PGCert Sleep Medicine
- Entry year
- 2025/26
- Course code
- C9P100
- Application
- University
- Level
- Postgraduate
- School
- School of Applied Sciences
- Campus
- Glenside
- Duration
- 12 months; part-time
- Delivery
- Blended
- Programme leader
- Dr Lizzie Hill
Page last updated 13 September 2024
If the course you are applying for is fully online or blended learning, please note that you are expected to provide your own headsets/microphones.
This 12-month Postgraduate Certificate in Sleep Medicine provides healthcare professionals with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills required to practice sleep medicine, upskilling existing NHS professionals to address the sleep medicine skills gap in the current NHS workforce.
The programme is practice-led by design. You will study at UWE Bristol alongside your existing NHS England healthcare roles, with authentic practice embedded in all teaching and learning activities.
Teaching and learning on the PGCert Sleep Medicine programme is led by academic, scientific and clinical experts in the field, ensuring that content is scholarly, evidence-based and relevant to current practice.
You must take 60 credits from the following modules:
The course content was created by clinical specialists with the National School of Healthcare Science and NHS England, alongside professional bodies. These include the British Sleep Society and Association for Respiratory Technology and Physiology. This provides a broad core of academic and applied learning associated with sleep medicine.
The content is designed to support students from the broad range of academic and healthcare disciplines across the NHS England area. You'll study one module offering a solid foundation in the clinical investigation and assessment of sleep disorders. This is delivered alongside a second module providing in-depth knowledge and understanding of the full range of sleep disorders.
Our approach is to use learning and teaching in the delivery to our students, who'll be employed in NHS roles across England. Learning material will be delivered through a balance of synchronous and asynchronous online learning and on-campus block weeks. The course is coordinated through the MS Teams virtual learning environment, a central repository for provision of course materials, live teaching, discussion and networking.
Teaching and learning is focused on knowledge application, with scientific content delivered in a clinical context. This ensures that learning at UWE Bristol is authentic, and directly applicable to the work-based training that will be undertaken simultaneously. Throughout the course, assessments are designed to continually aid progression, enabling feedback and reflection to feed forward into subsequent assessments. Cohesion of the course has been ensured by a programmatic design of both teaching and assessments.
Assessments take an applied and practice-led approach, with a range of assessment types to accommodate different backgrounds and learning styles. The two modules, Introduction to Sleep Medicine, and Sleep Disorders, run in-parallel to allow for the integration of knowledge and skills, each with two summative assessments. There'll be opportunities to receive relevant formative feedback before each of the summative assessments.
You'll complete a range of applied, problem-based assessments including case studies, practical skills assessments, written assessments with incorporated clinical scenarios and a presentation and defence. Some assessments offer flexibility, where you can tailor your assignment to your specific interests and career goals.
You're also required to complete a work-based competence portfolio for the Sleep Disorders module. You'll be supported by a work-based training assessor throughout, alongside the teaching team. Final sign-off of the portfolio along with successful completion of both modules is required to complete the course.
You are also required to complete a work-based portfolio of competence, as part of the assessment for the Sleep Disorders module, which is assessed as pass/fail. Support for this will be provided by a work-based training assessor alongside the programme team. Final sign-off of the portfolio along with successful completion of both modules is required in order to complete the programme.
The School of Applied Sciences at UWE Bristol has significant prior expertise of delivering a blended approach to teaching and assessment, through applied practice-oriented degrees, CPD and apprenticeship provision. The content of the PGCert will be delivered by academics and clinical specialists with many years of experience in the field of sleep medicine.
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There is currently no published fee data for this course.
This course is funded by NHS England.
Candidates will already be employed within a healthcare setting and must meet the entry requirements: a minimum first-class or 2:1 undergraduate honours degree in a science/healthcare subject relevant to the specialism, or equivalent.
Exceptionally and, in agreement with the Programme Leader, a 2:2 honours degree in a relevant subject may be accepted if accompanied by suitable experience, evidenced by a written statement from the candidate's employer.
Recruitment of students and provision of funding is managed by the National School of Health Care Science with NHS England, with details being provided to UWE Bristol subsequently in order to compete the admissions process.
Once funding has been approved, you must apply for both modules using the links provided by UWE Bristol.
CPD Admin: pd@uwe.ac.uk
Funding enquiries: england.nshcs@nhs.net
Academic enquiries: lizzie.hill@uwe.ac.uk