Specialist Core Skills in Cardiac Care

The purpose of this course is to enable you to progress in becoming a competent practitioner within the specialism of cardiac care. This will allow you to develop the knowledge and skills required to enable you to participate in the delivery of evidence-based care.

This course will allow you to critically evaluate core care skills for specialist clinical practice in cardiac care in order to set key care priorities.

The following topics will be covered:

• Recognition and assessment of the deteriorating cardiac patient
• Haemodynamic management
• An introduction to rhythm recognition and 12-lead ECG interpretation
• Heart disease and related pharmacology.

Care of Patients with/following:

• Acute Coronary syndromes
• Heart failure
• Interventions for coronary heart disease including cardiac surgery
• Cardiac pacing
• Cardiac education /rehabilitation
• Endocarditis and valvular heart disease
• An introduction to grown ups with congenital heart defects (GUCH).

Who is it for?

Specialist clinical practitioners wanting to develop their skills in cardiac care and participate in evidence-based care.

Timetable

Term 1

Oct: Tuesday 3, 10, 17 and 31 October 2023
Nov: Tuesday 7 November 2023

Benefits

This course develops practitioners within the specialism of cardiac care.

Knowledge and understanding:

• Demonstrate a critical awareness of key aspects of knowledge within cardiac care
• Apply knowledge of pharmacology and disordered anatomy and physiology to patient care to provide rationale for care.

Skills:

• Evaluate and directly apply knowledge from theory research to practice, to provide safe and effective care
• Develop skills in evidence based care, critically evaluating relevant research and its application to cardiac practice
• Work effectively within the interprofessional team to deliver holistic care for patients in a variety of cardiac settings, relating the rationale for care
• Analyse your role in empowering patients and significant others to be involved in decisions regarding their care.

Values and attitudes:

• Identify and critically analyse the effect of the environment upon a person's health receiving cardiac care.

Teaching on this course comprises of lectures, small group activities, e-learning and self-directed learning.

A range of self and guided study strategies are included to complement the teaching component of this course, including: a pre-session reading, post session quizzes, and post session guided –independent study.

The assessment for this course is a 3,000 word care study based on a cardiac patient you have cared for within your clinical practice. Using the literature and evidence base you will identify and explore the main priorities of care. You will be required to:

• Identify the changes linking these to pathophysiology
• Outline the assessment findings and provide a critical explanation of these
• Critically discuss the evidence –based treatment and on-going nursing care
• Identify the implications for future nursing practice.

Credits

This course is worth 15 credits toward eligible programmes.

To undertake the course you will need to have six months clinical experience in a cardiac care setting and currently be working in cardiac care.

English requirements

If your first language is not English, one of the following is required:

• A first degree from a UK university
• A first degree from an overseas institution recognised by City, University of London as providing adequate evidence of proficiency in the English language, for example, from institutions from Australia, Canada or the United States of America.
• International English Language Test Service (IELTS) a score of 7.0 is required with no subtest below 7.0
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) score 72 required
• TOEFL 100 overall with 24 in Writing, 20 in Listening, 19 Reading and 20 Speaking
• Other evidence of proficiency in the English language, which satisfies the board of studies concerned, including registration with your professional regulator.