BSc Single Honours Physiotherapy

This interprofessional module will provide you with the opportunity to learn from, about and with students from other professional programmes. As an interprofessional group of learners you will explore what it means to be a professional within the context of ethical, legal and regulatory frameworks as applied to your professional healthcare discipline. You will be given the opportunity to reflect and develop self-awareness to foster an understanding of your own beliefs, attitudes, values, knowledge, attributes and skills and explore how others may see the world differently to build and develop your professional identity. This module aims to aid your transition to university as a professional healthcare student, introducing you to the concept of evidence-based practice and some of the study skills you will need to develop as an experiential and lifelong learner.

This module aims to develop your knowledge and understanding of the social, politico-economic, cultural and environmental factors that influence the health and wellbeing of individuals, their families and the wider population. This understanding will underpin every aspect of your practice as a healthcare professional, preparing you to respond appropriately to the needs of all different groups and individuals. You will explore terms such as wellbeing, disability, epidemiology, health status, health inequalities and determinants of health to try and answer the question ?Is good or bad health simply the result of individual behaviours, genetics and medical care?Ê You will be supported to understand the structure and function of health, care and social care services within the United Kingdom and globally and how legislation (including equality), policies, guidelines and local initiatives aim to support population health. You will develop skills in evaluating data about trends in population health to inform your own practice and ensure that service users remain at the centre of the care you provide. During this module you will undertake 150 hours of practice placement where you will gain exposure to the wider issues impacting on health enabling you to link theory with practice. You will work alongside and be supervised by a registered health professional (HCPC registered) who will facilitate and guide you to be actively involved in providing physiotherapy to clients. During the placement students are required to discharge their duties and responsibilities in a professional, ethical, and moral manner as set down in the Health and Care Professions Council Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics (2022).

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the process of patient assessment through the application of underpinning physiotherapy knowledge, theories and concepts. Evaluation of the findings of the assessment (also known as clinical reasoning) will enable you to make informed decisions in partnership with the patient about subsequent treatment and management options (plan). In this module you will develop essential communication and consultation skills including assessing capacity and gaining informed consent. You will learn how to take a patient’s history (subjective) and undertake a focussed physical assessment (objective) including patient safety, preparation and handling taking into account your patients individual differences and preferences. You will be supported to understand the principles of note taking and recording clinical data in a range of formats, to enable you to meet the requirements of the profession. Using a blended learning approach, your learning will be enhanced by the use of case studies ensuring your adopt a holistic approach to the assessment process (biological, psychological and social factors). Case studies may include a range of musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory and neurological conditions as well as cases where patients present with more than one condition (co- morbities). Interprofessional simulation activities will also facilitate you to link theory with practice and provide you with the opportunity to practice and receive feedback in a safe and supportive environment. In addition, the ‘care based’ practice placement experience embedded within the module will enable to you utilise, receive feedback on and subsequently develop a range of communication skills which are key to person centred effective assessment and evaluation. Learning and teaching activities during this module may be supported by our “experts by experience” group (service users) and/or practice partners through the demonstration of assessment and treatment techniques, and/or by discussing their lived experiences of their condition. The knowledge and skills gained during this module will prepare you for your subsequent practice placements.

This module aims to introduce you to concepts relating to human movement and to a range of therapy and rehabilitation skills (both established and emerging) which, when applied in a balanced and timely manner, can restore movement and function when someone is affected by injury, illness or disability. In this module you will supported to understand how the principles and theories from physics, biomechanics and applied exercise science can be applied to physiotherapy practice. You will explore and learn about physical activity, exercise prescription and therapeutic skills such as functional rehabilitation, manual therapy (hands-on skills) and electrotherapy and how the application of these treatment options can result in physiological and structural change within the body. You will also focus the role of advice and on the biopsychosocial approach to rehabilitation and on what ?person centredÊ actually means. Throughout the module, you will develop your ability to select, plan, implement, manage and record a physiotherapy management programme aimed at the facilitation and restoration of movement and function safely and effectively. Case studies will be used throughout the module to support you in taking an holistic and evidenced based approach to rehabilitation for simple musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory and neurological conditions. Learning and teaching activities during this module may be supported by our “experts by experience” group (service users) through discussing their lived experiences of their condition. The values, skills and knowledge gained during this module will form a foundation which will be further developed in your subsequent Level 5 modules and practice placements.

