Masters Degrees (Stroke Rehabilitation)

EXCITING NEWS: new pathways and modules have been added to this programme, developed with Oxford Brookes Centre for Rehabilitation, the ARNI Instititute and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

This innovative and dynamic MSc course is appropriate for all health, social care and exercise professionals working with different patient or client groups, adults or children. A strength of the course is the opportunity it provides to work with practitioners from different professions, from different patient and client groups and from a variety of countries which all helps promote a diverse view of rehabilitation.

This course enables practitioners to examine their own rehabilitation practice in light of the analysis of key concepts and theories. The ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, WHO 2001) - a key framework used internationally to guide rehabilitation practice, research and policy - will be used as a framework throughout the course. This will allow you to focus on rehabilitation from impairment through to activity and participation levels, taking into account contextual factors.

See the website http://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/rehabilitation-musculoskeletal-neurological-posture-management-pathways/

Why choose this course?

- It provides a wide range of teaching and learning strategies, enabling you to develop relevant skills, for example in research and leadership. It offers five pathways: Neurological; Musculoskeletal; Paediatric Neurological; Exercise; Posture Management. (Please note for this pathway, you have to enter with 60 CATS credits from the Posture Management course, offered by the Oxford Centre for Enablement, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust, Oxford.)

- It has a strong practice focus achieved through the way we consistently link theory to practice. You have opportunities to work within the CLEAR unit and engage with the latest rehabilitation research.

- It is structured in such a way that it moves from generic content (PG Cert Rehabilitation) with a focus on rehabilitation concepts, pathophysiological aspects and evidence-based rehabilitation, to pathway-specific (PG Diploma) content. These pathways enable you to focus on rehabilitation generally, relating to your own area of practice through the assessments, and then to focus on pathway-specific modules, which you can relate to your own practice.

- It offers health, social care and exercise professionals highly flexible continuing professional development (CPD) study opportunities in rehabilitation, with part-time, full-time and mixed mode options (including opportunities for e-learning, blended and distance learning).

- Our teaching team is multiprofessional, promoting interprofessional learning and teaching, and offering excellent opportunities for shared learning.

- All of the course team are experienced practitioners, educators and/or researchers in rehabilitation. They have all published articles and books in the area of rehabilitation, and have presented at key rehabilitation conferences. Many of them have reputations for excellence and have established links with colleagues, organisations and institutions at national and international level.

- The faculty has a strong research profile, with experienced researchers working in established areas of cancer care, children and families, drug and alcohol, physical rehabilitation and enablement, and interprofessional education and collaborative practice. The programme links with the Centre for Rehabilitation at Oxford Brookes University which is renowned for its research in to movement science.

- Oxford Brookes is a student-centred institution that is fully committed to each individual being supported to achieve their potential. To support this, we offer a broad range of student support schemes to facilitate learning and development.

- We have an excellent track record of high levels of student satisfaction, low student attrition rates and high employability.

Please note: this course also has a start date in September and January. There are opportunities to take individual modules as well as a longer award.

Teaching and learning

Teaching, learning and assessment strategies are intended to promote an interprofessional, patient-centred and practice-focused approach to rehabilitation.

Opportunities for interprofessional learning - sharing existing and developing skills, knowledge and experience - are maximised. All teaching, learning experiences and specific assessments is focused on the individual and their rehabilitation programme. If you are not in practice, or not from a health care background, the sharing of knowledge and experience can be of particular value. To make the most of the range of experience, skills and knowledge within the group, a variety of teaching and learning strategies will be employed.

Assessment methods used within the course are varied; they are designed to be stimulating as well as academically rigorous, and are based on your learning needs, individual aims, content, and the academic standards expected for the course. Assessment is based on coursework consisting of academic and reflective essays and case studies.

The course team is committed to providing flexibility, and is exploring ways of offering blended-learning approaches.

Examples of pathways

- Physiotherapist taking the Functional Stroke module to develop their skills and knowledge around exercise and stroke.

- Occupational Therapist taking the Paediatric Pathway working in rehabilitation wanting to develop their expertise and knowledge around children.

- Rehabilitation professionals working with adults and children with neurological disorders taking the paediatric disability module.

- Specialist MS nurse practitioner taking the Long Term Chronic Illness module and then crediting that towards the MSc Neurological Rehabilitation.

- Exercise professional working in a gym taking the Exercise Prescription Module to obtain REPS 4 accreditation.

Careers

This course helps you to develop your own professional practice, enabling you to deal with rehabilitation issues using a critical problem-solving approach based on research and theoretical perspectives and models. This might enable you to move more into a leadership role or a specialist role. Students who have graduated from the course have changed their jobs, for example going into rehabilitation leadership roles or specialist type roles, moving into specialist rehabilitation units or settings, or moving into education or research-type roles.

Free language courses for students - the Open Module

Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

Please note that the free language courses are not available if you are:
- studying at a Brookes partner college
- studying on any of our teacher education courses or postgraduate education courses.

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This Certificate is primarily aimed at health and social care professionals from the multi-disciplinary team who work with stroke patients and their families. The curriculum will enable students to develop an emerging specialist knowledge in stroke care. The National Clinical Guidelines for Stroke provide the bedrock for the course, to ensure that students are fully up to date with the best available evidence. The course follows the stroke patient pathway, ensuring that the focus of teaching and learning is inter-disciplinary. Delivery of this course is facilitated by the stroke research team comprising senior research staff and research students/associates, drawing on their multi-professional expertise. The team have a breadth of knowledge in both stroke practice and research. Our research is driven by the needs of stroke services, clinicians and patients.

COURSE OUTLINE

This course aims to provide students with a specialist knowledge of the theory and research underpinning current inter-professional practice in stroke care. Specifically, students will explore stroke-related anatomy and physiology, together with stroke symptomology and epidemiology. Stroke policy documents will be used to guide current stroke practice, ensuring that a multi-disciplinary perspective is maintained throughout the module.
-The development and role of the National Clinical Guidelines for Stroke (Intercollegiate Working Party, 2008).
-Stroke related anatomy, physiology and biochemistry.
-The epidemiology of stroke, including the classification, incidence and prevalence of different stroke types.
-An overview of stroke symptomology.
-Approaches to the diagnosis of stroke.
-The social and psychological context of stroke.
-Public health and stroke, including best practice in primary stroke prevention.
-Issues around the rehabilitation and stroke patients.
-Evidence-based stroke service design.
-Evidence-based practice in relation to stroke assessment, acute care, rehabilitation and long-term support.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT & ASSESSMENT

This module will be assessed by the production of a 3000 word assignment that reconstructs the evidence-base for an aspect of stroke care relevant to the student’s field of work within the context of a case study.

ACADEMIC EXPERTISE

We are committed to delivering academic learning of the highest quality, helping you to stretch your mind and fulfil your university ambitions.

LEARNING OUTCOME & AIMS

We aim to create the perfect blend of knowledge, practical experience and relevance to equip UCLan graduates with the confidence and skills they need to get ahead in the world of work.

