About This Course
This is a part-time, level 7 short course delivered on our ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥ and Wrexham campus, with some content accessed online (blended learning method).
Renal healthcare professionals are required to care for a patient group who are continually aware of the devastating effects of an acute/chronic illness.
A dependence upon highly technical equipment, long-term complications of therapy and repeated exposure to life threatening situations place enormous pressures on careers, family and friends.
Consequently, the Advances in Renal Care Module is essential to ensure that those health care professionals working in the renal field are fully equipped to deal with the wealth of contemporary theoretical and practical knowledge relating to the management of the condition and its complications. This will enable them to deliver evidence-based practice when caring for this group of patients.
This module is suitable for healthcare professionals working within the renal filed e.g. renal/dialyses units, critical care and acute medical care.
Who is this course for?
The course is open to all nurses and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) who are currently working with renal patients.
Why study this course?
This short course has been specifically designed to assist registered practitioners in preparing for their role within the renal field. Participants will have the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills in both acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and learn how to deliver high-quality care while exploring the complex care needs of individuals with renal disease.
The course is structured in a way that promotes discussion and collaboration between students, learning from each other’s experiences and viewpoints. It is tailored to meet the needs of registrants working in practice and examines current national guidance and best practise in the identification, treatment, and management of renal disease.
How long does this course take to complete?
This short course runs over 22 weeks, usually during semester 1 of the academic year.
The course dates for the 25/26 academic year are as follows:
8 study days, on the following dates, on our ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥ campus:
- 17 February 2026
- 3 March 2026
- 17 March 2026
- 14 April 2026
- 28 April 2026
- 12 May 2026
- 26 May 2026
- 9 June 2026
Assessments on this short course will include: 
- Assignment - Literature review investigating a problem or issue within the renal specialty
- Clinical Competencies
Tutor
Heather Bloodworth, Lecturer in Healthcare, School of Health Sciences
Heather has extensive knowledge and experience relating to advanced practice, endocrinology, emergency care, general practice nursing and renal nursing.
Julie Cripps, Lecturer in Healthcare, School of Health Sciences
Julie has had a lengthy career in renal nursing where she experienced all aspects of Renal management. Currently Julie teaches on both pre and post registration modules.
Course Content
What will you study on this course?
Module Content will include but is not limited to: 
- Causes and management of acute kidney injury
- Chronic kidney disease (CKD)
- Pre dialysis care
- Renal investigations
- Pharmacology
- Radiographic investigations
- Renal replacement therapies
- Home therapies
- Vascular Access
- Renal nutrition
- Psychological impact of renal replacement therapy
- Transplantation
- Advanced Care Planning
- Transition from active to palliative care
- Conservative management
What will attendees get out of the course?
At the end of this short course, learners will be able to:
- Critically discuss the causes of acute kidney injury and its management in the acute hospital environment.
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of chronic kidney disease
- Understand the principles of Renal Replacement Therapy and the ability to deal with the issue of patient suitability, ability, circumstances and quality of life.
- Demonstrate a critical knowledge and understanding of the ethical, cultural, religious, spiritual and quality of life issues associated with renal disease
- Critically examine and evaluate the role of the multidisciplinary team within the renal setting, and show that they are able to work as an effective member of such a multidisciplinary team.
- Critical interpretation and dissemination of current knowledge via critical review of the literature pertaining to kidney disease and how it pertains to health care provision
Course Cost
- Enquiries regarding Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) funding should be directed to bcu.nurseeducation@wales.nhs.uk.
- Funding opportunities may be available for those working locally (i.e. in the north Wales and Powys areas), please contact the relevant module co-ordinator for details.
- All other application and funding related enquiries should be directed to the module co-ordinator.
Please see our Postgraduate Fees and Finance page for further information.
Entry Requirements
Applicants must be healthcare professionals who work with renal patients in an acute or community setting.
Application
How to Apply
Please make sure you read and follow the step-by-step application guide as this will specify which sections of the application form are compulsory for the type of course you want to apply for and save you time.
Please prepare the following information (in a Word document):
- Current employment details;
- Years of experience, and employment history (where relevant)
- Name of staff member and organisation that have approved your funding for this module.
This will speed up the process of completing the application form.
To apply for this course, you need to create an account in our
You will need access to the email address you specify while creating your account to confirm it.
After creating an account, you will see a homepage with several tabs:
- Personal
- Programme
- Info
- Contact
- Education
- Employment
- Language
- Finance
You need to complete all sections before submitting your application.
When a section is complete, a ‘tick’ symbol will appear below it.
- Click on ‘Non-graduating applications / Stand alone Modules’, then select ‘Non-graduating Postgraduate’.
- In the next section, select Non-Graduating Taught Modules in Health (NGGT/HEALTH) Click Save and Continue.
- On the next page, the default for the first question is Full Time. You need to change this to ‘Part time’:
- You now need to input the module code. Advances in Renal Care: the code is NHS:4246. This section must be completed for your application to be processed.
- You also need to state the start date. Please make your selection, then click ‘Save and Continue’.
- IMPORTANT: You do not need to write a personal statement to apply for this course. Instead, please upload the document including employment, experience and education information that you have created prior to starting the application that contains the name of your current employer, the number of years of experience you have, and your highest qualification to date. Click Save and continue.
You only need to enter the details of your highest qualification to date, e.g. if you have a postgraduate qualification, please only only include this.
You will be asked for evidence of the qualification. Please either upload a copy of your qualification if it's easily accessible, or upload the Word document again (that you prepared earlier).
Please scroll to the bottom of the page and click on ‘I have no employment history’ (as you have already provided this in your Word document).
If you are HEIW / Health Board funded, please answer the questions as follows:
- How will you finance your studies? Sponsored
- Exact name of funding authority: Health Board
- Country: United Kingdom
- Give details of the amount of the award? Fully funded.
- Sponsorship will cover: Tuition Fees
- Have you been awarded this funding? Please select ‘yes’ * Note that you will be required to upload evidence of the funding. If you wish to confirm ‘yes’ to this question, but do not have any written confirmation to upload, you can upload your Word document here again.
If you are self-funding, please provide all details as appropriate.