Complex Care in Children and Young People (MSc)

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Apply the communication skills required to care for children, young people and their families/carers in a variety of complex, changing and sensitive healthcare situations.
• Critically discuss the challenges for children, young people and their families as they move and transition between healthcare settings and services
• Articulate an in-depth knowledge of the aetiology, treatment and care needs of children and young people with a range of complex long-term conditions and multi-morbidity
• Critically discuss how children’s nurses work in partnership with children and young people who have a complex long-term condition and their families to empower, support and promote health and well-being drawing on their own expertise and lived experience
• Analyse strategies employed by nurses to manage risk in caring for children and young people with complex needs to promote safe and effective work systems.

Complex Care: In this theme, students will have the opportunity to explore what is meant by complex care in relation to children and young people. This will involve consideration as to the key demographic, epidemiological, societal, developmental and behavioral influences on children and young people living with complex or long-term conditions. The role of healthcare systems, how they are set up, and how sustainable they are in the context of this will also be explored. This will include in-depth consideration of integrated care, complex case management, virtual wards, preventing admission and dependency teams and the role they have in meeting the needs of children and young people's complex needs and the needs of their families/carers. Management of Long Term Conditions: In this theme, students will have the opportunity to explore nursing and medical care in the context of some of the most common long-term conditions in children. This will include conditions such as diabetes, asthma, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s and different types of cancer. The impact of mental health on physical health and vice versa will be explored, alongside wider biopsychosocial impacts. As part of this, students will have the opportunity to look at a series of case studies, consider the etiology, and appropriateness of a range of interventions in meeting children, young people and their families needs. Self-management and Lived Experience: In this theme, students will consider the lived experience of children and young people (and their families/carers) who live with a complex long term condition. They will consider individual narratives and therefore their needs and experiences in living with a long-term condition, the complexity in the context of everyday life including the impact of the disease and treatment on the child, young person and family. Students will consider the history and context of self-management support and how this has impacted on how care is thought about, organized and delivered, both within a UK context, and through drawing on examples from elsewhere, including resource constrained environments. Opportunities to consider and critique well-known self-management programmes will be provided, alongside opportunities to discuss their evidence base. The relevance of children, young people and family's broader social networks and social support will be covered. Students will explore the increasing role of the community and third sector in meeting the needs of those with chronic illness and complexity in their communities. Digital self-management support will also be considered. Transitioning for Children and Young People: In this theme students will consider children, young people and their family’s journey through the healthcare system considering both acute care and that in the community setting. This will involve an in-depth exploration of specialist nursing roles in the community, including community nursing teams, primary care teams, integrated care teams covering a range of different specialties, specialist nurses and hospital at home services. students will also consider transitioning of care between acute and community services as well as the transition from child to adult services. The complexities and challenges of these transitions will be explored and the role of the nurse in supporting children, young people and their families throughout these transitions will be discussed. Risk taking will also be considered in relation to children and young people will be explored. Managing Complex Health Needs in Acute Care Settings: In this theme, students will have the opportunity to consider managing complex care of children and young people in acute care settings, as well as at the intersection of acute and community care services. This will involve an in-depth exploration of specialist nursing roles in the context of complexity in acute care settings, such as specialist nursing teams. In this theme, the discharge process will be explored in the context of a series of case studies, and the relevance of MDT discharge planning and coordination will be considered in depth. This will build knowledge of the different needs, priorities and interventions that are needed to meet the increasingly complex needs of children and young people.

This module will be taught using a variety of learning and teaching approaches including: • Lectures • Seminars • Guided independent study

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Case Study Analysis

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback:
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.