INDUSTRY LINKS & PROFESSIONAL ACCREDITATION

We have great links with employers including household names such as Sony, BAE Systems and Apple. We also have links with the smaller companies in the region and offer help and assistance to more than 1,000 of these – with many of our graduates staying in the region it is important we develop these relationships.

WORK EXPERIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

At UCLan we work with a range of businesses and organisations, many of which provide work experience opportunities and project briefs to enable to you gain real work experience whilst you undertake your postgraduate programme. Your course tutor will advise on opportunities available within your course and the UCLan Careers Team can provide help, advice and guidance on how to apply for them and how to make the most of these opportunities.

GRADUATE CAREERS

The UCLan Careers Team offer ongoing supportive careers advice and guidance throughout your course and after graduation, along with a range of modules, work experience opportunities and events to help you acquire the skills to make you stand out to potential employers in today’s competitive market.

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The MSc Cardiology and Stroke programme is lead by a medical lead for cardiology and stroke medicine who are both senior doctors and offers the opportunity to study all aspects of clinical cardiology including expert assessment and management of a range of cardiac conditions, cardiac interventions, interpretation and practical skills. Stroke content includes hyper acute stroke, thrombolysis, interpretation of CT and MRI, TIA management, maximising stroke care, rehabilitation and long term The programme can be regarded as vital training for the early stages of cardiology or stroke specialist training with clear learning objectives.

About the course

We welcome interest from junior doctors with career intentions in stroke or cardiology, general practitioners with special interest as well as acute medicine or emergency medicine physicians who want to enhance their understanding of stroke or cardiology. We also welcome interest from clinical nurse specialists and other healthcare professionals working in cardiology and stroke or emergency or acute medicine.

The MSc Cardiology and Stroke is a modular programme. Some of the modules are compulsory and some are optional. Learning may be shared in some core modules with healthcare professionals on other clinical programmes in Postgraduate Medicine.
If you are studying this course full time, please note it is typically studied over 12 months

The programme leads to the award of MSc Cardiology and Stroke, Postgraduate Diploma in Cardiology and Stroke, Postgraduate Certificate in Cardiology or Postgraduate Certificate in Stroke depending on the number of modules you choose to study.

Why choose this course?

The MSc Cardiology and Stroke programme has been developed in response to the local and national emergence of specialist ‘Stroke’ and ‘Heart Attack’ centres. The implementation of the national service frameworks and the development of national strategies and clinical guidelines for the diagnosis, initial management and rehabilitation of cardiovascular disease have advanced the quality of patient care. The technological and therapeutic advances in the treatment of cardiovascular illness places an increasing demand upon practitioners to develop knowledge, skills and clinical decision-making.

Simulation, (both high and low fidelity) is increasingly popular and a highly sought after method in learning and teaching practice, throughout the NHS and private health care sector and internationally. UH has state of the art simulation facilities including cardiovascular specific simulators, a rack record and the expertise in simulation education.

The MSc. Cardiology and Stroke aims to provide students with the requisite clinical assessment, decision-making skills and management for a range of cardiology conditions and stroke including pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic interventions.

Structure

Optional
-Applied Clinical Assessment & Investigation in Cardiology and Stroke
-Applied Clinical Assessment and Investigation in Cardiology and Stroke
-Clinical Practice in Action
-Core Competencies in Medical Practice
-Decision Making & Management in Cardiology and Stroke
-Decision Making in Cardiology and Stroke
-Evidence Based Practice
-Evidence Based Practice - Distance Learning
-Expert Witness
-Health and Medical Education in the Workplace
-Health and Medical Simulation - Design and Delivery
-Healthcare Disciplines Project
-Leadership in Practice
-Leadership in Practice
-Medical Emergencies and Human Error- Managing Risk, Improving Services
-Service Improvement Project
-Specialist Masterclasses in Cardiology
-Specialist Masterclasses in Cardiology
-Specialist Masterclasses in Stroke
-Specialist Masterclasses in Stroke
-Work Based Learning
-Work Based Learning in Health and Medical Practice
-Work Based Study:Professional Issues Related to Healthcare Practice

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Overview

This course provides education and training in research and clinical skills relevant to people’s physical and psychological rehabilitation, chronic illness and disability.

Is this for you?

The course is designed for psychology graduates and those working as part of a multidisciplinary team as assistant psychologists, or conducting rehabilitation research in healthcare settings.

It is also suitable as a preparation for clinical psychology training. There is a focus on clinical application throughout the course: how to use what you learn in practical settings.

What will you gain?

On the MSc in Rehabilitation Psychology you will:

• Learn about the impact of physical illness and disability on psychological functioning
• Understand issues related to assessment, rehabilitation and recovery of people with physical illness and disability
• Develop in-depth knowledge about rehabilitation for people with neurological conditions
• Evaluate evidence about the effectiveness of rehabilitation
• Develop the ability to apply psychological knowledge within a rehabilitation context
• Receive training in research and clinical skills relevant to working as a psychologist in healthcare and research
• Design and conduct a research project in your area of interest

On graduation, you will have received a thorough grounding the relevant theories, and be able to work more effectively in rehabilitation settings. By expanding your research skills you will also be able to engage in evidence-based clinical practice in your future career.

Why Nottingham?

The MSc Rehabilitation Psychology benefits from the Division of Rehabilitation and Ageing's established expertise in areas such as chronic illness, neuropsychological rehabilitation, complex interventions and web-based research. Our teaching is informed by current research. We believe that research and teaching should be developed and delivered together, to help students and staff make a difference in the real world. We are proud to welcome a truly international community and, although this course provides training in skills that are relevant to the UK’s National Health Service, it will also provide an excellent foundation in Rehabilitation Psychology for international students.

Teaching methods

Teaching is delivered by a wide range of staff and guest lecturers, including local clinical psychologists and other multidisciplinary clinicians. Some modules are shared with students on other courses such as the MSc in Health Psychology as well as other courses within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. However, the MSc in Rehabilitation Psychology is distinct in its focus on issues related to rehabilitation.

The MSc in Rehabilitation Psychology is delivered on a full-time basis over one year or part-time over two years.

Modules

You will study the following modules during the course:

• Clinical Skills
• Assessment of Cognitive Function
• Stroke
• Introduction in Research Methods
• Cognitive Rehabilitation and Evaluation
• Theoretical Foundations of Rehabilitation
• Qualitative Research Methods
• Quantitative Methods

Please note that all module details are subject to change.
During the second semester and during the summer period you will undertake a rehabilitation research project. This is your opportunity to complete a piece of professional applied research under the supervision of a suitably experienced member of academic staff.

Career Opportunities

The MSc in Rehabilitation Psychology will be of value to psychology graduates who have an interest in working in healthcare settings, as psychology assistants conducting research in rehabilitation and healthcare, or as a preparation for clinical psychology training.

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This specialised interdisciplinary Master’s course is an exciting, innovative and forward thinking course which will help you challenge your current working practice in rehabilitation. The course offers you the opportunity to enhance the skills of critical enquiry and gain an appreciation of the underlying theory, research and policy guiding current rehabilitation practice.

