Masters Degrees (Diabetic Foot)

The award focuses on the impact biomechanics has on the diabetic foot with specific attention to the common complications seen in diabetics. The modules are designed to expand the mechanical knowledge and understanding of foot pathology as well as interventions used in the management of complex foot presentations. There will be practical sessions in balance assessment, plantar pressure analysis, rigidity casting and gait analysis. Students will be encouraged to develop and challenge current thinking of the diabetic foot. Modules are delivered at weekends with some attendance to campus required as well as supported distance learning tasks.

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The MSc Clinical Skin Integrity & Wound Management has been developed to meet the needs of practitioners with a special interest in skin integrity and wound management while benefiting from shared, inter-professional learning. This skin integrity programme is unique in that it recruits both UK/EU and International allied health professionals to this specialist master’s degree.

About the course

The MSc Clinical Skin Integrity & Wound Management is a taught postgraduate programme aimed at practitioners wanting to undertake further specialist training and develop career aspirations in skin integrity and wound management. This unique postgraduate programme combines the closely related specialties of wound management and dermatology and offers wound and skin integrity modules that appeal to healthcare professionals who want to develop a deeper understanding of chronic wound healing and conditions affecting skin integrity.

This programme has an emphasis on developing practical competencies; good diagnostic skills, appropriate and timely management of common wounds and skin integrity problems and allows flexibility to study related specialist content to broaden student’s clinical expertise which is invaluable in today’s competitive workplace.

Course details

The master’s course aims to:
-Develop methods of inquiry and skills required to research and advance skin integrity and wound care practice using an in-depth current and relevant evidence base
-Provide knowledge and understanding to foster the further development of critical, contemporary, evidence based and patient centered practice in skin integrity and wound care
-Develop a systematic advanced knowledge and understanding of the application of specialist skin integrity practice in the context of multi-professional and inter-professional working in the contemporary healthcare setting

It has an emphasis on clinical skills as well as the scientific, evidence base underpinning contemporary skin integrity practice. At the end of the programme, students will feel confident treating and managing patients with a wide variety of wounds and associated skin conditions.

Content

Teaching focuses on the principles of promoting skin integrity in patients of all ages. Topics covered include: the burden of chronic wounds: diabetic foot disease, venous disease, pressure injury, assessment and diagnostic techniques, barriers to healing; clinical, lifestyle, organisational, wound physiology, and microbiology, cutaneous manifestations of systemic disease, inflammatory skin conditions, skin/wound infections, chronic oedema, psychological impact of wounds and associated skin conditions, patient education and compliance.

Core skills for specialist practice will be developed including decision making and problem solving skills, leadership and communication skills, information retrieval, critical analysis and application of evidence based practice, audit and research methods and an ability to support and influence service improvement amongst others.

Careers

The MSc Clinical Skin Integrity & Wound Management tailors knowledge, skills and assessment to the needs of NHS employers and the global healthcare sector to provide a highly relevant curriculum that facilitates the development of specialist practitioners and increases student’s employability.

The course is designed to provide clinicians with a better understanding of core clinical skin integrity and wound management. Some students have pursued a career pathway as academic lecturers and specialist wound care practitioners while some international graduates have gone on to work in private practice and specialist government positions in their own countries. On graduating, you will benefit from increased employability as clinical specialists and graduates are often promoted to senior leadership positions.

This programme offers excellent opportunities for continuing professional development for practicing health professionals. Home / EU clinicians can choose to study specific modules relevant to their professional practice as standalone modules.

International students should note that completion of this master’s programme does not lead to registration to practice in the UK. This programme may be sufficient for clinician’s to work as specialist practitioners in their country of origin, but local requirements should be checked prior to commencing the programme.

Teaching methods

All specialist teaching is done via face-to-face lectures and is supported by the universities online learning environment. You will experience a wide variety of teaching methods throughout the programme including: interactive and key-note lectures, seminars, workshops, individual and group based tutorials incorporating for example case studies, role play, problem based learning and discussion groups covering a broad range of topics.

