SAQA

All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.

SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED QUALIFICATION:

Master of Nursing in Child Nursing

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
102148	Master of Nursing in Child Nursing
ORIGINATOR
University of Cape Town
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education			HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework
QUALIFICATION TYPE	FIELD		SUBFIELD
Master's Degree	Field 09 - Health Sciences and Social Services		Curative Health
ABET BAND	MINIMUM CREDITS	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	QUAL CLASS
Undefined	180	Not Applicable	NQF Level 09	Regular-Provider-ELOAC
REGISTRATION STATUS		SAQA DECISION NUMBER	REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE
Reregistered		EXCO 0821/24	2021-07-01	2027-06-30
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30		2031-06-30

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification.

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION

Purpose:
The primary purpose of the qualification is to produce graduates who will be equipped with the knowledge, skills and values necessary to practice as autonomous and socially responsible advanced child nurse practitioners, in accordance with the South African Nursing Council's scope of practice and its requirements for listing of an additional qualification.

Graduates will be equipped with advanced research and academic knowledge and skills in child nursing to contribute to knowledge production (epistemology) in this discipline in a variety of settings and at a level where they are prepared for advanced clinical practice (ontology and praxis) and specialised professional employment in the National Health Services. These Master's graduates are expected to display an ability to engage the complexities of current healthcare systems in their region and country of origin in innovative ways to enhance creative utilisation of a variety of resources.

The qualification is designed to prepare nurse specialists to contribute and provide clinical leadership in the re-designed South African National Health Service.

Rationale:
There is no clinical training qualification at a Master's level for Paediatric Nurses in the country. The existing Master of Science in Nursing qualification prepares an academic nurse and/or nurse researcher. The professional Master of Nursing in Child Nursing qualification is aimed at preparing an advanced nurse practitioner.

The re-engineered South African healthcare system requires and makes provision for knowledgeable, well-prepared advanced nurse practitioners to provide clinical leadership and improved patient outcomes. While this currently applies particularly in primary care contexts, a primary healthcare approach will increasingly be utilised in the management of complex chronic illness. Expert knowledge is an essential element for quality nursing care and should be based on the scholarship of discovery, teaching, service and integration of best practice in a variety of contexts with varied resources. The focus is on nursing interventions that affect health outcomes and address relevant Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The institution will collaborate with the Child Nurse Practice Development Initiative, a unit in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, which has the expertise and is committed to leading practice change and improving the nursing care of children and their families.

The professional Master of Nursing in Child Nursing qualification is aligned with the National Department of Health's human resource strategy and the Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) whereby nurses employed at specialist level are required to have a clinical Master's qualification. In addition, the qualification is a response to the National Nursing Strategy (Department of Health, 2006) which called for an upgrade of all nursing qualifications to strengthen nursing education and clinical specialisation. SANC approval is not required as the qualification will yield no professional registration. The qualification will be registered as an additional qualification.

The design of the qualification takes cognisance of current work and thinking at national and international nursing forums: the South African Nursing Council (SANC) and Forum for University Nursing Departments in South Africa (FUNDISA); and the International Council of Nurses (ICN).

The Ministry of Health's strategy on nursing proposes significantly increasing training to nurses who will need supervision and support. The institution's Master's- child nurse practitioners will provide this support in clinical management of more complex conditions and situations. The child nurse practitioner will demonstrate scholarly leadership and deliver evidence-based practice healthcare as an independent practitioner within the multidisciplinary healthcare team. The institution and its teaching hospitals are in a unique position to offer supervision and training in clinical specialties.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
Access via RPL will be applied in accordance with the SANC 2013 guidelines.

Entry Requirements:
The minimum requirements for admission to this qualification are:

A four-year Degree in Nursing.
Or

An appropriate Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing.
And

Registration with SANC with two years' clinical nursing experience in child nursing post-SANC registration.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

QUALIFICATION RULES

This qualification comprises compulsory modules at Level 9 totalling 180 Credits.

Clinical Research (faculty-wide offering), 30 Credits.

Clinical Leadership (faculty-wide offering), 30 Credits.

Advanced Child Nursing Practice A, 35 Credits.

Advanced Child Nursing Practice B, 40 Credits.

Research-related independent study, 45 Credits.

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

Deal with complex issues requiring a high level of theoretical engagement in both systematic and creative ways, utilising Afro-centric solutions to the complexities of healthcare provision.

Demonstrate clinical skills and practice guided by good outcomes in a multi-logical clinical environment.

Critically appraise information and systems and design clinical improvement strategies requiring intellectual independence.

Communicate well in a variety of media, electronic and interpersonal platforms.

Make sound moral judgements using the data and information at one's disposal and communicate conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems.

Act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks with a keen nursing orientation.

Engage with the complexities of current healthcare systems in the region and country of origin in innovative ways to enhance creative utilisation of a variety of resources.

Develop new knowledge and skills in child nursing.

Engage critically with the principles, theories, issues and debates emerging nationally and globally in children's rights, child nursing and maternal health.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

The following Associated Assessment Criteria will be applied in an integrated manner across the Exit Level Outcomes:

Apply advanced clinical knowledge and skill to assess and manage acute, critical and emerging instability and life-threatening conditions in children in ways that demonstrate astute engagement with, and critique of, current research or practices, as well as advanced scholarship in the particular field of child nursing.

Apply knowledge and research literacy to evaluate current clinical evidence and to assess, discriminate between and select appropriate methods and processes of enquiry.

Select and apply appropriate and creative methods, techniques, processes or technologies to complex practical and theoretical problems faced daily in multi-logical clinical settings in child nursing practice.

Demonstrate clinical problem-solving and moral reasoning using a wide range of specialised skills to identify, describe, design and implement continuous and comprehensive care as the lead clinician for a particular sub-group of children.

Plan for complex care provision and recovery with the aim to minimize risk and achieve the best outcomes for sick children.

Demonstrate high levels of accountability and responsibility for dealing with the consequences of clinical decisions in a clinical lead role which includes a supervisory role within, and of, a clinical health care facility.

Make decisions and generate solutions with the wider multi-disciplinary healthcare team and the family within available resources.

Integrated Assessment:
Assessment will be an assignment and will be project-based and is both formative and summative.

Assessment of experiential learning will take place via a Portfolio of Evidence and practical examination at the end of Year 2.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY

The international equivalency of this qualification is a Professional Master's Degree in Nursing in Brazil (not Child Nursing), the Master of Nursing - Advanced Nursing Practice program (MN-ANP) in Canada (not Child Nursing) and the Child Health (MRes) in the United Kingdom. These programmes focus on clinical leadership and research in a clinical discipline of nursing.

The most appropriate programme is the Child Health (MRes) offered by University College of London, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (United Kingdom).

The United Kingdom (UK) programme is also 180 credits. It is ideal for professionals who are interested in child health and looking to gain research skills and experience, and to develop transferable academic and professional skills. The programme provides an opportunity to access the wealth of cutting-edge research in child health.

The UK programme consists of one core module of Research Methodology and Statistics but the UCT programme offers double the amount of credits in the Clinical Research course. The UK programme requires a dissertation/report of 120 credits. UCT's programme is a professional Master's; with a 45 credit Independent Study project.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

This qualification offers the following articulation option:

Vertical Articulation:

Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing, Level 10.
A student could articulate to another Master's Degree by dissertation.

MODERATION OPTIONS

N/A

CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS

N/A

NOTES

N/A

LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION:

NONE

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

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