The aim of this module is to develop your foundation knowledge relating to how the human body works as well as your knowledge of physical and mental health disease, disorder and dysfunction relevant to being a physiotherapist. This module will introduce you to the structure of the human body (anatomy) and how the human body functions (physiology). You will be supported to understand the body systems and the processes that take place within the body which are key to maintaining the health and wellbeing of an individual. You will also study the adaptations of these body systems and structures to ageing, perceived threat (such as pain, infection, inflammation and trauma) and to a range of disease processes (pathophysiology). Through exploring the pathological changes that occur in certain diseases you will be able to identify clinical features commonly encountered in physiotherapy practice. You will also be encouraged to develop skills in communicating key knowledge related to the structure and function of the human body in health and disease to a given audience such as service users, carers or other health professionals. This will prepare you to be able to provide information that enables individuals to be centre in their care or, for example to educate others about a disease process. The focus during this module will be on the structure and functioning of the musculoskeletal, nervous, cardiovascular and respiratory systems in health and disease. However the integration and interplay of other body systems will be addressed through case studies and simulation activities. Learning and teaching activities during this module may be supported by our “experts by experience” group (service users) through discussing their lived experiences of their condition.

Collaborate, don’t compete or repeat”. The aim of this module is to develop your knowledge and skillset to enable you to work collaboratively across professions, sectors and specialities. This will assist you to optimise the outcome for service users whilst promoting and protecting the service users interests at all times. The learning and teaching strategy is built on interactive group education between students working with group facilitators including academic, health and social care partners and experts by experience. The module is largely student led and uses problem and simulation based learning, observational visits and seminar-based groupwork. The module will use problem-based case scenarios with the aim of developing your knowledge of differing professional roles in coordinating care including scope of practice, as well as an understanding of the role and resources to support care in primary, acute and social care-based services within an integrated health economy. You will work with peers to embed the need to build and sustain professional relationships as an autonomous practitioner and collaboratively as a member of a team. You will develop a collaborative management plan and rationale which will be presented as part of the learning of the module. Case scenarios will be developed in partnership with experts by experience and draw upon a range of common enduring physical and mental health conditions. You will examine evidence of the importance of effective planning and communication of care, including safeguarding in practice, making and received appropriate referrals within and across care sectors and how this contributes positively to the safety, quality and economics of health care. You will be supported to understand how to evaluate your management plan using recognised and approved outcome measures in conjunction with services users and revise plans as required. As you progress through the module, you will develop inter-professional capabilities of communication, role clarification, decision-making and teamworking enabling you to practice in a non-discriminatory manner.

This interprofessional module will provide you with the opportunity to learn from, about and with students from other professional programmes. The use of evidence, research and enquiry is an integral part of professional health and social care practice. This module aims to prepare you to understand and critically evaluate evidence and will develop your knowledge of how to examine and improve practice through research and inquiry. As an interprofessional group you will be introduced to contemporary research methodologies and methods related to your profession and its underpinning knowledge base. You will examine sources of evidence and the ways to differentiate between different types of evidence. The concepts of research design, data collection, data analysis and research outcomes will be explored. Using a range of approaches and techniques you will develop confidence in systematically searching and critiquing evidence from a variety of sources to inform your own and others professional practice. You will also discuss the moral and ethical aspects of undertaking research demonstrating an appreciation of the role of service users in the research process.

The aim of this module is to explore evidence-based approaches to providing personalised, equitable and effective care for those with acute and longer term musculoskeletal conditions. You will further develop and integrate your knowledge, skills and professional behaviours related to pathophysiology, assessment and management. The importance of clinical reasoning will again be emphasised (building upon skills introduced in previous modules) enabling you to select and apply appropriate therapeutic interventions for both trauma and planned care patients underpinned by the principles of evidence based practice. You will consider evidence about the intensity and mode of physiotherapy intervention that can improve outcomes and patient experience across settings, including the independent and public sectors. You will be able to explore and develop skills in specialist areas such as chronic pain, remote assessment, ergonomics and fitness for work and will discuss how embedded technologies and data capture can support practice. During this module you will be supported by practice partners, experts by experience and/or simulation to develop your communication and handling skills to prepare you for practice. Scope of practice issues will be raised and discussed in order to help you to identify situations where onward referral including further investigations and/or signposting is relevant.

