ADVANCED ASSESSMENT & CLINICAL REASONING - 2025/6

Module Overview

The module provides opportunities for participants to develop and demonstrate advanced practice knowledge, clinical reasoning and assessment skills. This includes analysis of information acquired from holistic advanced assessments, including the physical, social and psychological domains of health, and analysis of clinical investigations to inform care decisions. 

Participants are empowered to participate in multi-professional dialogue, learning and working to support advancing their practice.  This is achieved as module participants come from a range of healthcare professions, from across the life span. 

Workplace based learning, supervision and assessments will provide advanced practice developmental opportunities within the participant’s clinical practice area.  

Module provider

School of Health Sciences

Module Leader

STOBBART Mark (Health Sci.)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

Students must hold a recognised healthcare professional qualification and current professional registration with NMC, HCPC, GPhC.     Students must be employed within UK healthcare, in a clinical role appropriate for advanced practice development.     All students must have access to an appropriate supervisor in the clinical workplace. The supervisor will have expertise in advanced consultations, history taking, advanced assessment skills, diagnostic skills, decision making skills and work-based supervision. The supervisor will be an experienced Doctor or advanced practitioner. If the supervisor is an advanced practitioner, they must have been working autonomously at advanced practice level for a minimum of three years. A minimum of 20 hours supervision, including completing assessments for the reflective clinical log is required.     Pre-requisite:  NUR3346 Health Assessment Child or NUR3347 Health Assessment Adult or NURM194 Health Assessment Child or NURM195 Health Assessment Adult    Co-requisite:  If HCR3017 Application of Decision Making or HCRM034 Application of Decision Making have not been completed prior to taking NURM186 Advanced Assessment and Clinical Reasoning, learners should be in the process of completing either HCR3017 or HCRM034    Exemption from regulations  This module must be completed at level 7. The recognition of prior learning (RPL) process cannot be used as a method to convert a level 6 module to a level 7 for this module, due to the professional accreditation requirements.    

Module content

Advanced Practice – in the context of policy development, such as the multi-professional framework for advanced clinical practice and minimum standards for advanced practice supervision. 

Assessing and managing risk in complex situations 

Advanced clinical reasoning and decision making 

Legal and ethical issues, such as safety netting and health inequalities. 

Holistic, patient centered, systems based advanced assessments across the lifespan. 

Clinical tests and investigations, such as analysis of venous and arterial blood results, X-rays, ECG 

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to critically analyse and reflect on advanced assessments and clinical reasoning.  They will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of appropriate assessment frameworks, tools and investigations and engage in critical analysis of acquired information and data to safely identify a diagnosis. Students will demonstrate appraisal and application of clinical evidence and policy relevant to develop a patient centred management plan. It will enable them to critically reflect on the skills required to lead on advanced assessments and multiprofessional working.      

 

In line with Professional and Regulatory body, Codes of Practice/Standards of Proficiency, if there is a concern of unsafe practice or breach of confidentiality, the assessment(s) will not meet the criteria to achieve a pass. 

 

  Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of: 

Reflective clinical log, 60%, 1500 words (addresses learning outcomes 1,2,3,5) 

Advanced assessments, clinical reasoning and patient management strategies will be assessed, for a range of body systems in clinical practice. Participants will be assessed by supervisors who meet the requirements in the Centre for Advancing Practice “Advanced Practice Workplace Supervision - Minimum Standards for Supervision”. Participants will also critically reflect upon their development of differentials, diagnosis and proposed clinical management plan following an advanced assessment of a patient.  The critical reflection will draw upon key concepts, evidence and debates, and reflect safe and autonomous advanced practice. 

OSCE, 40%, 45 minutes (addresses learning outcomes 1,2,3,4,5) 

The OSCE provides an opportunity for participants to demonstrate their advanced assessment knowledge, skills, clinical reasoning and management strategies for an unseen presentation.  

 

  Formative assessment 

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  Reflective clinical log – There is the opportunity for practice-based supervisors to formatively assess an advanced assessment consultation within the workplace setting. Participants will submit a sample of 200 words from their developing summative critical reflection OR will submit an A4 critical reflection essay plan. 
  


