Knowing the Context of Professional Practice

Location
Southwark

Duration
3 months (part-time)

Start dates
January (additionally September if sufficient interest)
Dates and times available on request

Number of places
Part-time: 30

How to apply
Direct to LSBU

Course contact
Judith Enterkin
enterkij@lsbu.ac.uk – 020 7815 8344

Non-standard entry requirements

You will normally require a degree in a relevant subject and have experience in a relevant field. Please contact the course director to discuss this further.

Unit description

This unit explores how political processes shape the context of professional practice in health and social care locally, nationally and internationally. Students will be supported to discover and debate how relationships between the local, national and global contexts of politics and policy making impact upon and shape the health and social care of clients and patients. They will develop skills in policy analysis and strategic leadership in order that they may influence policy-making and become increasingly politically effective. Knowing the Context of Professional Practice is a core unit for the Strategic Leadership and Expert Practice programme and its pathways, and Post-Qualifying Awards in Social Work. It may also be studied as a ‘stand alone’ unit by those wishing to accumulate credits at postgraduate level.

Since the Labour Government was elected in 1997 we have had a plethora of publications regarding health and social care in its widest context that have marked an inevitably ideological shift in policy making. There is no doubt that this shift in approach has also been influenced by an acknowledgement of the changing nature of the society in which we live, which in turn demands a different approach to the promotion of health and social inclusion and the holistic provision of support and care services.

Key themes of the ‘new’ public policy include the recognition that the health and social care needs of the nation varies widely across society and is influenced by, and impacts upon, employment, housing and education, as well as health and social care services. Furthermore, the views of individual citizens and local economies are considered to be central to the planning and decision-making processes regarding health and social care services. This demands that initiatives within the sector utilise a ‘joined up’ approach, with joint planning and partnership working across a wide range of agencies. All professionals within health, social care and education agencies are now required to work cooperatively with Trusts, local authorities, voluntary bodies, and the private sector and to have a clear strategy for user involvement present at all levels and stages.

It is in this context that this unit will explore how policy is made, who sets the agenda, whose interests policy serves, and the challenges of implementing policy at a local level. This unit explores how political processes shape the context of professional practice in health and social care and its partners, locally, nationally and internationally.

Typical background of applicant

Typical applicants for this course will be working within the field of health or social care.