Rapid advances in medicine mean that more people are living longer, surviving trauma and living with one or more long term conditions such as cardiac, respiratory and neurological conditions. Building upon your Level 4 modules looking at human functioning in health and disease, assessment and rehabilitation, this module aims to develop your knowledge of physiotherapy assessment and holistic management and rehabilitation skills for individuals across the lifespan. The focus will be on developing your ability to form a working diagnosis following an evidence based assessment, applying problems solving and clinical reasoning skills to be able to formulate management plans which are specific, timely and progressive. Reflecting current practice, you will also explore the challenges of the management and rehabilitation of patients without a definitive diagnosis, managing complex rehabilitation cases with multisystem involvement affecting both physical and mental health and the benefits and risks associated with virtual rehabilitation and monitoring. Relevant case studies will be used to facilitate you to be able to critically discuss and evaluate physiotherapy management options referring to available evidence and national and/ or international guidelines. This will include developing knowledge, understanding and application of appropriate standardised outcome measures and gaining feedback from service users to evaluate the response to their care. You will explore the benefits of working with service users and/or their carers to facilitate service users preferred role in decision making and also reflect on the importance of using a range of communication strategies, including digital technologies to remove barriers to optimal care and patient outcomes. Simulation will enhance the learning and teaching activities in this module, enabling you to receive feedback on challenging issues such as safeguarding, duty of care and action following unexpected outcomes of interventions.

Acknowledging the emotional burden that comes with working in a pressurised environment, this module aims to introduce you to the range of factors that have the potential to affect your own health and well-being as a healthcare professional as well as developing a critical understanding of the challenges facing the public. As a professional healthcare student, it is vital that you look after your own health and wellbeing. You will be introduced to strategies of self-care and safe awareness related to your own health as well as being supported to recognise the characteristics and consequences of stress and anxiety both personally and professionally. The role of short and longer term management strategies such as support and signposting will facilitate you in maintaining a safe working environment, maintaining fitness to practice. Building upon these strategies, the module will also develop your knowledge and skills relating to empowering service users to engage with healthcare, take more responsibility for their own health and enhance motivation for lasting health behaviour change, all key factors in evidence based sustainable healthcare. By understanding the qualities, behaviours and benefits of leadership, and through exploring your own developmental needs as a leader, you will explore your role as a healthcare professional in promoting health in a variety of settings across the lifespan. You will understand the enablers and barriers to maintaining and improving the physical and mental health of service users such as health literacy and social isolation, to support the implementation of change. Using a blended learning approach, your learning will be enhanced by the use of case studies ensuring your adopt a holistic approach to empowering self and others. Learning and teaching activities during this module may be supported by our “experts by experience” group (service users) and/or practice partners and simulation activities will also facilitate you to link theory with practice and provide you with the opportunity to practice and receive feedback.

This module consists of two six-week practice placements – Practice Placement 2 (PP2) and Practice Placement 3 (PP3) which take place in a practice environment with supervision by practice educator(s)/supervisor(s). This module contributes to the recommendation by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy that you must complete a minimum of 1000 hours of practice placement learning during your programme of study. The aim of this module is to build upon your theory and practical skills developed from previous modules whilst assessing the fundamental professional qualities and behaviour required of a healthcare professional. You will be guided by a practice educator(s)/supervisor(s) who will support you in the development of your knowledge and skills in a relevant setting, which will normally include observing, analysing, and implementing evidence-based assessment strategies and physiotherapeutic interventions. As well as practice-based experience, experience may be gained in leadership, management and/or education based environments. Through a range of opportunities you will develop your communication and teamworking skills. You will be expected to be able to manage and prioritise your workload with support and demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practice to justify your choice of physiotherapy management strategies for individuals and/or groups. During the placement you will be required to fulfil your duties and responsibilities in a professional, ethical, and moral manner as set down in the Health and Care Professions Council Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics (2022) and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Code of Professional Values & Behaviour (2019).

As a healthcare professional you will be working within an evolving and challenging, high risk environment. To be able to thrive and be successful within this context, individuals and organisations need to be able to anticipate areas for change and develop in response to these demands. This modules aims to enable you to critically evaluate and respond to these drivers, developing your knowledge, skills and qualities so that you can lead yourself as an autonomous practitioner, work in partnership within a multiprofessional context and lead others. You will evaluate the limitations of current healthcare both in the United Kingdom and globally, before exploring a range of factors such as such as policy and priorities, efficiency/inefficiency, sustainability, innovation and risk, error and quality management that drive the need for change. You will be introduced to the principles of information governance and understand how the safe and effective use of data can help to inform change. You will then apply the principles of leadership and management to individual and organisational contexts, analysing how strategies relating to education, team work and coproduction can facilitate you to lead future change; futureproofing the profession and the healthcare system as a whole. You will be required to demonstrate your ability to work in a group to evidence the need for change and defend your position. Practice partners, experts by experience and guest speakers may be used to facilitate critical discussions of patient complaints, never events and near misses, case studies and good practice examples to support you in linking theory with practice.

