Advanced clinical practitioner (integrated degree)

Degree apprenticeship (integrated degree) · Health and science route · Standard ST0564 v1.0

Level: 7
Typical duration: 36 months (about 3 years)
Max funding band: £12,000
Route: Health and science

Providing clinical care and treatment to patients.

About the role

Advanced Clinical Practitioners are experienced clinicians who demonstrate expertise in their scope of practice. Advanced Clinical Practitioners manage defined episodes of clinical care independently, from beginning to end, providing care and treatment from the time an individual first presents through to the end of the episode, which may include admission, referral or discharge or care at home. They carry out their full range of duties in relation to individuals’ physical and mental healthcare and in acute, primary, urgent and emergency settings (including hospitals, general practice, individuals’ homes, schools and prisons, and in the public, independent, private and charity sectors). They combine expert clinical skills with research, education and clinical leadership within their scope of practice. Advanced Clinical Practitioners work innovatively on a one to one basis with individuals as well as part of a wider team. They work as part of the wider health and social care team and across traditional professional boundaries in health and social care.

How it compares

At 36 months (about 3 years), it is about average length for a degree-level apprenticeship (the average across all 172 Level 6+ standards is 39 months).

The funding band — the maximum an employer's levy can contribute to training costs — is £12,000, below the £21,500 average for degree-level standards. Apprentices never pay tuition either way.

What you'll learn

The official standard defines 25 knowledge areas, 25 skills, 1 behaviours. This is the actual assessed content of the apprenticeship — worth reading before an interview, because competency questions are usually written straight from these lists.

Knowledge 25

Local, national policies and procedures within your scope of practice, the professional and regulatory codes of conduct relevant to your advanced clinical practice; the importance of working within boundaries of practice; the range of physical, psychological, pharmacological, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions within your scope of practice
The range of physical, psychological and population based assessment methods used within your area of practice and the application of pathophysiology to underpin assessment and diagnosis
The causes, signs, symptoms and impact of physical and mental health conditions within your scope of practice; how to draw on a diverse range of knowledge and critical thinking in your decision-making to determine evidence- based therapeutic interventions
How to assess risk in relation to health and wellbeing; the principles of health promotion and prevention; strategies to engage and influence people; the range of health promotion tools available including the importance of therapeutic communication and behavioural change
How to plan and manage a defined episode of care within your area of clinical practice, which may include admission, referral or discharge, to other services; methods and techniques to evaluate interventions and how to use the outcomes to instigate service development
Local and national policies, regulatory frameworks and guidelines for prescribing where appropriate; knowledge of pharmacotherapeutics relative to your scope of practice
Strategies to mitigate risk
The importance of evidence-based practice and technology, such as genomics, to underpin and inform decisions made about care and treatment.
Motivational theory and how to apply it to participation in health and social care; the value of empowerment and co-design
Your role, responsibility and motivation to manage your own learning; the range of tools and techniques that can be used to direct own learning, set goals and evaluate learning
The application of teaching and learning theories and models in health and care; how to identify learning needs; organisational and professional roles and responsibilities in relation to life-long learning
The importance and impact of organisational culture in learning and development; techniques to influence organisational culture.
Methods and systems to measure impact of advanced clinical practice
The implications and applications of epidemiological, demographic, social, political and professional trends and developments appropriate to your clinical practice
Theories, techniques and models of leadership and teamwork and how these can be applied across professional boundaries in health and social care
The importance and impact of peer review and evaluation in advanced clinical practice
Theories, models and techniques which can be deployed across health and social care systems to affect change at individual, team and organisational level
The range of legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies, procedures and codes of conduct that apply to your practice
The range of evidence-based strategies to manage risk in clinical practice.
National and international quality standards; the effect of policy on health and social care
The range of valid and reliable evaluation and audit methods used in clinical practice
The range of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies relevant for use in health and social care; the roles and responsibilities of those involved in research; the range of legal, ethical, professional, financial and organisational policies and procedures that will apply to your research activities; the importance and impact of research on advancing clinical practices
Critical appraisal techniques and how to apply new knowledge effectively to own and others’ clinical practice; the importance of integrating research into clinical practice; the range of evidence-based standards, policies and clinical guidelines which apply to own and others’ practice
The importance of effective governance systems and methods that can be used to ensure systematic documentation is in place
The value of disseminating research to advance clinical practice, enhancing the quality, safety, productivity and value for money of health and care; how to select and use media appropriately to optimise research impact.

