A Scottish university is putting ‘Person-centred Practice’ at the heart of education in an effort to make positive and lasting changes to the country’s health and social care sector.

Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh, which already has an internationally renowned Division of Nursing, has launched Scotland’s first Masters degree in ‘Person-centred Practice’.

Person-centredness is a concept that is focused on placing ‘the person’ at the heart of decision-making in the health and social care sector. To do this effectively requires a commitment to understanding how the context of care impacts on the individual, the team and organisational experience.

The Centre for Person-centred Practice Research at QMU aims to be a world leading centre for research and development in person-centred practice with a focus on innovative new knowledge in health and social care. The Centre has a focus on research that enhances service users experiences of care across a variety of care settings.

The new MSc Person-Centred Practice is designed to meet the professional needs of practitioners from all disciplines working in a variety of different health and social care settings.  The programme will appeal to practitioners, policy-makers and other research users in the health and social care field including those of gerontology, dementia care, public health, long-term conditions and palliative care.

The new development reinforces NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government’s strategic priority of delivering person-centred care. Working in partnership with people, carers and families to deliver care which meets their needs is a vital part of their 20/20 Vision for Health and Social Care.

QMU has developed a Masters in Person-centred Practice Framework with a suite of course routes which place the values of person-centredness at their core. These routes offer health and social care practitioners with the opportunity to build upon their experience and develop an understanding of the knowledge and evidence that positively contribute to the health and wellbeing of persons, groups and populations.

Teaching staff include internationally renowned person-centred practice academics; Professor Brendan McCormack (Head of Division of Nursing) at QMU and Professor Jan Dewing (Sue Pembrey Chair in Nursing) at QMU.

For more information on the MSc Person-Centered Practice at QMU and to apply, visit: http://goo.gl/twB0PE or E: blawson@qmu.ac.uk

For more information on the Centre for Person-centred Practice Research at QMU, visit: www.qmu.ac.uk/research_knowledge/centre-for-person-centred-practice-research.aspx