Advanced Diploma in Critical Care Nursing

Post-Diploma / 8 months

Note: Course renewal pending SSG and MOH approval
Course Information
Learning Outcomes
Course Schedule
Lesson Plan
Certification
Entry Requirements
Course Fees

Course Information

Caring for critically ill patients is a highly challenging but rewarding endeavour requiring attention to detail, the ability to stay calm in a crisis, and excellent communication skills. Your work as a critical care nurse could see you in diverse settings from private practices to intensive care units in a hospital where your skills, knowledge and compassion are needed to touch, change and heal lives.

Learning Outcomes

This advanced course equips you with an in-depth understanding of Singapore’s health system and its management, and provides you with an advanced clinical education to enable you to educate, counsel and manage critically ill patients._x000D_
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You will also be aware of the legal and medical issues in nursing practice, as well as the alerted conditions of major body systems due to diseases. If you are already working in intensive care/high dependency units, and medical/surgical wards, you will get to update your skills and knowledge, and gain greater competency in critical care nursing.

Course 
Schedule

Monday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Tuesday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Wednesday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Thursday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Friday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm

Course Start Date: 12 Apr 2021_x000D_
Course End Date: 26 Nov 2021_x000D_
Application Period: 15 Dec 2020 to 31 Jan 2021_x000D_
Application Outcome: 1 Mar 2021_x000D_
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Ngee Ann Polytechnic reserves the right to reschedule/cancel any programme, modify the fees and amend information without prior notice.

Lesson Plan

Post-Diploma Certificate in Applied Sciences in Advanced Nursing
Module
Health Assessment and Clinical Decision Making
This module aims to provide the students with comprehensive foundation and principles of health assessment in clinical nursing practice. It will also provide comprehensive skills necessary to obtain data through complete health history taking and physical examination. Emphasis will be placed on the holistic and comprehensive approach of assessment. Variations of normality in the older persons will be taken into considerations in the assessment findings. Together with the relevant laboratory data, this module also equips the students with necessary knowledge underpinning the skills to make informed clinical decisions.
Module
Applied Pathophysiology and Pharmacology
This module aims to provide students with knowledge and understanding of pathophysiologic and pharmacologic considerations. This module will enable the students to gain a better understanding of underlying disease processes and relate the basic principles of pharmacology and the nursing process to selected drugs and their therapeutic use.
Module
Evidence-Based Practice
This module aims to provide the students with the knowledge and application underpinnings the evidence-based practice. Based on the 5 steps of evidence-based practice, the students will learn to convert information into an answerable clinical question (ask), track down best evidence for answering the question (acquire), critically appraise evidence (appraise), integrate evidence into clinical decision making (application), and evaluate and seek ways to improve the next time (audit).
Module
Care Management Across Life Span
This module focuses on the current trends that affect the healthcare and financial systems in Singapore. Emphasis will be placed on integrated care, collaboration and coordination to provide continuity of care of patients with special needs in a variety of healthcare settings. The principles and concepts of palliative care, case management, disease management, medical-surgical nursing and transitional care will be discussed.
Post-Diploma Certificate in Clinical Practicum in Advanced Nursing
Module
Clinical Practicum in Advanced Nursing
The module provides the student opportunities to synthesize and apply the knowledge and practical skills learned in Post-Diploma Certificate 1 (Health Assessment and Clinical Decision Making, Applied Pathophysiology and Pharmacology, Evidence-Based Practice and Care Management Across Life Span) to the 2-week of broad-based Clinical Practicum in Advanced Nursing module. The students will be assigned to one of the following clinical settings that is different from their specialty attachment.
  • Acute care
  • Intermediate and long-term care
  • Primary care
  • Geriatric centres
  • Mental Health Care
Post-Diploma Certificate in Advanced Critical Care Nursing
Module
Fundamentals in Critical Care Nursing
This module aims to provide students with an understanding and comprehensive foundation on the fundamentals of critical care nursing. Critical care practices, ethical and legal issues, patient and family education, psychosocial issues, sleep alterations and management, nutrition, pain management, sedation, agitation, delirium assessment and management and end of life issues are covered in depth with integration of pathophysiology and applied human anatomy and relevant laboratory and diagnostic studies results. Advanced nursing skills that are performed commonly in the acute care setting are also included. This module equips critical care practitioners with the necessary knowledge and skills for critical thinking to make informed clinical decisions in a critical care unit.
Module
Advanced Critical Care Nursing Science I
This module aims to provide students with an understanding and comprehensive foundation on the principles of critical care nursing practice and a continuity of basic nursing science from general nursing training. Coronary, cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological diseases and altered conditions of these major body systems are covered in depth with integration of pathophysiology and applied human anatomy. Interpretation of relevant laboratory and diagnostic studies results are included and advanced nursing skills that are performed commonly in the acute care setting. This module equips critical care practitioners with the necessary knowledge of diseases and skills for critical thinking to make informed clinical decisions.
Module
Advanced Critical Care Nursing Science II
This module aims to provide students with an understanding and comprehensive foundation on the principles of critical care nursing practice and a continuity of basic nursing science from general nursing training. Gastro-intestinal, hepato-biliary, endocrine and nephrology diseases and altered conditions of these major body systems are covered in depth with integration of pathophysiology and applied human anatomy. Interpretation of relevant laboratory and diagnostic studies results are included and advanced nursing skills that are performed commonly in the acute care setting, this module serves to equip critical care practitioners with the necessary knowledge of diseases and skills for critical thinking to make informed clinical decisions.
Module
Advanced Critical Care Nursing Practice
This module aims to provide students with an understanding and comprehensive foundation on the principles of critical care nursing practice. It will also provide comprehensive skills necessary to obtain data through health history, physical examination together with identifying relevant laboratory data, monitoring adjuncts and advanced nursing skills that are performed commonly in the acute care setting. This module serves to equip critical care practitioners with the necessary skills for critical thinking to make informed clinical decisions in the management of critically ill patients.
Post-Diploma Certificate in Advanced Clinical Practicum in Critical Care Nursing
Module
Advanced Clinical Practicum in Critical Care Nursing
The module provides the student opportunities to provide direct patient / family care and gain clinical experience in critical care settings, acute and caring of older adults with acute and chronic disorders in acute setting like coronary care, cardiovascular, neurosurgical and medical surgical intensive care units. Nurses will provide care for the critically ill patients and support their families. These clinical practices provide an overall analysis of the practice of critical care nursing.

