Healthcare Professional Practice MRes

Course Overview

If you are a registered healthcare professional interested in progressing your career, and at the same time making a real difference for your patients/client group, then this course could be the ideal opportunity.

Led by a highly experienced teaching team, you will learn everything you need to know to undertake ethically sound and impactful research within your area of practice, whether that’s Nursing, Midwifery, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy or Operating Department Practice.

The course is delivered in a blended format, to allow you maximum flexibility in fitting study around your work and other commitments. During the first year you’ll have access to interactive e-lectures through Blackboard Ultra, and come onto campus for half a day every other week to consolidate your learning through seminars with your inter-professional peer group.

During the second year you will undertake a major research project, either based on your own workplace or within a research group at Northumbria University. You’ll receive 20 hours of one-to-one support from your supervisor, who will be an expert in an area of direct relevance to your chosen topic.

By the time you graduate you will be fully equipped to undertake research to inform your area of practice. Studying on this programme will support future career progression, enabling you to move into senior positions within your area of practice, and to contribute to the future of the healthcare.

Your Future

If you want to progress in your healthcare career then undertaking practice-based research is key to gaining professional recognition. This course will equip you to work with Higher Education Institutions that will help to shape the future of your profession.

We have designed our curriculum to meet the needs of NHS Trusts, to ensure that we will be equipping students with the right mix of skills to make an impact. These include project management, collaboration, statistical analysis, leadership and communication skills, which are in high demand across the sector.

Over the course of the programme you will become a reflective practitioner, so that throughout your career you will understand how to apply your skills in different contexts, and how to identify areas for further development so that you can reach your full potential.

You will be able to apply everything your learn within your own sphere of practice, whether that’s nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy or any other related field. Together with the major project based on a genuine issue within your workplace, this course offers the perfect blend of transferable skills and practice-based learning.

We will support your career aspirations with sessions on successful networking, self-promotion, and disseminating your research for maximum impact, as well as CV advice, portfolio guidance, and interview preparation. You may even be able to publish a research paper as a result of your work on the course. If you wish to continue your studies to PhD level, this course is also ideal preparation to give you access to those opportunities.