Suitable for all practitioners working in health and social care like nurses, doctors, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers and speech and language therapists. Previous cohorts have included an interdisciplinary mix of practitioners working in both general and specialist areas of rehabilitation in the community, intermediate care, acute, independent sector and local authorities, both in the UK and overseas.

Students can study the full MSc or can opt to study individual modules.

Highlights

>Shared campus with one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK
>Led by a team of senior academics and advanced practitioners in rehabilitation
>Interprofessional education: Shared learning alongside all other MSc postgraduate courses and both pre and post registration students
>You will undertake and present a research project based on your chosen specialism
>Careers advice embedded into our teaching.

[[Modules]

The minimum period of study for the part-time programme route is 24 months; maximum period of study is 60 months.

The minimum period of study for the full-time route is 12 months; maximum period of study is 36 months.

It is possible to study modules on a standalone basis leading to an MSc, PgDip or PgCert over five years.

Core modules:

Policy and practice in health care
Evaluation of reflection in rehabilitation
Critical thinking in practice
Data analysis
Research methods
Research project

Optional modules:

Cognitive behavioural approaches in health
Psychology for exercise
Exercise intervention for obesity and diabetes
Cardiac rehabilitation
Managing fatigue: implications for exercise
Pulmonary rehabilitation
Quality and innovation in rehabilitation
Pain management
Self-management in long term and neurological conditions
Work based learning
Professional development in rehabilitation
Life after stroke

Studying

Members of the planning and teaching team come from multidisciplinary backgrounds and have considerable experience of implementing and teaching on Master's level courses. The team also has a range and depth of experience in both service delivery and research in rehabilitation.

We have considerable experience in neurological and elderly rehabilitation and have contributed or been responsible for service delivery in both acute and community healthcare, as well as the voluntary and independent sector.

There is also specific expertise in the rehabilitation of individuals with stroke, dementia, acute brain injury, pain management, cardiac and chronic pulmonary disease, falls, progressive neurological disease and palliative care.

Careers

In addition to developing your understanding of your specialist area, this course will enable you to:

>Develop a critical understanding of the key policy drivers in rehabilitation and critically evaluate the implications on your own practice.
>Develop a critical awareness and systematic understanding of research methods used in rehabilitation research.
>Critically evaluate your effectiveness in relation to the delivery of person-centred rehabilitation.
>Develop leadership skills and advanced practice to promote effective inter-professional working and service delivery in rehabilitation.
>Critically evaluate and advance the most current evidence- based programmes of care in relation to the complex and changing needs of individuals.

You will also gain an understanding of the complex areas of government policy in relation to rehabilitation and will look at models of disability and rehabilitation and their influence on practice from the perspective of both the practitioner and the patient/client.

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This is the first programme in stroke medicine in the UK to provide a comprehensive education and training for the next generation of researchers and clinical providers of expert stroke care. Students will be taught by clinical and research experts in the field of stroke medicine at Queen Square.

Degree information

Students will study modules in the pathophysiology and neuroimaging relating to cerebrovascular disease; clinical manifestations of stroke; treatment and service delivery; neurorehabilitation; epidemiology and prevention of stroke and statistical methods in health research.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of six core modules (120 credits), and a research project/dissertation (60 credits). A Postgraduate Diploma, six core taught modules (120 credits) is available. A Postgraduate Certificate, four core taught modules (60 credits) is available. There are no optional modules for this programme.

Core modules
-Clinical Manifestations of Stroke
-Epidemiology and Prevention of Stroke
-Neurorehabilitation
-Pathophysiology and Neuroimaging relating to Cerebrovascular Disease
-Statistical Methods in Health Research
-Treatment and Service Delivery

Dissertation/report
All MSc students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 10,000 words.

Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, workshops/practical sessions, journal clubs, presentations and supervisory meetings. Taught modules are assessed by short answer, multiple choice question examinations and timed essays. The research project requires a written dissertation, an oral and a poster presentation at the Queen Square Symposium or similar conference.

Careers

The portfolio of taught graduate programmes at the UCL Institute of Neurology offers research-embedded clinical teaching to enhance and expand the career progression and opportunities of our students. All of our graduates have reported that their degree enhanced their careers. Many of our graduates have gone on to further PhD-level study, or successfully applied to medical school. Clinicians who took time out to obtain an MSc have returned to training and scientists have gone on to obtain research assistant posts. Those already established in their career have been promoted.

Employability
Whatever your chosen career pathway, this programme in stroke medicine will help you become more established in your career, or help you change career direction into this specialised field. As well as gaining knowledge through the taught modules offered by experts in this field, the research project will enable you to gain many transferable skills relevant to conducting research in clinical and medical science. Exposure to the cutting-edge research being carried out in this area at UCL will give you an up-to-date perspective on trends in the causality, diagnosis, management, rehabilitation and innovative treatment of stroke.

Why study this degree at UCL?

UCL has a world-class reputation in stroke research and treatment and hosts the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) North Thames Stroke Research Network. Our service treats over 2,500 suspected strokes per year in our Hyperacute Stroke Unit (HASU). Areas of excellence include carotid disease, stroke recovery and neurorehabilitation, neuroimaging cerebral haemorrhage and small vessel disease.

We are a major endovascular centre at the forefront of stroke treatment with a highly developed multidisciplinary neuro-critical care pathway.

Whatever your anticipated career goals this MSc will provide opportunities to carry out research with global experts in the field of stroke and network with world-renowned clinicians.

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This exciting programme focuses on the design, development and clinical application of novel rehabilitative and assistive technologies. The programme is delivered by the Aspire Create team, which is engineering the next generation of these technologies, in partnership with clinicians at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.

Degree information

You will engage in research-based learning and work on real-world medical engineering projects which are driven by a clinical need. Throughout the MSc, you will receive core training in “anatomy for engineers", biomechanics and research methodologies, before choosing modules that explore cutting-edge topics ranging from robotics and electronic implants to social cognitive rehabilitation and “disability and development”.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of four core modules (60 credits), two optional modules (30 credits), a group research module (30 credits) and an individual project (60 credits).

Core modules
-Anatomy and Physiology for Engineers
-Assistive Technology Devices and Rehabilitation Robotics
-Biomechanics for Assistive Technologies
-Research Methods and Experiment Design
-Group research projects
-Individual research project

Optional modules - all students participate in two group research projects which put the theory from the core modules into practice. Each project results in a group report and an individual mini-viva.
-Disability and Development
-Electronic Devices and Implant Technologies
-Inclusive Design and Human-Machine Interfaces
-Social Cognitive Rehabilitation

Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 10,000-12,000 words.

Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of interactive lectures, seminars and hands-on laboratory sessions, supported by exercise/problem sheets and opportunities for reflection and discussion. Assessment is through coursework, research project reports, mini-vivas, MCQs and written exams.

Careers

Typical career destinations for our graduates range from, but are not limited to: academic researchers, biomedical R&D engineers, clinical scientists, and entrepreneurs who spin out their project work into start-up companies.

Employability
This course will give you the opportunity to enhance your employability by gaining and refining both technical and transferrable skills. Not only will you gain specialist theoretical knowledge, you will also learn how to put this into practice through our research based learning activities. The highly interdisciplinary research focus of this course will give you experience of the academic, clinical and third sectors. Importantly, you will refine your communication skills by interacting with different audiences (technical, clinical and lay) and learn how to pitch your arguments at the right level – this is a highly valued skill in any sector.

Why study this degree at UCL?

Rehabilitation engineering promises to revolutionise the way patients regain their independence. Complementary to drugs and surgery, this unique MSc focuses on how state-of-the-art technologies can be developed and translated into clinical practice.

You will tackle real problems, faced by people with complex and challenging medical conditions, such as spinal cord injuries and stroke.

There are plenty of networking opportunities throughout the course, which is run by internationally renowned UCL academics, in conjunction with clinicians at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital; assistive technology specialists from the Aspire charity; and our industrial research partners.

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Imaginative, original and full of exciting ideas - if this sounds like you, then our MSc in Creative Technology could be your perfect course. It's open to students from any background who are interested in combining technical and creative skills to create the technologies and experiences of the future. We'll give you the opportunity to learn about and experiment with different types of technology and use them to design and develop your own inventions.


Why study MA/MSc Creative Technology at Middlesex?

Technology is becoming increasingly important to art, design and culture and the skills associated with the once-separate creative and technical worlds overlap more and more. We welcome students from any background onto this course– it's an unusual opportunity for students with diverse skills to work together, and it's this variety that gives it so much character.

This is a highly practical course, assessed entirely through project work, with an emphasis on collaboration and experimentation. We want you to benefit from our creative, academic and technical expertise, and we like nothing more than to see you step out of your comfort zone and tackle something new. You'll work with your peers on group projects – recent students have made an interactive cushion, explored Kinect hacking, created apps and designed an interactive breakfast table that showed the news.

Never mind thinking outside the box – you'll be inventing 1,001 new things to do with it.

Course highlights

- All our staff are active in research, industry or both and are passionate about new technology and new ways to use it. Particular areas of expertise include music and sound technology, social media, interactive and haptic technology, visual and digital imagery and gaming.
- Our tutors, who come from both the School of Media and Performing Arts and the School of Science and Technology, include haptic technology specialist Dr Rui Loureiro, who has pioneered work in robot-aided stroke rehabilitation; Debbie Jedwab, a former set designer for the BBC; composer and sound artist Nye Parry, who has worked with the British Museum and the Science Museum; and multimedia artist Nic Sandiland, whose work has been shown worldwide.
- You'll also benefit from the cutting-edge facilities and equipment in our £80 million Art, Design and Media building, the equal of which is rarely seen in other UK universities. They include fully-equipped TV, radio and sound studios, workshops for digital image processing and a comprehensive digital publishing suite.
- You'll learn computer programming as part of the course, and will have access to cutting edge haptic technology and a graphics and games programming laboratory. The university is home to the Human Interactive Systems Laboratory, a centre of research into haptic technology, and the Lansdown Centre for Electronic Arts.
- As well as attending masterclasses and guest lectures by industry professionals, students often work on real industry briefs – they've recently worked with Sony and designer and engineer Moritz Waldemeyer. We've developed the course in consultation with advisors from the creative industries to ensure it's relevant and current.

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Qualifications and durations

The Master of Philosophy (MPhil) programme will enable you to conduct supervised research into your chosen topic and produce a written thesis (typically 20,000 - 60,000 words). You can complete the MPhil in 1 to 3 years (full-time) or up to 4 years (part-time).

Overview

The MPhil is an opportunity to undertake original, in-depth research under expert supervision.

Most of our students are registered in the first instance for the MPhil degree. You will be expected to carry out supervised research at the leading edge of your chosen subject, which must then be written up as a substantial thesis.

Our Department produces high-quality research with a strong focus on application and real world implication. You can study any topic in which we have research expertise (http://www.bath.ac.uk/health/research/). Details of research staff expertise and interests are available on individual staff (http://www.bath.ac.uk/health/staff/) pages, as well as on our current research students (http://www.bath.ac.uk/health/research/research-students/) page.

Visit the website http://www.bath.ac.uk/study/pg/programmes/scho-for-heal-mphi/

Current student projects

Take an insight into what some of our current students are researching » http://www.bath.ac.uk/health/research/research-student-insights/

South West Doctoral Training Centre

This programme is recognised as being part of the following ESRC-funded South West Doctoral Training Centre (SWDTC) (http://www.bath.ac.uk/hss/graduate-school/study-with-us/south-west-doctoral-training-centre/) pathway:

Health & Wellbeing (interdisciplinary pathway)

About the department

The School for Health was established within the University of Bath in 2003, to centralise the high profile research and teaching in the health-related disciplines already taking place throughout the university, so creating a single entity through which links with the health sector at national and international level can be channelled, co-ordinated and developed.

In 2010 the School joined the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences and became the Department for Health, providing excellent opportunities for academic teaching and research collaborations with other departments, such as Psychology and Social & Policy Sciences. The Department's postgraduate teaching and research programmes now form part of the Faculty's new Graduate School, also launched in 2010, providing postgraduate students with dedicated support and a strong community in which to base their studies - whether on campus or by distance learning.

In keeping with government initiatives surrounding population health and more general public concerns, the Department divides its activities between two main pillars: Healthcare and Population Health – one focuses on the NHS, healthcare and health services research and the other focuses on population health, healthy living, sport & physical activity and tobacco control; each of these groups, in turn, contain both teaching programmes and research activities. Furthermore, there is a bridging spine between both pillars and which houses the Professional Doctorate in Health, Research in Health Practice and the administrative, finance, learning & teaching development, marketing and support activities of the Department.

The Department’s aims are:

- To develop a research portfolio that is both of the highest academic standard and has applications in the real world
- To build on external links with the public services and other bodies concerned with health and society
- To innovate design and delivery of healthcare services
- To change corporate approaches to healthy organisations
- To support government reform of health and social care provision
- To identify and facilitate opportunities for academic collaboration and new developments.

The Department's postgraduate taught programmes combine academic excellence with flexible and innovative design and delivery; our postgraduate portfolio is distinguished by the provision of a number of Professional Masters and a Professional Doctorate programme designed to be studied part-time by learners working in a wide range of healthcare roles from all around the world. All our postgraduate courses are taught online and this has proved to be one of our unique selling points, with students able to continue within their practice area or working environment whilst gaining a further qualification.

The Department is renowned for its exemplary attention to educational design, integrating knowledge with research evidence and resulting in programmes which are highly relevant to contemporary practice; in addition, the Department boasts some of the most innovative and successful approaches to online and part-time education, recognised through a number of awards.

At all levels, learning and teaching in the Department provides a strong focus on high quality education for real world situations and produces graduates with skills and knowledge relevant to professional roles and in high demand from employers.

Teaching programmes on offer within the Department include:

- Sport & Exercise Medicine, the world renowned flexible masters programme exclusively for doctors
- Sports Physiotherapy, a specialist programme designed by physiotherapists for physiotherapists
- Research in Health Practice, a programme launched in 2008 aimed at health and social care professionals interested in conducting their own research
- The innovative Professional Doctorate in Health which focuses on both Population Health and Healthcare within the Department, providing a doctoral level programme to develop expert practitioners and researchers in practice.

Facilities, equipment, other resources
Sport and exercise science and medical science laboratories. Close links with the English Institute of Sport and the Department of Sports Development and Recreation.

International and industrial links
There are current links with primary care trusts, strategic health authorities, the two hospitals in Bath and colleagues in industry. The Department works closely with esteemed international academic institutions, and individual health practitioners, in order to meet the regional, national and global challenges facing health and social care.

Careers information
Postgraduate research students gain a wealth of experience to assist them with their next step and are offered personal career advice at the University. The Department has an established research training skills programme for all research students. The taught programmes enable students to extend their health and social care career pathways and to build important networks for further professional opportunities.

Main areas of research

The Department carries out research and teaching in health, medicine, exercise and sport, making significant contributions to national and international health agendas.

The Department aims to produce high-quality research with a strongly applied focus. We aim to contribute to promoting the health of the population and to improving the quality and efficiency of the health services that people rely on and pursue this agenda with a variety of partners at local, regional, national and international levels. Our work is organised around the two main themes of population health and healthcare. We are also pleased to offer a range of Research degrees.

- Population health

Historically, health policy has focused almost exclusively on sickness services provided by agencies such as the National Health Service. Although this focus on healthcare remains hugely important, it is increasingly complemented by aspirations to improve the health of the population by tackling the social determinants of health such as poverty and pollution and by encouraging people to adopt health promoting behaviours such as healthy diets and increased physical activity and to stop health damaging ones such as smoking. There is also growing national and international concern that improvements in health should be fairly distributed by reducing health inequalities. The Department for Health organises its work related to population health improvement in three main ways. Much the largest element in the population health portfolio is related to sport, health and exercise science, but the School attaches growing importance to tobacco control and health inequalities.

- Healthcare

The Department’s expertise in Healthcare focuses on innovation in the design, delivery, organization, and evaluation of healthcare interventions. We have a particular emphasis on disabling and distressing, long term or life-limiting conditions, such as chronic pain, stroke, dementia, rheumatic disease, and severe mental health problems. Current research activity involves collaborations with NHS colleagues in Bath at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases – RNHRD, the Royal United Hospital, the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Care Trust, the Pan Bath & Swindon Primary Care Research Consortium and RehabNET.

Faculties in the Department have significant research expertise and experience in a range of topics including:

Addictions and addictive behaviour
Alcohol, drugs and the family
Assistive technology and rehabilitation
Child and adolescent cognitive behavioural therapy
Complex Regional Pain Syndromes
Dementia care
Evidence based pain management
Leadership and change
Mental health service development and evaluation
Spondolarthropathy disease and related disability
Stroke rehabilitation
Work, health and wellbeing.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.bath.ac.uk/hss/graduate-school/research-programmes/how-to-apply/

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Occupational therapy practice is concerned with enhancing the daily lives of individuals with a very broad range of physical, mental health or social needs. As an occupational therapist you will work with clients to improve function and enable them to fulfil the demands of their daily lives with greater satisfaction. You will work with people of all ages from all walks of life, in hospital, in the community, in their place of employment or in their home, and have the opportunity to work in a very wide variety of professional practice areas.

The fundamental aim of the MSc Occupational Therapy (pre-registration) programme is to enable you to graduate with a master’s degree in occupational therapy and be eligible to apply for registration as an occupational therapist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in the UK. The Degree does not provide eligibility to practice in any other country although the degree is WFOT recognised.

HCPC approved and COT/WFOT accredited

See the website http://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/occupational-therapy-pre-registration/

Why choose this course?

- Graduates from this programme will be fit for purpose, practice, and award in the UK. We enable you to develop a profound understanding of the potential for occupational therapy to promote the health and wellbeing of the population. Skills acquired will be evidenced based, innovative and give you the capacity to make a significant contribution to the profession, specifically contribute to excellence in client care and the professional knowledge base. On successful completion of the degree and 1000 hours of clinical practice education you will be eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a registered Occupational Therapist in the UK.

- Many of our graduates go on to further educational development at PhD/DPhil and professional doctorate level. We are mindful of the anticipated transformation of practice over the next 20 years as well as the changes to demographics and the political innovation resulting in the widening participation agenda. We therefore aim to attract graduate students, who are academically able, demonstrate appropriate values of self-determination, motivation and critical awareness of learning needs and show potential for leading leadership, innovation and research.

- Based in Oxford, the environment for learning is rich with diversity, culture, specialist health and social care resources, academic resources as well as close commuting links to London.

- Our programme is staffed by occupational therapists expert in diverse clinical specialities, and supported by occupational therapy practice educators from all areas of mainstream and specialist practice. Our lecturers are experienced in their specialist practice areas and have reputations for excellence with established links with colleagues, organisations and institutions at national and international level.

- This course benefits from shared and inter-professional education opportunities, in addition to profession specific ones, to develop the professional qualities and attributes for current and future health and social care practice.

- Our ongoing investment in a new technology infrastructure is enabling the teaching team to exploit successful technology-enriched learning throughout the programme. We have a large and dedicated building in Oxford (Marston Road) equipped with state-of-the-art classroom and clinical skills and communication suites and resources. We run a weekly Hand Therapy clinic and a monthly Community Occupational Therapy Assessment Clinic for the public. Students are invited to observe other qualified OT's working in these clinics.

- We have a strong research profile, with experienced researchers working in established areas of cancer care, children and families, drug and alcohol, physical rehabilitation and enablement, inter-professional education and collaborative practice.

- Established in 1938, we are the oldest School of Occupational Therapy in England, and have one of the best occupational therapy library collections in the country.

- We have an excellent track record of high levels of student satisfaction, low student attrition rates and high employability.

Teaching and learning

MSc in Occupational Therapy is taught alongside the well-established and highly-regarded BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy.

Pre-registration Masters students will be taught alongside the undergraduate students in all occupational therapy specific modules. These will be identified with different module numbers and names to those of the undergraduate programme. This dual level teaching in classroom will provide you with the opportunity to learn the core skills and specific attributes of occupational therapy alongside the BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy students.

However, the pre-registration Masters students are provided with an enhanced level 7 learning experience with module specific tutorials to explore a more critical and evidence based approach to the subject matter and thus develop professional competence in academic, research and digital literacy, critical thinking and personal self-awareness.

Our approach will require you to actively engage in these Masters level tutorials and become self-directed, innovative, creative and critical learners. Teaching will assist you to construct knowledge through the analysis, synthesis and conceptualisation of your learning experiences, thus developing a lifelong approach to learning. This supports employability in a marketplace that demands adaptability, continuous development and leadership.

You will have the opportunity for face-to-face and virtual learning activities. Our inter-professional module is taken alongside other health and social care pre-registration master's level students, enabling you to prepare for the interdisciplinary work you will encounter in the health and social care environment.

Working at master’s level, you will focus on developing your knowledge in occupational therapy, which is evidence-based and strongly underpinned by research.

This master's degree will:
- Enable you to be a reflective, proactive, innovative and adaptable occupational therapy practitioner, with the ability to critique research and evaluate the effectiveness of evidence in a wide variety of practice settings.

- Develop a critical understanding of the theory of occupation and teach you to challenge existing models and approaches used in occupational therapy from an informed perspective.

- Provide opportunities to develop your ability to work both independently and as part of a team in the context of social, technological, administrative and policy changes.

How this course helps you develop

This course is mapped against the University's postgraduate attributes so that all occupational therapy graduates are equipped with the skills of academic literacy, digital and information literacy, global citizenship, research literacy, critical self awareness and personal literacy. These attributes are in addition to the NHS core values of respect and dignity, commitment to quality of care, compassion, and aspiring to improve the lives of others where everyone counts and we work together for patients.

Careers

The majority of graduates from the occupational therapy degrees work as qualified and registered occupational therapists, but there are increasing opportunities to work in non-specified professional roles in mental health and community settings. There are also increasing numbers of employment roles that are not explicitly described or advertised as an ‘occupational therapist’ but match the skills specification of an occupational therapist. This is due to the changing nature of health and social care practice and the new and emerging roles and opportunities for occupational therapy.

Free language courses for students - the Open Module

Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

Please note that the free language courses are not available if you are:
- studying at a Brookes partner college
- studying on any of our teacher education courses or postgraduate education courses.

Research highlights

The Centre for Rehabilitation within the Department of Sport and Health Sciences has strong leadership in the director, Professor Helen Dawes. The Centre brings together research, education and care. It is underpinned by a strong, well-published research group, the Movement Science Group, along with clinical expertise, rehabilitation, knowledge and care of adults and children with neurological conditions. Within the Centre, staff, students and alumni across the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences are engaged in a number of research projects.

Examples of ongoing research projects within the faculty:
- Driving rehabilitation - cognitive mechanisms of driving and performance implications for clinical populations

- Fatigue management – Central and peripheral fatigue and mechanisms in clinical populations

- Dual task control in Stroke - influence on community mobility

- Efficacy of Intensive motor learning programmes – Themed (Magic) camps for children with hemiplegia

- Arts in Health Research – collaboration with Breathe Arts Health Research with research opportunities across many arts related activities

- Virtual Reality (VR) technologies – development and implementation of VR technologies in rehabilitation

- Early identification of motor and sensory processing impairments in children

- Sensory processing disorders and impact on function and behaviour in children with autism

- Measurement and monitoring of rehabilitation participation- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Systematic Review of Vocational Rehabilitation for people with TBI

- Therapy for hand writing in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD)

- Monitoring movement in people with neurological conditions – mechanisms and impact e.g. head drop in Parkinson Disorder

- Physical activity impact on sleep, behaviour cognition, health and wellbeing in children with neurodisability

- Falls in people with learning disabilities – an understanding of the impact of anxiety

- A Functional Electrical Stimulation Plantar flexion System for Bone Health Maintenance in Spinal Cord Injury Patients

- Professional development Perspectives of Occupational Therapists working in the NHS and concepts of Occupational Balance, Cultural perspectives and attitude change in professional identity acquisition.

Research areas and clusters

Our staff are involved in research both independently and collaboratively.

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Suitable for health professionals with an interest in exercise and the potential of physical activity, this course incorporates the exploration of physical activity in various critical settings within the public health arena (eg obesity, sedentary lifestyles and diabetes). This is a flexible programme structured to provide core and option modules tailored to the individual student profile.

In parallel to and offering shared learning with the MSc Rehabilitation, this course offers the opportunity to enhance the skills of critical enquiry and gain an appreciation of the underlying theory, research and policy guiding current health practice. There is a strong emphasis on exercise physiology, the role of exercise through the lifespan, and psychology for exercise to understand issues critical to adherence and behaviour change.

Highlights

>Shared campus with one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK.
>Before starting the course, you can discuss your work and personal and professional aspirations to select appropriate modules and create an individual programme plan.
>You will have the chance to meet other postgraduate students with whom you will share the core modules.
>You can take individual modules as free-standing short courses without committing to the full MSc.
>The course can be taken full time over one calendar year (Thursdays and Fridays) or part time over two years (attending for one day). More flexible routes can be discussed with the course director within a five year period.

[[Modules]

The minimum period of study for the part-time programme route is 24 months; maximum period of study is 60 months.

The minimum period of study for the full time route is 12 months; maximum period of study is 36 months. It is possible to study modules on a standalone basis leading to an MSc, PgDip or PgCert over five years.

Core modules studied on this course:
Advanced exercise prescription
Critical thinking in practice
Data Analysis
Exercise through the life span
Research methods
Research project

Optional modules:
Cardiac rehabilitation
Exercise intervention for obesity and diabetes
Life after stroke
Managing fatigue: implications for exercise
Pain management
Professional development in rehabilitation
Psychology for exercise
Pulmonary rehabilitation
Quality and innovation in rehabilitation
Rehabilitation
Self-management in long term and neurological conditions

Careers

Graduates will be able to confidently participate in the academic community through discussion and debate; adopt an evidence based approach to health and wellbeing; present at workplace meetings, conferences and publish work in relevant journals.

Upon graduation from the full MSc Applied Exercise for Health students can expect to gain working roles within the following fields:

Academic roles/PhD studies.
Leadership roles in the Health and Fitness industry.
Developing specialist programmes for obese children via GP practice.
Working and developing programme for people post heart attack (GP referral clinic).
Working with people in respiratory rehabilitation programmes.
Public Health setting (national/international)

Studying

Teaching is delivered through a variety of methods; lectures, tutorials, student led seminars, group work, practical laboratory sessions, tutor led study and self-directed study.

You will learn in an inter-professional setting; working alongside clinical staff, researchers and students familiar with the health and wellbeing environment.

Student support is a central feature of the programme and is provided in multiple ways:

virtual learning environment, containing supplementary materials.
academic and pastoral support from an academic supervisor and personal tutor.
regular structured feedback from your module leader and academic supervisor.
peer assisted learning.
specific workshops of skill development such as giving presentations.
support in managing transition into postgraduate education and back into practice.
access to a range of student welfare support services.

Application

To download an application for the course and find out more information about the process and our deadlines, please visit our website.

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Why take this course?

There are increasing rates of ill-health resulting from sedentary living, poor dietary habits and high stress lifestyles. The duties performed by a Clinical Exercise Specialist (CES) are linked closely to treating patients living with a long term condition in which exercise has been shown to provide therapeutic benefit. Specifically, cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary diseases, diabetes, stroke, cancer and musculoskeletal limitations remain important health concerns that have all been shown to benefit from regular safe exercise.

Therefore, this innovative course is designed to offer you an interdisciplinary approach to exercise in clinical settings and vocational qualifications and experiences that will enable you to apply theory to practice. The integration of theory and practice within this course will enable you to critically analyse, adapt and modify existing approaches to develop safe and effective physical activity programmes to optimise the health-related fitness of clients.

What will I experience?

