is an online reading list. All resources included are available electronically. You will also have access to the extensive University library collections and subject databases that are held digitally.

Assessment for this module is dependent on the level you have applied for.

• Degree level: 3,000-word essay 
• Masters level: e-poster presentation

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Contact information

Programme Leader: Andrea Fox

• Tel: +44 114 222 2079
• Email: andrea.fox@sheffield.ac.uk