Professional Advocate Programme

Are you a registered allied healthcare professional at Level 6 or 7? This course analyses the role of the Professional Advocate (PA). You'll gain skills and knowledge to lead and deliver quality improvement in the NHS.

LevelShort courses and CPD

Duration10 weeks

Start dates27 January 2026

Fee£834

Course codeCID1580

Course summary

This is a 20-credit Level 7 module. It's open to all registered allied healthcare professionals.

The course is based on the A-EQUIP model. This model focuses on nursing leadership and supportive (restorative) clinical supervision.

The content follows the standards set by the Royal College of Nursing for Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) education and training. It supports the NHS England programme, which helps build skills and support for the PNA role in practice.

You’ll learn how to lead and deliver improvements in care as the NHS continues to change. You’ll also learn how to support your colleagues and teams through restorative clinical supervision.

Why Sunderland for Short courses and CPD

What you'll study

Topics covered on this course include:

The A-EQUIP model and how it works
Making decisions in complex situations
Different models of clinical supervision
Restorative clinical supervision
Clinical governance and the PA role
Quality improvement and how to measure it
Finding, reviewing, and using nursing research
Evidence-based practice
Patient care and safety
Leadership and workplace culture
Legal and professional issues in the PA role
Lifelong learning and ongoing development
Support strategies
Coaching, mentoring, and supervision
Presentation skills.

We'll support you to meet the standards for clinical supervision using a restorative approach. This will help you improve the quality of care in your work. You’ll also learn how to check and maintain standards, and support the development of others. You’ll use a mix of restorative, normative, and formative approaches to do this.

How you'll learn

We deliver the module online, one day a week for 10 weeks. Teaching is via lectures which run for approximately 2-2.5 hours. Five hours of supporting directed and self-directed study follows this.

Assessment methods include:

A portfolio
A presentation and discussion on a quality improvement initiative of your choice.

You'll complete your assessment four weeks after the module ends.

We offer two cohorts for this course on the following dates:

6 May 2026
7 October 2026.

Entry requirements

This is a postgraduate certificate for registered allied healthcare professionals. You must be on part one of the register and able to show recent Level 6 or 7 study. This doesn't include nursing associate roles.

You need to complete two modules before starting the course. This is through the NHS elearning for healthcare hub. We'll need you to confirm you've completed these when you submit your application.

Fees and finance support

Employers usually meets course costs. We advise that you speak to your workforce development lead before applying.

We also accept self-funded applicants. If you'd like to explore your options, contact us at cpd@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab).

Apply now

Contact our team for further information about applying for this course. Call 0191 515 3361(opens in new tab) or email cpd@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab).