Healthcare Science

With the exception of GCSEs, all qualifications must have been awarded no more than five years before your year of application.

Entry criteria 2021

With the exception of GCSEs, all qualifications must have been awarded no more than five years before your year of application.

This is a modular degree that begins with a broad foundation of knowledge about all of the body systems and the disease processes that affect them but becomes highly specialised by the second and third year.

Year 1

Year one combines an introduction to the biomedical knowledge underpinning healthcare science as a whole, and especially the field of physiological sciences. From the start the course is explicitly designed as a preparation for clinical practice, slanted towards medically relevant information and clinical context. During this year you will undertake 10 weeks of clinical training, divided between different sites to give you a variety of experiences. You will work in both Cardiology and Respiratory/Sleep departments at this stage. During placements, you will gain experience of working as part of a team, demonstrating professional behaviour and perform (under supervision) a range of routine cardiac and respiratory procedures, including electrocardiograms (ECG), blood pressure, spirometry and pulse oximetry. 

At the end of year one you will select your speciality preference, either Cardiac Physiology or Respiratory/Sleep Physiology. Thereafter your learning will be divided between modules that are common to both strands and specialist modules that are specific to your choice.

Year 2

In year two you will learn about the pathophysiology of common diseases affecting both the cardiovascular and respiratory/sleep systems, taught by clinicians, scientists and researchers who specialise in these subjects and aided by time spent working with the specimens in our extensive pathology museum. You will learn to understand the scientific basis for the complex equipment that Clinical Physiologists use, calibrate and quality assure. You will also receive training in the research skills necessary for successful completion of your third-year audit/research project. Most importantly, the specialist modules cover the detailed physiology of your chosen speciality (Cardiac or Respiratory/Sleep), in interactive sessions delivered by our core staff of registered Cardiac and Respiratory/Sleep Physiologists, including expert guest lecturers. They will cover the highly skilled diagnostic techniques, methodologies and interpretation required for clinical practice, reinforced by 15 weeks of speciality-specific training in your designated clinical placement site. During placement, you will build on the clinical skills developed in year one and also undertake more advanced procedures. 

Year 3

Year three focuses on developing your ability to apply everything that you’ve learned so far to the practice of Clinical Physiology. University-based teaching will focus on developing your specialist academic skills, while 25 weeks in the clinical workplace will complete your clinical training, providing the hands-on experience needed to build real expertise. During placement you will undertake more advanced clinical procedures. In cardiac physiology, this includes cardiac catheterisation and in respiratory/sleep physiology, this includes setting up and interpretation of sleep studies and setting up of treatments such as CPAP therapy.

You will complete and write up your clinical audit/research project. This includes collection and analysis of data, which is carried out in your clinical placement site. The third year will see you transform from a student to someone who has the knowledge, experience, professionalism and clinical competencies required of a Clinical Physiology Practitioner.

At St George's, University of London we offer a broad range of learning environments which include traditional lecture-tutorials, interactive workshops, laboratory, practical and clinical skills activities, student-led seminars and web-based delivery. The modules which make up a course of study are assessed using a variety of different methods, enabling you to demonstrate your capabilities in a range of ways.

This is an accredited NHS Clinical Physiology Practitioner Training Programme, developed under the Department of Health Modernising Scientific Careers initiative to train scientists for a patient centred role within the NHS. This course will provide you with the skills and knowledge for a career as a clinical physiologist, either in the cardiac or respiratory/sleep speciality. You will play a vital role in accurate and timely diagnosis, carrying out investigations, interpreting and reporting results and involved in the treatment of your patients. 

Ours is the largest course of this type and St George's is the only university in London accredited to train students in both Cardiac Physiology and Respiratory/Sleep Physiology. Our cohort sizes are small, allowing for excellent and individualised academic support.

Students have the chance to gain academic and workplace experience in both specialities before making an informed decision about their preferred field at the end of the first year.

Graduates are eligible for professional registration, and may apply for NHS Band 5 Clinical Physiology positions.

Teaching and learning

Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, tutorials, case-based learning, data interpretation exercises, group work, computer-aided learning, clinical skills training in simulated environments and clinical placements. In year one you will have anatomy tutorials in the dissecting room, and time spent working with students on other healthcare-related courses (including medical, biomedical, physiotherapy, diagnostic and therapeutic radiography) to lay the foundation for future practice as part of a clinical multidisciplinary team.

Over the three year programme, you will spend 50 weeks undertaking Clinical Training modules. Our clinical placement sites are NHS hospital departments, most of which are in London, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. Many are in teaching hospitals and tertiary centres that can offer a wide range of facilities and experiences. Clinical training is delivered by highly qualified, practising Clinical Physiologists with experience in training, supervising and mentoring students. During these modules you will build a portfolio of clinical and professional skills and competencies, to the standard expected by professional organisations, as well as carrying out a substantial clinical audit/research project.

Assessment methods

This course uses a range of assessment techniques that are chosen to match the competencies being learned and tested within each module. These include written exam papers, academic coursework (essays, posters, presentations, reflective writing), the final year project dissertation (including clinical viva), clinical assessments that take place during placements and a portfolio of clinical work.

We use some formative assessments early in the course to help you to develop your skills, and provide interactive learning resources to help you judge your own understanding of some of the more difficult material. The Clinical Training modules are pass-fail, but marks for the other modules accumulate to give your final degree classification.

Placements

Student's studying Healthcare Science spend a large amount of time on placement. Below is a list of hospitals students that offer clinical placements*.

*This list is subject to change and should be used as a guide of where students may be able to go.

Successful students are eligible to apply for NHS positions up to Band 5 in their chosen field, and for professional registration with both the Academy of Healthcare Sciences (AHCS) and the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists (RCCP). Once employed, students may gain skills and experience and progress to more senior positions. 

Previous students have also gone on to undertake further study (e.g. Scientist Training Programme (STP)) or to study medicine. 

Clinical Physiologists are important members of the multidisciplinary teams that provide patient care under the NHS. They play a vital role in accurate and timely diagnosis, effective management and treatment of patients.

Cardiac Physiology

As a practitioner specialising in cardiac physiology, you will undertake a wide range of diagnostic procedures in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac disease. Cardiac Physiologists perform a wide range of diagnostic techniques, starting with electrocardiograms (ECGs), including:

• on-going patient monitoring in the form of ambulatory ECG and blood pressure

• exercise stress tests

• cardio-pulmonary exercise tests

• echocardiogram and electrocardiogram.

They also play a vital role in the treatment of patients, during cardiac catheterisation and cardiac rhythm management.

Respiratory and Sleep Physiology

As a practitioner specialising in respiratory and sleep physiology, you will undertake a wide range of routine and highly complex diagnostic procedures on your patients, including spirometry, measurement of gas exchange, exercise testing, blood gas analysis, allergy testing and sleep studies. Patients (including children) may be referred to you for many reasons, including low oxygen levels, abnormal chest X-rays, shortness of breath, suspected sleep disorders (e.g. sleep apnoea), pre-operative assessment or suspected respiratory diseases such as emphysema, COPD, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer and asthma.

In addition to diagnosis, practitioners are also actively involved in the treatment of patients. This include ventilation devices in patients with sleep apnoea or respiratory failure and oxygen therapy in patients with low oxygen levels.

Clinical Physiologists also participate in clinical audit and / or research, helping to drive the advances in knowledge, techniques and technologies that make Clinical Physiology a continually advancing, challenging, motivating and rewarding career.

Links

• What is healthcare science? - NHS Careers

• Careers in healthcare science booklet (PDF)

Apply for this course through UCAS (the University and College Admissions Service) by 15 January in the year of entry. There are no upper age limits, so we welcome applications from mature students.

We have been working hard to find ways to teach our courses without disruption, while keeping our staff and students safe and making sure we follow government guidance on Covid-19. We won’t be making any significant changes to the content of our programmes, but there will be some changes to the way they are delivered. Please see below for further details of how this may affect this course.

If government advice changes, we may need to update our plans. If we do so, we will update this information, and will keep current students and offer holders informed by email.

