Advanced and Specialist Healthcare (Applied Dental Professional Practice) - MSc

Teaching

Teaching and assessment

You will be asked to undertake preparatory reading and tasks, carry out work-based investigations and participant-led presentations. All assessment tasks are designed to allow you to develop expertise in the application of dental professional practice within the context of your work and subject interest.

Assessment is through:

• oral presentations
• written assignments
• portfolio assessments
• action learning sets

In addition, in Stage 3 you complete a dissertation of 10,000-12,000 words.

Programme aims

This programme aims to:

• foster the intellectual and professional development of experienced healthcare practitioners to expand the analytical and critical reasoning powers that underpin practice (eg in organisational leadership and change, health and welfare systems, organisations and services and advanced technical procedures and practices)
• enhance the skills of experienced practitioners in multidisciplinary decision making as well as team leadership, and deepen your understanding of the dynamics of multidisciplinary working
• provide supervision for advanced practitioner-centred research that builds a culture of evaluation and enquiry into the practice environment
• equip experienced practitioners for their role in challenging, questioning and realigning strategies for specialist practice
• develop confident senior practitioners who are able to participate in the development of practice, work effectively with organisational interests, evidence-based processes, and within complex multidisciplinary teams
• enable you to critically evaluate your own area of practice, informed by evidence-based research and grounded in self-reflection
• provide a culture of lifelong learning that values and respects practice as the context for building and testing theory, to enhance services for patients, clients and consumers
• enable experienced practitioners from a diverse range of educational backgrounds to access and participate in a multidisciplinary working environment
• support a programme of personal development that underpins practice development and personal planning.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

You gain knowledge and understanding of:

• theories of reflective practice that will equip you to deliver quality services in health and social care settings
• leadership styles to develop theory and skills appropriate to your specialist areas of practice
• strategic decision-making in healthcare services and other health and social care and organisational settings
• a specialist area of practice, with emphasis on developing clinical skills and your ability to evaluate quality and assess clinical or general practice
• critical analysis of models of care of patients, clients, service users and consumers through evidence-based practice
• collaborative working in an area of specialist practice
• practice-based research and enquiry underpinned by concepts of patient/client assessment, such as the critical analysis of medical, health and social care factors
• theory-building and theory-testing in professional practice, including holistic factors such as health or disease, treatment and sociologic economic factors
• data management and the main statistical principles and methods used in your area of practice
• key ethical and legal principles governing your area of practice
• a critical understanding of the principles and models of dental care provision and an ability to connect these to individual workplace practice
• a critical understanding of the professional aspects of the dental practice and the importance of continuous education, training and development.

Intellectual skills

You develop intellectual skills to:

• demonstrate critical and analytical reasoning to review and analyse contemporary practice
• prepare and present clearly reasoned and justified argument in securing practice change and development
• apply work-based learning to demonstrably enhance services
• develop a comprehensive professional portfolio that identifies the utility of intellectual skills in practice
• design and implement a programme of practice-based enquiry
• collect and analyse data from your practice to inform evidence-based enquiry including the statistical analysis of data
• undertake and report the ethical analysis of practice research project plans
• understand the importance to professionalism of positive critique, response to feedback and reflective practice.

Subject-specific skills

You gain subject-specific skills to:

• demonstrate effective engagement in team working appropriate to your workplace
• show an in-depth understanding of change management in healthcare services/practice
• develop new roles that support the interface between the strategic aims of service and practice
• present and argue an evidence-based case for service change and development
• carry out ethical professional practice within a dental workplace setting
• maintain professional practice and support the development of those who are less experienced.

Transferable skills

You gain transferable skills to:

• evaluate and enquire, to support you in making a contribution to professional knowledge in your subject field
• design and implement a research programme with a clear analysis of the outcomes and recommendations for future action
• provide clear and detailed reporting and accounting for the implementation and outcomes of an applied development project
• use action-learning set approaches to solve problems and identify solutions
• use work-based learning effectively to establish a future personal plan within the context of lifelong professional development
• use supervision to inform and enhance your learning approaches in the workplace
• communicate effectively in academic and professional/workplace settings
• show evidence of critical self-reflection and the ability to enhance professional competence on the basis of feedback.

Careers

A postgraduate degree in Applied Dental Professional Practice is a particularly valuable and flexible qualification that can open the door to exciting careers in many professions. Students are successfully using this programme to develop clinical, educational and policy making career pathways in the dental sector at local, regional and national levels.

Building on Kent's success as the region's leading institution for student employability, we offer many opportunities for you to develop the specific skills and aptitudes that employers will value.

Study support

Flexible programmes

We recognise and understand the individual needs of working professionals, who participate as non-traditional part-time learners, and the balance required between study and the specific areas within which they operate. Our flexible programmes of study provide inclusive and coherent educational and work-related opportunities, which provide you with the opportunity to study either individual modules or to work towards a postgraduate certificate, diploma or Master’s degree. Taught sessions are delivered in a welcoming, supportive and flexible academic environment, by an academic team with extensive professional practitioner experience.

Professional links

Our staff have a wealth of experience and knowledge working in public, private, health and third sectors, providing valuable contributions to the design, development and delivery of current professional practice programmes. With strong links to local and national employers, we are able to ensure that its programmes are contemporary.

We are also responsible for developing and accrediting postgraduate training courses delivered by Health Education England Kent, Surrey and Sussex, Kent Community Health NHS Trust and the New Horizons Teaching School Alliance, with whom the University of Kent has close working relationships.

Continuing professional development (CPD) courses

We offer a number of CPD courses in evidence-based practice, research skills, collaborative and interprofessional working. You can obtain further information about these programmes from us.

Dynamic publishing culture

Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books, both nationally and internationally. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Primary Dental Care; Dental Nursing; British Dental Journal; Journal of Public Health and publications produced by the General Dental Council.

Global Skills Award

All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.