The aim of this module is to motivate you to capture and harness data to support transformation as an Allied Health Professional. As a healthcare professional, being able to develop, plan, deliver and report on a systematic investigation is an important attribute to address real world problems and challenges. Building upon your previous knowledge in research design and methodology, you will be supported to develop your own study into an appropriate and relevant key area of professional practice or interest. Projects that may be undertaken include primary research, literature reviews, evaluation research or service improvement/development projects. From inception to completion, you will utilise key skills obtained throughout your degree pathway such as reviewing and critiquing literature, data analysis and interpretation of the findings, implications for practice, limitations, reflections, and recommendations for further study and future practice. To develop and enhance your ability to work independently, the emphasis is on experiential learning during this module. Lectures and seminars will be provided for key topics and a range of learning resources will be accessible through relevant virtual learning platforms. You will be also supported by a supervisor but you will be expected to engage in supervisor-directed and independent study.

This module aims to build upon your prior theoretical and practical learning related to musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory and neurological physiotherapy and evidence based practice, to further develop and integrate your knowledge, skills, behaviours and values with a focus on more specialist and complex, multi-pathological presentations across the lifecycle. In this module you will examine how physiotherapy can minimise inequalities and poorer outcomes in higher risk and clinical areas including those with protected characteristics, inclusion populations, black and ethnic minority communities, people with learning disability, people accessing women’s health services and those experiencing mental illness, chronic pain, life limiting conditions and multimorbidity. Attention is given to the further development and application of your clinical reasoning and problem solving skills and you will explore patient experiences and data to understand preferences and needs, and consider intervention and models of service delivery that can improve outcomes and accelerate improvement. You will be supported to recognise the value of multidisciplinary reviews, case conferences and other methods of review, understanding the need to engage service users and carers in their own journey. You will explore pertinent professional issues such as duty or care, capacity, ongoing consent, safeguarding, breaking confidentiality and cessation of treatment and the impact such issues have on self and others. Case studies and simulation activities will be used throughout the module to support you in taking a holistic and evidence based approach. Learning and teaching activities during this module may be supported by practice partners and our “experts by experience” group (service users) through discussing their lived experiences of their conditions.

Moving into the role of a registered allied health professional (AHP) marks an important, and often challenging, transition along both a professional and personal journey. This module aims to draw upon the knowledge and experiences you have gained throughout your programme of study and offer you further skills and strategies to enable you to positively enter the workplace. To prepare you for working in on call scenarios and Áout of hoursÒ services including orthopaedic weekend working this module incorporates simulated practice so that you enhance your existing skills to assess and manage acutely unwell respiratory patients and work more independently as part of unfamiliar teams. You will be encouraged to critically reflect upon the wide variety of career options open to you and develop your curriculum vitae and interview skills in preparation for following your desired career route. Through a series of guided workshops, you will explore content related to the pre preceptorship module including: positive appraisal of learning during challenging situations, personal wellbeing at work, everyday work, systems that shape everyday practice ethics, accountability, and decision-making, developing and working in an inclusive environment, building positive relationships and sustaining change and learning. Acknowledging the importance of education as a pillar of professional practice, you will develop skills in mentoring and coaching and reflect on your future role as a practice educator. Recognising your professional responsibilities to meet the requirements of the HCPC and accrediting body, you will develop a portfolio of evidence to support your transition to a registered professional. Using examples from practice, the value of reflective practice and the need to record the outcome of such reflection to support continuous improvement will be explored. Practice partners, experts by experience and guest speakers may be used to facilitate learning and teaching activities as part of this module. You will required to exercise your personal initiative to identify areas of personal development during this module.

This module consists of your two final six-week practice placements – Practice Placement 4 (PP4) and Practice Placement 5 (PP5) which take place in a practice environment with supervision by practice educator(s)/supervisor(s). This module contributes to the recommendation by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy that you must complete a minimum of 1000 hours of practice placement learning during your programme of study. The expectation is that you will use your experiences from previous modules and practice placements to further develop as a practitioner. You should be working towards becoming self-initiators, more autonomous whilst demonstrating the fundamental professional qualities and behaviour required of a healthcare professional. As in previous placements, you will be guided by a practice educator(s)/supervisor(s) who will support you in the development of your knowledge and skills. You be expected to demonstrate criticality in your practice and where opportunities arise be able to contribute to the profession via leadership, evaluating and improving services. As well as practice-based experience, experience may be gained in leadership, management and/or education based environments. During the placement you will be required to fulfil your duties and responsibilities in a professional, ethical, and moral manner as set down in the Health and Care Professions Council Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics (2022) and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Code of Professional Values and Behaviour (2019).