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Health and Social Care
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As new career pathways in healthcare open up, professionals from a wide variety of medical, nursing, midwifery, health visiting and allied health backgrounds are increasingly taking on higher-level, demanding roles and offering leadership to others. The Open University’s Faculty of Health & Social Care offers three advanced healthcare qualifications at postgraduate level to help you rise to the challenge.
Our staged qualifications – a postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma and MSc – will introduce you to change as a recurring theme. You can step off at any point, or study the whole programme to achieve an MSc. Each qualification will increasingly improve your practice; develop your study and research skills; advance your knowledge, understanding, personal, professional and inter-professional insights; and help you become a successful agent for change. You’ll also be better placed to seize career opportunities associated with leadership and practice development roles in healthcare.
Where to start in Health and Social Care
Start your postgraduate Health and Social Care studies by taking one of the following courses:
Taught Masters
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Advancing Healthcare Practice
Equips healthcare practitioners with the skills and professional insights you need to function as a successful change agent, skills analyst and practice innovator in the advancement of healthcare.
Diplomas
Certificates
Courses in Health and Social Care
See the list of all our individual courses in Health and Social Care.
Research degrees
For information about postgraduate research degrees, visit the Research Degrees Prospectus.
Undergraduate options
See the list of undergraduate courses and qualifications in Health and Social Care.
Postgraduate
International students
If you want to study for a qualification and you are living outside the UK and Republic of Ireland, visit our international prospectus.
Spotlight on Health and Social Care
Practice skill analysis
Have you ever wondered just what represents expertise or advanced practice skill? Do you wish to improve a practice skill of your own? Researching and evaluating healthcare practice (K828) provides a guide to the process of skill analysis and improvement that which can be used as part of annual appraisals or part of a strategy of staff development.
Understanding innovation
In difficult economic times there is a premium on innovation, which can equip you, your team or organisation to work in better ways. But what constitutes innovation and what fosters it in an organisation? Leading healthcare improvements (K827) guides you through the process of innovation and determining whether it might succeed where you work. Innovation is discussed in team terms, which colleagues can work on together.
Making a difference
It’s important to make a strategic difference in healthcare AND to help others understand what you have discovered. With Transforming professional practice (K829) your project focuses on your choice of skill, service or healthcare systems improvement and helps you disseminate your work to others. Our guides assist you with planning and conducting fieldwork, local consultation, making recommendations as well as writing for publication, or conference presentation.
Your questions
Try our frequently asked questions.
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Or contact an adviser by Email or call +44(0) 845 300 60 90 +44(0) 845 366 60 35
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