Certification

1 Advanced Diploma
4 Post-Diploma Certificates
10 Modules

Certification

You are required to complete 4 post-diploma certificates within 3-year validity period to be awarded the Advanced Diploma qualification.


Entry Requirements

Applicants with any of the following qualifications are invited to apply for the course:
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    A local Polytechnic Diploma/ Degree in Health Sciences (Nursing) or equivalent

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    • Be a Registered Nurse with valid practicing certificate from the Singapore Nursing Board (SNB); and
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      Have at least 2 years of clinical nursing practice; and

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      Have a minimum of 1 year practice in the nursing speciality – nursing practice related to the care of critically ill patients

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Successful applicants will need to undergo a compulsory medical examination and vaccinations before semester starts. Please see details and instruction in the medical examination form for submission of all the required documents.

Course Fees

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  • The fees below are per semester.
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  • The fees below are inclusive of GST.
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  • The fees below are determined based on prevailing funding policies and subject to review and revision.
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SkillsFuture Credit_x000D_
This course is eligible for SkillsFuture Credit._x000D_
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All Singaporeans aged 25 years and above can use their $500 SkillsFuture Credit from the government to pay f​or a wide range of courses. The credits can be used on top of existing course fee subsidies/funding. This is only applicable for self-sponsored applicants and must be applied via the SkillsFuture Portal. More details on the SkillsFuture Credit Claims will be advised upon admission into the course. Find out more about SkillsFuture Credit at www.skillsfuture.sg/credit._x000D_
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Refer here for full table of course fees throughout the semesters._x000D_
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Skills-Based Modular Courses (SBMCs) are bite-sized part-time courses for individuals to acquire new skills or deepen relevant skills, without the need to pursue a full diploma. Refer here for course fees for SBMCs.

Applicants / Eligibility Fees
Singapore Citizens (SC) below the age of 40 years$1637.10
Singapore Citizens (SC) aged 40 and above$1091.42
Singapore Permanent Residents (PR)$4365.58
Enhanced Training Support for SME Scheme (for SC & SPR)$1127.10
Others (and Repeat Students)$10914.00