This course gives students an understanding of the complexities of working within a community setting, giving an increased awareness of strategic influences on policy, for example, transforming community serves agenda; with the changing demographics of patients being cared for in their own homes, this programme provides students with an underpinning knowledge to equip students with skills to care effectively for patients/clients in their own homes or community settings; this modular based course has been specifically designed to meet the NMC (2001) requirements for the preparation of Specialist Practitioners in Community Health Care Nursing; 3 pathways include: Community children's nursing, community mental health nursing; district nursing; learning is facilitated in the community practice environment as well as the classroom and the methods used here are those of discussion as well as critical observation and demonstration, enabling the student to analyse their decisions and the decision making process; the understanding of research based knowledge underpinning the decisions is of key importance; students are also encouraged to consider the development of innovative research into a specialist area of practice.