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  OSCE - participants will have the opportunity to demonstrate elements of an advanced assessment within the simulation environment. 
  

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  Continuous verbal feedback from lecturers within the module 
  


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  Verbal and written feedback from practice-based supervisors - This provides the opportunity for feedback that recognises their strengths and areas for development for their advanced assessments and clinical reasoning.   
  


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  Peer feedback (simulation group work) 
  


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  Written online feedback - formative feedback may address the proposed case study structure, content, writing skills, critical analysis and the integration of supporting evidence. Formative submissions will generate a Turnitin score, providing opportunities for early feedback on academic practice, and where appropriate how to develop, including signposting to the academic skills and development team. 
  

Module aims

• Provide participants with the knowledge, skills and experience to discern and apply advanced clinical assessment methods, adapting them for different patient populations and clinical situations.
• Provide participants with the knowledge, skills and experience to discern and apply advanced clinical assessment methods, adapting them for different patient populations and clinical situations.
• Cultivate advancing clinical professionals who can synthesise clinical data from multiple sources, including collaborating across disciplines, to make informed and best-practice decisions.
• Develop the competency for advanced clinical reasoning, encompassing evidence-based practice, critical thinking, and ethical awareness, to enable the creation of holistic care plans and interventions for patients with diverse healthcare requirements.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to: 

Provide participants with opportunities to apply current advanced practice theories and work-based learning to develop an advanced practice knowledge base. 

Utilise interprofessional and experiential learning to promote and reflect the multidisciplinary working required of advanced healthcare professionals.  

 

The learning and teaching methods include: 

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  Lectures  
  


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  Online – captured content addressing module content, and discussion boards as a further opportunity to share multiprofessional perspectives. 
  


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  Guided learning – such as signposting to external materials and guidelines relevant to advanced practice. 
  


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  Problem based learning/case studies - to consider some of the complexities of advanced practice and how they can be approached, including time spent in the simulation centre. 
  


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  Discussion – drawing on participants’ clinical experience, and multi-profession perspectives. 
  


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  Practice-based learning and supervision – application of advanced assessment knowledge and skills in the workplace setting. 
  

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: NURM186

Other information

The School of Health Sciences is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas:  

Employability – Participants are registered healthcare professionals currently employed in UK healthcare roles and may be completing this module as a standalone module. Participants enrolled on the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice programme this is a core module. With continued accreditation by the Centre for Advancing Practice, participants who are enrolled on and successfully complete the full MSc Advanced Clinical Practice will be eligible to apply for recognition as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner, with a digital badge provided by the Centre for Advancing Practice. 

Digital capabilities – Participants will further develop their research skills, ensuring that their clinical reasoning and management plans are informed by best practice evidence and guidelines. As healthcare technologies develop, time spent in practice with their supervisor will further develop digital capabilities.  

Global and cultural capabilities – Participants will further embrace multiprofessional working and will be provided with skills, experiences and opportunities helping them to engage with reducing bias, risk and health inequalities for a wide range of communities. 

Sustainability – With advancing knowledge, skills and responsibilities participants will work within their individual scope of practice and adopt a multiprofessional approach to mitigate risk to health and well-being.  They will promote the right healthcare teams, making the right decisions, at the right time, subsequently having a positive impact on health outcomes and effective resource management. Critical evaluation of appropriateness of investigations will promote sustainable use of resources.    

Resourcefulness and resilience – Participants are guided to advance their holistic history taking and assessment skills, clinical reasoning and analytical skills, ability to reflect and collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams, underpinned by advanced practice guidelines and best practice evidence. Participants will make informed and constructive contributions to multiprofessional class debates, demonstrating openness to considering other perspectives and being agile and adaptive in their thinking. Safe and appropriate patient centred clinical reasoning is fundamental to the advanced clinical pillar for all participants. Problem based learning, case studies and, work-based supervision and assessments, will provide opportunities to safely and effectively respond to patient presentations and needs.   

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.