AdvDip(CPD) Kidney Disease HE7 20 Credits (NMC registrants)
Course Overview
This version of the course is for registered nurses only. If you're an allied health professional, please visit our alternate web page for HCPC registrants: Advanced Diploma of CPD in Kidney Failure.This stand-alone professional development course is designed to provide an advanced understanding of the clinical care of adults with kidney disease, including acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease and end-stage kidney disease. It is ideal for those specialising in caring for kidney failure patients in hospital or primary care.
Our expert team will support you in developing your knowledge and understanding of renal anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, treatment and management, and, when appropriate, palliation. There will be an emphasis on understanding the relationship between kidney disease and related comorbid conditions, for example, heart failure and diabetes mellitus. Understanding the evidence base of the treatment options for kidney disease will be explored in depth.
In a simulation setting, you'll learn how to clinically access patients with both acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. You'll also learn about the key investigations, including biochemical tests, calcium and bone metabolism, the full blood count and anaemia, blood gases, renal imaging techniques and the role of a renal biopsy. The course will stress the need to solve complex problems and plan bespoke management plans for these complex patients, which includes reflecting on your own clinical experiences.
Our experienced and knowledgeable team will support you as you explore every facet of kidney disease. Accepting that patients with kidney disease are sometimes in the later stages of their life, we'll explore the specific needs of those patients who are terminally ill.
To benefit from studying this course, you should already be a health professional caring for patients with kidney disease on a regular basis.
Highlights
- Our dedicated academic team brings extensive health and social care experience to the course content. Along with their passion for service excellence in clinical practice settings, they're also currently engaged in highly relevant research, which means they can add valuable context and insight to your learning.
- The course is designed to fit in with busy home and working lives.
- As you study on this course, we’ll encourage you to develop the skills, values and behaviours so popular with employers. These include action planning, personal impact and confidence, self-awareness, social and ethical responsibility, problem-solving, initiative and communication skills.
Key Features
- The University of Bolton has been offering high-quality courses designed to meet the health and social care sector's needs for over 30 years, so we have the knowledge and experience to anticipate and respond to changes in the health and social care sector.
- Our courses and programmes respond directly to the requirements of the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF), which is at the heart of the career and pay progression aspect of Agenda for Change.
- We review the course curriculum regularly to ensure we include and apply contemporary theories.
- Upon successfully completing this course, you'll receive the Advanced Diploma of Continuing Professional Development qualification in Kidney Disease worth 20 credits at Level HE7.
Entry Requirements
- You must have a professional primary qualification in nursing.
- You should be working in a health and social care setting. This can be in a primary, secondary or tertiary care setting.
- You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 7.0 with normally no less than 6.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
- Please note that this course is subject to the University of Bolton's Fitness to Practise procedure.
Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.
Career Opportunities
This course offers academic progression in the specialist field of advanced clinical practice in kidney disease.
Fees & Funding
Home/EU Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
International Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
Bursaries
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2025-26 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.
The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.
How to apply
Home Applicants
Course application details are unavailable at present
International Applicants
Course application details are unavailable at present
Partner Organisation Applicants
Course application details are unavailable at present
Teaching & Assessment
This advanced professional development course adopts a blended learning approach, using the principles of case-based learning to develop your enquiry skills and place this in the context of patient care. Sessions will take place face-to-face in class, online and in dedicated simulation suites.
You'll be introduced to topics through keynote lectures that will involve a mixture of theory and case-based discussions around clinical scenarios. Following the lectures, you'll be expected to explore each topic in greater depth, and in relation to your own practice, through self-directed learning. These activities will increase your understanding of heart failure and its management. You'll be encouraged to consider contemporary research evidence and use this to inform your clinical decision-making and information exchange with patients and colleagues.
You'll have two summative assessments, including an in-class multiple choice question assessment and a case-based written assignment. Prior to your summative assessments, you will be well supported, including formative in-class assessments and tutoring for your written assignments.
Modules
The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.
- Advanced Professional Development Diploma Kidney Disease
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Coursework 50% Written exams 50% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 77% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 23% |
The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.
