In order to be considered for entry to the course(s) applicants will be required to have the following qualifications:

• Degree in a relevant health or social care discipline at a minimum lower second class award or evidence of equivalent health and/or social care experience which equates to level 6 abilities, e.g. working as a senior practitioner in a clinical leadership or management role which requires evidence of critical analysis and evaluation.  Students would expect to have studied at Level 6 and hold a minimum of 60 credits including a research methods module.
• Be working in an area with access to learners ( please see the additional criteria below)
• Where relevant, hold at least one entry on the appropriate professional register
• Have spent a minimum of three years in a relevant health or social care setting
• APL/APEL arrangements will be available to allow entrants to access the programme at different levels depending on previous learning and experience. This will include an interim arrangement for applicants who have completed the Practice Educator 1 from the previous course.

PGCert Nurse / Midwife Teacher award

Applicants for the PGCert Nurse / Teacher award must also fulfil the following entry criteria:

Nurses and midwives who intend to take on the role of teacher must fulfil a number of criteria, outlined on page 33 of the ‘Standards to support learning and assessment in practice’ (NMC 2008) – in particular the following:

• Be registered in the same part or sub-part of the register as the students they support
• Have completed at least 3 years post-registration experience, gained additional professional knowledge and skills, and have experience in an area where students are gaining practice experience relevant to their registration

To meet the NMC requirements for recorded Nurse or Midwife Teacher status you will need to show evidence of 360 teaching activity hours over a calendar year ( usually from May to May) e.g. May 2017 – May 2018. This activity can take place in both practice and academic settings but at least 20% must take place in a practice setting. This activity must be with, or related to students studying an NMC approved programme. This means students on pre-registration or midwifery programmes / students on a programme leading to a recordable qualification / or students on a Specialist Community Public Health (SCPHN) programme, as noted on page 16 of the ‘Standards to support learning and assessment in practice’ (NMC 2008).

NMC Approved Courses include:

• Pre-registration nursing and midwifery courses
• SCPHN Courses
• Community Practitioner Nurse Prescribing
• Independent and Supplementary Nurse Prescribing
• District Nursing with integrated Nurse Prescribing
• Mentorship
• Return to Practice
• Overseas / Midwives Programme
• EU Adaptation Programme
• Practice Education Programme (Practice Teacher).