Each module is led by a specialist module tutor who has a particular interest in the topic being studied and teaching is supported by a large enthusiastic team of academics and specialist practitioners who are visiting lecturers contributing to this master’s programme.
The University has fully integrated computing, library and media academic support services for students and staff, delivered through StudyNet, the University’s online managed learning platform which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Students have access to the facilities on all campuses and can access electronic services and resources from home or work.

Full-time students at University of Hertfordshire have full access to all the facilities the University and the Students’ Union has to offer and the campus is a 30 minute train journey away from central London and all its attractions.

Structure

Optional Modules
-Advanced Chronic Oedema
-Chronic Skin Conditions
-Clinical Practice in Action
-Core Competencies in Medical Practice
-Diabetic Foot Management
-Enhancing Skin Integrity Skills
-Evidence Based Practice
-Health Disciplines Project
-Health Technology and Innovation
-Leadership in Practice
-Managing Chronic Oedema
-Mind and Skin
-Work Based Learning

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You will study the core areas necessary for professional practice: the clinical sciences, health psychology, medicine, pharmacology, surgery, orthopaedics, research methods and clinical practice.

This intensive programme runs over 45 weeks per year, for two years. Your time on the course will be balanced between campus-based study and clinical practice.

The course begins in September. Formal lectures are an integral part of the curriculum and you also learn through seminars, student presentations and interactive workshops, some of which will be shared with students on the undergraduate program. You will be assessed through essays, exams, practical reports, presentations and your professional development portfolio.

As a podiatry student you will also share some teaching with students on physiotherapy, occupational therapy and pharmacy courses, allowing you to exchange knowledge and expertise with students from other disciplines.

Your practical placements will be mainly at our own Leaf hospital and the local NHS trusts. Day placements for students are arranged with clinics and hospitals across the south-east England and London. There is also an opportunity for self-funded placement at the University of Malta.

Syllabus

Modules

Year 1:

Foundations of Podiatric Practice
Clinical Placement 1 (shared with undergraduate students)
Dermatology, Local Anaesthetics and Surgery
Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Foot and Lower Limb
Clinical Sciences
Health Psychology and Professional Practice
Clinical placement 2 (NHS)

Year 2:

Experiencing Research
Medicine and Pharmacology Applied to the At-risk Foot
Consolidation for Professional Practice: Governance, Health and Social Contexts
Clinical Placement 3
Clinical Placement 4 (NHS)

Facilities

Leaf Hospital:

You will have access to the Leaf Hospital in Eastbourne, our own fully-staffed clinical facility, which offers a podiatry service and a private practice physiotherapy service. This gives you a further opportunity to gain practical experience treating patients throughout your degree.

The Leaf Hospital has two main clinics and three further consulting rooms, allowing up to 28 patients to be seen at any one time. Clinical practice is supported by a complete range of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, including gait analysis, imaging and more.

You will benefit from use of the orthotics department, where you will produce high quality orthotics and insoles for patients as part of the practical element of your course.

On the first floor there is a fully equipped operating theatre for minor surgical procedures and a human anatomy lab where you will study prosection and take part in lower limb dissection.

Human Movement Laboratory:

The Human Movement Laboratory is used widely by our physiotherapy, occupational therapy and podiatry students, and is also used for commercial consultancy.

In the lab you will use the latest technology to measure and assess all aspects of human movement, joints, muscles, soft tissue structure and nerves. The laboratory has equipment for conducting cardio-pulmonary investigations including Cosmed metabolic system and spirometry.

Careers and Employability

Our graduates enjoy excellent employment prospects, typically securing roles in advanced practice, clinical teaching, research, education and training, and a variety of positions in the NHS and private sector.

They are working in the UK and worldwide in Europe and Canada, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Singapore.

Podiatrists engage with patient care in a wide range of practices from independent work in the community or private practice to multidisciplinary work in a hospital setting. The scope of podiatry practice varies from general foot care (nail, callus, corns) to musculoskeletal care (for example, tendinopathy, provision of insoles, orthoses and footwear), minor surgery (for example, toenail removal) and wound care (for exampe, diabetic foot ulcers).

With further study and extensive training, graduates can train to become a podiatric surgeon, who is allowed to perform the surgical treatment of the foot and its associated structures.

Graduates of this course are also equipped for further study at MPhil and PhD level.

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