First Contact20 credits

First Contact will appeal to clinical practitioners working within advanced roles in primary and urgent care settings from multi-professional backgrounds who have direct clinical responsibility for the assessment and management of patients presenting with undifferentiated diagnosis. The course will develop your knowledge of common presentations seen within these clinical settings and explore related differential diagnoses including red flag and must not miss diagnoses to facilitate the delivery of a comprehensive management plan to optimise patient safety and outcome.

The learning and teaching approaches will be underpinned by detailed consideration of the relevant evidence base research and theory. There will be opportunities for collaborative learning and engagement with clinicians. The module will combine lectures, workshops, and seminars that are designed in a way to enhance application of learning to the clinical environment. This module is not part of the first contact practitioner taught route and its completion will not result in first contact practitioner status.

On completion you will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the broadened level of responsibility, accountability and autonomy of working in a first contact role, acknowledging the limits of own competence and professional scope of practice in line with their respective code of professional conduct and governance systems.
2. Demonstrate an integrated understanding of the anatomy, physiology and pathology of common first contact disorders, injuries or diseases seen within primary and urgent care settings across the life continuum.
3. Present a systematic approach for selecting appropriate and realistic differential diagnoses based upon identification of key presenting signs and symptoms obtained through an appropriately focussed clinical history and examination, through clinical case based discussions.
4. Apply synthesis of this clinical knowledge to formulate a comprehensive management plan utilising contemporaneous clinical research to support clinical decision making, including requirements for further diagnostic investigations and pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.
5. Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the importance of appropriate patient referral, follow up or discharge, including safety netting approaches, to optimise patient safety and outcomes in the primary and urgent care setting including managing the complexities of uncertain diagnosis and life-threatening presentations.

Assessment

• Oral presentation: 50%
• 1,500-word essay: 50%

Course dates

• 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th May 2026
• 4th and 11th June 2026

• Degree level entry requirement.
• Applications must be in an advanced practice role at time of application.
• For further information, please email acp@contacts.bham.ac.uk

Fees for 2025/26 entry

Microcredential (Home): £1,211.20

Why choose a Postgraduate Microcredential short course?

• Microcredentials offer the perfect opportunity to boost your CV without the commitment of a full degree
• Usually taken from existing modules within a Masters, they can be used as standalone credentials with some also counting as academic credits at postgraduate level
• Add a postgraduate level qualification to your CV
• Develop the specialist skills you need for your career goals
• Alumni status with the University of Birmingham
• Learners will have the same access to our student support and campus facilities as our students on full degree programmes.

Please note the deadline for submitting an application:

• Applicants eligible for Home fees are to apply a minimum of 6 weeks before the module start date.
• Applicants eligible for Overseas fees are to apply a minimum of 3 months before the module start date.

Please note that once registered for the microcredential you cannot swap for the non-credit short course version.