Skills 25

Practise with a high level of autonomy and be accountable for your decisions and omissions; work in line with your code of professional conduct, professional standards and scope of practice
Assess individuals and families using person-centred approaches and a range of assessment methods, for example including history taking, holistic examination, requesting and interpreting diagnostic tests or conducting health and care needs assessments
Use multi-agency and inter-professional resources, critical thinking, independent decision-making skills, problem solving skills and professional judgement to formulate and act on potential diagnoses
Assess individuals for risk factors and their impact on health and wellbeing; facilitate and encourage individuals to manage their own health and make informed choices; support individuals with an ongoing plan for preventative and rehabilitative measures
Use expertise in clinical reasoning to plan and manage day to day, complex and unpredictable episodes of care; evaluate events to improve future care and service delivery; discharge or refer appropriately to other services
Initiate and evaluate a range of interventions which may include prescribing of medicines, therapies and care
Ensure safety of individuals and families through the appropriate management of risk
Seek out and apply contemporary, high-quality evidence-based resources and existing and emerging technology as appropriate.
Recognise and respond to individuals’ motivation, development stage and capacity; work in partnership to empower individuals to participate in decisions about care designed to maximise their health and wellbeing
Assess own learning needs and engage in self-directed learning to maximise potential to lead and transform care and services
Work collaboratively to identify and meet the learning and development needs of health or care professionals; support practice education; act as a role model and mentor
Advocate and contribute to the development of an organisational culture that supports life-long learning and development, evidence-based practice and succession planning.
Demonstrate the impact of advanced clinical practice within your scope of practice and the wider community
Use your advanced clinical expertise to provide consultancy across professional and service boundaries; drive service development and influence clinical practices to enhance quality productivity and value
Provide professional leadership and supervision in situations that are complex and unpredictable; instill confidence and clinical credibility in others; work across boundaries to promote person-centred care
Actively seek and participate in peer review of your own and others’ practice across traditional health and social care boundaries
Identify the need for change; generate practice innovations; act as a role model; lead new practice and service redesign solutions in response to individuals’ feedback and service need
Establish and exercise your individual scope of practice within legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies, procedures and codes of conduct to manage risk and enhance the care experience
Identify and manage risk in own and others’ clinical practice; be receptive to challenge and demonstrate the ability to challenge others.
Engage in research activity; develop and apply evidence-based strategies that are evaluated to enhance the quality, safety, productivity and value for money of health and care
Evaluate and audit your own and others’ clinical practice and act on the findings
Alert individuals and organisations to gaps in evidence; initiate and/or lead evidence-based activity that aims to enhance clinical practice and contribute to the evidence base; support others to develop their research capability
Critically appraise and synthesise the outcomes of research, evaluation and audit; apply this within your own and others’ practice; act as a bridge between clinical and research practice; promote the use of evidence-based standards, policies and clinical guidelines
Develop and implement robust governance systems and systematic documentation processes
Disseminate your work through appropriate media to further advance clinical practices.

Behaviours 1

You will treat people with dignity, respecting people’s diversity, beliefs, culture, needs, values, privacy and preferences, show respect and empathy for those you work with, have the courage to challenge areas of concern and work to best practice, be adaptable, reliable and consistent, show discretion, resilience and self-awareness.

Live vacancies

No live vacancies for this course as of 2026-07-24 — new adverts appear on Find an apprenticeship daily, and many degree apprenticeship employers recruit on their own careers sites instead.

Universities registered to deliver it

51 universities are on the government provider register for this standard. Registration means they can deliver it — live vacancies depend on employer partnerships each recruitment cycle.

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Official sources

Occupational summary, duties, knowledge, skills and behaviours reproduced from the ST0564 apprenticeship standard (last updated 2022-03-07) — contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Always check the official page before applying: standards get revised.