PgDip Surgical Care Practitioner (Cardiothoracic Surgery)

Through this programme you’ll learn core competences for surgical care practitioners, with a focus on cardiothoracic surgery. You’ll gain the necessary skills to assist with complex surgical procedures and provide high quality patient care. Secure the experience you need to excel in unpredictable and highly pressurised clinical environments.

Key features

• Develop professional experience and specialist knowledge, through our blend of academic and practical teaching, delivered by a team involved in the education and practice development of the Surgical Care Practitioner role at national level for over 15 years.
• Benefit from eight weeks of taught theory and 28 weeks of direct clinical practice (per year).
• Expand your skills to undertake complex surgical procedures, manage patients intra-operatively and be responsible for pre-operative and post-operative outpatient clinics.
• Benefit from a combination of academic, theoretical and practical teaching, giving you the necessary clinical skills to meet national industry standards. We have strong links with existing practitioners, and visiting lecturers include current practising qualified Surgical Care Practitioners and Consultant Surgeons.
• Consider innovative approaches to care delivery and enhance the surgical patient experience.
• Cultivate a precise and meticulous work ethic, delivering an effective, safe and efficient service to patients.
• Work both autonomously and as part of a multi-profession team.
• Secure the experience you need to excel in unpredictable and highly pressurised clinical environments.
• Use your initiative to solve complex problems and deliver high quality patient care. Past students have enabled new service provision, such as satellite clinics for pre and/or postoperative assessment, and student initiated audits have generated new processes and cost savings for employing organisations.
• Royal College of Surgeons accredited programme.

You’ll develop further specialist knowledge and skills, enabling greater participation and leadership in surgical patient care. You'll also learn the principles of data collection and analysis, demonstrating clinical reasoning and judgement. Assessment in practice is ongoing throughout the programme with specified competencies to be achieved within operating theatres, clinics and ward areas. Assessment in theory is patient and service focused to enable development of condition/patient specific knowledge as well as service enhancement.