On this course you can:

Obtain lab-based and field skills, as well as the ability to communicate with clients in a professional and approachable style.
Gain Register of Exercise Professionals endorsed vocational qualifications in clinical exercise, including exercise referral, cardiac disease, chronic respiratory diseases, stroke, cancer and falls prevention which are essential requirements should you wish to pursue a career as a clinical specialist exercise instructor.
Work with clinicians providing exercise in the management of a range of long term conditions

What opportunities might it lead to?

The programme provides an opportunity to work toward ACSM Clinical Exercise Physiologist certification and units aligned to National Occupation Standards for Health and Fitness.

Here are some routes our graduates have pursued:

Health and wellbeing physiologist
Bariatric exercise physiologist
NHS trainee clinical scientist
Health advisor
Clinical Exercise Physiologist
Exercise Referral Coordinator
Exercise Therapist
PhD Research

Module Details

The modular programme is offered in two formats: Full-time (12 months) and Part-time (24 months). The course includes 120 credits of taught units and it is also possible to study parts of this course for CPD purposes, such as a single credit-bearing unit (30 credits), a postgraduate certificate (PG Cert; 60 credits) or progress to the full MSc. The units contain vocational elements relevant for providing personalised exercise training for a range of medical conditions, including classroom, exercise laboratory and placement learning.

Teaching will take place on Thursdays, Fridays and some Saturdays so attendance on selected weekends is necessary for the vocational training associated with some of the units. Placements take place in areas such as Southampton, Winchester, Portsmouth and Chichester and are scheduled according to placement provider requirements during the week. Each unit is generally taught over a three week block, however cardiac rehabilitation requires a longer study period.

Options to choose include 120 credits from:

Exercise for Cardiac Rehabilitation (30 credits)
Exercise for Chronic Respiratory Diseases (30 credits)
Exercise for Cancer Care (30 credits)
Exercise and Fitness after Stroke (30 credits)
Exercise for Falls Prevention (30 credits)
Paediatric Exercise Science and Medicine (30 credits)

Programme Assessment

The delivery format for the course is largely based around seminar, practical, workshop and placement learning to integrate theory into practical sessions. Teaching sessions will include vocational training, seminar and exercise laboratory work, led by leading practitioners in the area of clinical exercise. You will be provided with a personal tutor to assist with academic and pastoral issues.

The course has a problem-based learning approach and you will be assessed in a variety of ways with a focus on self-reflection and initiative and problem-based assignments. Here’s how we assess you:

Vocational training (MCQ and case study)
Practical assessment
Presentation
Applied essays
Case studies

Student Destinations

The Schools/Departments delivering the course have strong links with National Health Service partners in the Wessex region and professional training providers in exercise, such as the American College of Sports Medicine and the Register of Exercise Professionals. Graduates of this course possess qualifications to provide exercise in cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, exercise after cancer, exercise after stroke or exercise for falls prevention provided by leading vocational clinical exercise training providers. Having such a skills-set is important for being employable as an exercise physiologist in diverse multi-disciplinary teams, whilst also presenting the opportunity to work as an exercise entrepreneur as your own exercise service manager.

Roles our graduates have taken on include

Exercise referral coordinator
NHS trainee clinical scientist
Health advisor
Cardiopulmonary exercise physiologist
Health and wellbeing physiologist
Bariatric exercise physiologist
NHS physical activities advisor
Private exercise physiologist

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Why take this course?

There are increasing rates of ill-health resulting from sedentary living, poor dietary habits and high stress lifestyles. The duties performed by a Clinical Exercise Specialist (CES) are linked closely to treating patients living with a long term condition in which exercise has been shown to provide therapeutic benefit. Specifically, cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary diseases, diabetes, stroke, cancer and musculoskeletal limitations remain important health concerns that have all been shown to benefit from regular, safe exercise.

Therefore, this innovative course is designed to offer you an interdisciplinary approach to exercise in clinical settings as well as vocational qualifications and experiences that will enable you to apply theory to practice. The integration of theory and practice within this course will enable you to critically analyse, adapt and modify existing approaches to develop safe and effective physical activity programmes to optimise the health-related fitness of clients.

This course is a brand new course and is unrelated to the course of the same name which is closing after 2016 intake. The first year of entry for this course will be 2017.

What will I experience?

On this course you can:

Obtain lab-based and field skills, as well as the ability to communicate with clients in a professional and approachable style.
Gain Register of Exercise Professionals endorsed vocational qualifications in clinical exercise, including exercise referral, cardiac disease, chronic respiratory diseases, stroke, cancer and falls prevention which are essential requirements should you wish to pursue a career as a clinical specialist exercise instructor.
Work with clinicians providing exercise in the management of a range of long term conditions

What opportunities might it lead to?

The programme provides an opportunity to work toward ACSM Clinical Exercise Physiologist certification and units aligned to National Occupation Standards for Health and Fitness.

Here are some routes our graduates have pursued:

Health and wellbeing physiologist
Bariatric exercise physiologist
NHS trainee clinical scientist
Health advisor
Clinical Exercise Physiologist
Exercise Referral Coordinator
Exercise Therapist
PhD Research

Module Details

The modular programme is offered in two formats: Full-time (12 months) and Part-time (24 months). The course includes 120 credits of taught units and a 60 credit Project. It is also possible to study parts of this course for CPD purposes, such as a single unit (30 credits) or top up a related Postgraduate Diploma to a full MSc.

The units contain vocational elements relevant for providing personalised exercise training for a range of medical conditions, including classroom, exercise laboratory and placement learning. The MSc Clinical Exercise Project unit prepares you for your independent project, where you will plan and implement a service evaluation, research project or enterprise & innovation project in the area of clinical exercise.

Teaching takes place on Thursdays, Fridays and some Saturdays, so attendance on selected weekends is necessary for the vocational training included in some of the units. Placements take place in areas such as Southampton, Winchester, Portsmouth and Chichester and are scheduled according to placement provider requirements during the week. Each unit is generally taught over a three week block, however cardiac rehabilitation requires a longer study period.

The core unit you will study is:

MSc Clinical Exercise Project (60 credits)
Optional units to choose include 120 credits from:

Exercise for Cardiac Rehabilitation (30 credits)
Exercise for Chronic Respiratory Diseases (30 credits)
Exercise and Cancer Care (30 credits)
Exercise and Fitness after Stroke (30 credits)
Exercise for Falls Prevention (30 credits)
Paediatric Exercise Science and Medicine (30 credits)

Programme Assessment

The delivery format for the course is largely based around seminar, practical, workshop and placement learning to integrate theory into practical sessions. Teaching sessions will include vocational training, seminar and exercise laboratory work, led by leading practitioners in the area of clinical exercise. You will be provided with a personal tutor to assist with academic and pastoral issues.