We will also continue to update our frequently asked questions page for applicants and offer holders and current students as more information becomes available.

Course content

We are not making any significant changes to the content of the Healthcare Science programme. There may be some minor changes to how we deliver the programme – see below table.

There is a possibility that government advice on social distancing may change in the future and this may restrict access to the campus. Even if this were to be the case, we expect to be able to continue to deliver the core modules of the programme and the final year specialisms and pathways as planned.

Supporting vulnerable students

Students considered to be most at risk from Covid-19 should work at home wherever possible in line with government advice. Students who are going on placement will be required to complete an individual risk assessment and others may choose to do so. In addition, students from vulnerable groups, including care leavers, students estranged from their families and students with disabilities, are prioritised for help from the University’s Hardship Funds and for accommodation in Horton Halls. Priority for loans of laptops from the University will be given to those eligible to receive a hardship grant; those registered as disabled, care leavers or with caring responsibilities; and international students who may have difficulty sourcing an appropriate device on arrival in the UK.

We recognise the impact that the current circumstances may have on mental health and have expanded our counselling provision, offering remote appointments to any student. In addition, every student will be allocated a personal tutor to offer individual pastoral and academic support from the start of their studies. (Further information about health and wellbeing advice during Covid-19 is available here.)

Priority consideration has been given to support for students with disabilities when accessing teaching and learning online, through the provision of automatic live captioning and British Sign Language within our primary technologies of Panopto, MS Teams and Big Blue Button. These can benefit a range of students, especially those who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as students with an Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC), memory processing issues, and for whom English is an additional language.

Human-level captioning is also available where a need has been established through the Disability Advisory team. Human-level captioning requests are processed by the Learning Technology Services (LTS) section and can be requested by email to lts@sgul.ac.uk.  

How the course will be delivered

The existing learning outcomes for our modules and courses will remain in place. From September to December 2020 all students will primarily access their learning, including learning materials, via the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Canvas. Hands-on practical teaching and learning activities will be delivered on campus with appropriate social distancing and personal protective equipment (PPE) measures put in place, and with controls on the number of people in each location.

The online components of the course will be designed to balance interactive real-time sessions with lecturers and other students, with self-paced independent study. Students will have clear learning pathways through the activities they are expected to engage with, and there will be opportunities to check learning and progress.

Personal tutor support and all other student support, such as the Academic Success Centre, will also be online for this period, using a range of methods for staying in touch, such as telephone, email and the University’s web conferencing systems BigBlueButton and MSTeams.

Pending Health Education England (HEE) approval, placements are currently expected to resume from September 2020 with minimum changes to planned delivery or timings. All students on placement will be expected to undertake a risk assessment and adhere to local Trust working patterns and guidance.  

To get the most from online study, hardware requirements have been established and communicated to all existing students and offer holders. Students will need their own personal computer or laptop and an internet connection in their place of accommodation. This needs to be in place at the start of the course. Once enrolled, students will have the ability to use Office 365 as part of our institutional licence, and access software required for their modules/courses via AppsAnywhere. In addition, we offer Office for Mac via Ofice365, but only the following applications are available for Mac: Teams, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, OneNote. Web-based Office applications are available on Mac. Full details are available here. There is a provision for students who may struggle to meet the hardware requirements to contact our IT Hardship team.

Risk assessment

Course length

Additional costs

Assessment methods

Award

Incoming students (starting September 2020)

The Healthcare Science (Physiological Sciences) BSc is accredited by National school of Healthcare Science and the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists. Both bodies have confirmed that the programme continues to meet their standards. Graduates from the programme will therefore be eligible to apply for registration when they complete the programme. 

Location of study

All face-to-face teaching will take place at St George’s, University of London on the campus that we share with St George’s Hospital in Tooting, with appropriate social distancing measures in place. We have not explored alternative locations for teaching and have no immediate plans to do so. If government advice on social distancing changes, we will consider ways in which we can deliver teaching on site in a manner that is safe for students and staff.

For clinical programmes, placement providers will continue to offer placements as they have in the previous years. We will use our existing procedures for allocating students to placements.

Consenting to these changes