The course has a problem-based learning approach and you will be assessed in a variety of ways with a focus on self-reflection and initiative and problem-based assignments. Here’s how we assess you:

Vocational training (MCQ and case study)
Practical assessment
Applied essays
Case studies
Project report
Poster presentation

Student Destinations

We have strong links with National Health Service partners in the Wessex region and professional training providers in exercise, such as the American College of Sports Medicine and the Register of Exercise Professionals. Graduates of this course possess qualifications to provide exercise in cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, exercise after cancer, exercise after stroke or exercise for falls prevention provided by leading vocational clinical exercise training providers. Having such a skills-set is important for being employable as an exercise physiologist in diverse multi-disciplinary teams, whilst also presenting the opportunity to work as an exercise entrepreneur as your own exercise service manager.

Roles our graduates have taken on include

Exercise referral coordinator
NHS trainee clinical scientist
Health advisor
Cardiopulmonary exercise physiologist
Health and wellbeing physiologist
Bariatric exercise physiologist
NHS physical activities advisor
Private exercise physiologist

Read less

Why take this course?

There are increasing rates of ill-health resulting from sedentary living, poor dietary habits and high stress lifestyles. The duties performed by a Clinical Exercise Specialist (CES) are linked closely to treating patients living with a long term condition in which exercise has been shown to provide therapeutic benefit. Specifically, cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary diseases, diabetes, stroke, cancer and musculoskeletal limitations remain important health concerns that have all been shown to benefit from regular safe exercise.

Therefore, this innovative course is designed to offer you an interdisciplinary approach to exercise in clinical settings and vocational qualifications and experiences that will enable you to apply theory to practice. The integration of theory and practice within this course will enable you to critically analyse, adapt and modify existing approaches to develop safe and effective physical activity programmes to optimise the health-related fitness of clients.

What will I experience?

On this course you can:

Obtain lab-based and field skills, as well as the ability to communicate with clients in a professional and approachable style.
Gain Register of Exercise Professionals endorsed vocational qualifications in clinical exercise, including exercise referral, cardiac disease, chronic respiratory diseases, stroke, cancer and falls prevention which are essential requirements should you wish to pursue a career as a clinical specialist exercise instructor.
Work with clinicians providing exercise in the management of a range of long term conditions

What opportunities might it lead to?

The programme provides an opportunity to work toward ACSM Clinical Exercise Physiologist certification and units aligned to National Occupation Standards for Health and Fitness.

Here are some routes our graduates have pursued:

Health and wellbeing physiologist
Bariatric exercise physiologist
NHS trainee clinical scientist
Health advisor
Clinical Exercise Physiologist
Exercise Referral Coordinator
Exercise Therapist
PhD Research

Module Details

The modular programme is offered in one format: Part-time (12 months). The course includes 60 credits of taught units and it is possible to study parts of this course for CPD purposes, such as a single credit-bearing unit (30 credits), as a postgraduate certificate or to complete this PgCert and then top this up to a postgraduate diploma (PG Dip; 120 credits) or progress to the full MSc. The units contain vocational elements relevant for providing personalised exercise training for a range of medical conditions, including classroom, exercise laboratory and placement learning.

Teaching will take place on Thursdays, Fridays and some Saturdays so attendance on selected weekends is necessary for the vocational training associated with some of the units. Placements take place in areas such as Southampton, Winchester, Portsmouth and Chichester and are scheduled according to placement provider requirements during the week. Each unit is generally taught over a three week block, however cardiac rehabilitation requires a longer study period.

Options to choose include 60 credits from:

Exercise for Cardiac Rehabilitation (30 credits)
Exercise for Chronic Respiratory Diseases (30 credits)
Exercise for Cancer Care (30 credits)
Exercise and Fitness after Stroke (30 credits)
Exercise for Falls Prevention (30 credits)
Paediatric Exercise Science and Medicine (30 credits)

Programme Assessment

The delivery format for the course is largely based around seminar, practical, workshop and placement learning to integrate theory into practical sessions. Teaching sessions will include vocational training, seminar and exercise laboratory work, led by leading practitioners in the area of clinical exercise. You will be provided with a personal tutor to assist with academic and pastoral issues.

How are you assessed?

The course has a problem-based learning approach and you will be assessed in a variety of ways with a focus on self-reflection and initiative and problem-based assignments. Here’s how we assess you:

Vocational training (MCQ and case study)
Practical assessment
Presentations
Applied essays
Case studies

Student Destinations

The Schools/Departments delivering the course have strong links with National Health Service partners in the Wessex region and professional training providers in exercise, such as the American College of Sports Medicine and the Register of Exercise Professionals. Graduates of this course possess qualifications to provide exercise in cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation exercise after cancer, exercise after stroke or exercise for falls prevention provided by leadin vocational clinical exercise training providers. Having such a skills-set is important for being employable as an exercise physiologist in diverse multi-disciplinary teams, whilst also presenting the opportunity to work as an exercise entrepreneur as your own exercise service manager.

Roles our graduates have taken on include

Exercise referral coordinator
NHS trainee clinical scientist
Health advisor
Cardiopulmonary exercise physiologist
Health and wellbeing physiologist
Bariatric exercise physiologist
NHS physical activities advisor
Private exercise physiologist

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This programme combines the academic excellence of the School of Experimental Psychology with the clinical experience, knowledge and skill of a large and well-established clinical neuropsychology department within North Bristol NHS Trust, a regional neurosciences hospital that has an international reputation for excellence in neuroscience.

The programme places a strong focus on patient care, diagnosis and management of a range of neurological conditions, and is delivered by academics and experienced clinicians. The Clinical Neuropsychology Department offers neuropsychology services to a broad range of patient groups: both paediatric and adult, acute inpatient and outpatient, as well as patients seen primarily for diagnostic assessment and patients seen for rehabilitation.

Services are offered to patients being referred from neurosurgery, neurology, neuropsychiatry, and rehabilitation medicine, as well as from physicians within the stroke services. Clinical services are also offered to specialist programmes of interventional neurosurgery, principally for epilepsy and movement disorders but also more recently for mood disorders. Along with working within the acute hospital trust, the department provides input to specialist inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services for people with acquired brain injury.

All lectures are broadcast live online using Adobe Connect and can be viewed at a later date. Some units are provided in a block format of teaching (ie one unit over a single week). The others are presented as lectures on a weekly basis.

Programme structure

Core units
-Functional Neuroanatomy, Neuroscience Methods and Issues in Neuropsychology (30 credits)
Part A: Issues in Neuropsychology
Part B: Functional Neuroanatomy and Neuroscience Methods

-Applied Clinical Neuropsychology and Principles of Assessment (30 credits)
Part A: Assessment in Clinical Neuropsychology
Part B: Applied Neuropsychology

-Development, Rehabilitation and Evidence-based Neuropsychology and Principles of Clinical Statistics (30 credits)
Part A: Development and Rehabilitation
Part B: Evidence-Based Neuropsychology

-Theoretical and Clinical Neuropsychology (30 credits)
Part A: Clinical Neuropsychology in Practice
Part B: Theoretical Neuropsychology

-Dissertation (60 credits)

Careers

This degree provides professional training in clinical neuropsychology and meets the British Psychological Society requirements for the knowledge dimension of the Qualification in Clinical Neuropsychology (QiCN). It also provides continuing professional development to anyone already working in a clinical setting who is seeking specialist training to work with patients with neuropsychological defects.

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