BSc Podiatric Medicine (2-year degree)

Our BSc (Hons) in Podiatric Medicine is a unique 2-year programme taught on the Crewe campus designed to educate and train those who wish to pursue a professional career in podiatry, as a registered health care professional, who specialises in the management of disease and disorder of the lower limb and foot. As a podiatrist, our graduates will work as independent clinicians who will identify and analyse complex health problems linked to the foot and lower limbs and develop preventive and corrective solutions to these problems.

This is the only accelerated two-year full-time undergraduate programme leading to a professional and academic qualification in podiatric medicine.

The University of Buckingham BSc (Hons) Podiatric Medicine programme is accredited by The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Key benefits

• Our programme introduces its students through clinical skills, patient contact and theoretical training to be adaptable and prepared for an ever changing healthcare, industrial or commercial environment.
• Our teaching strategy promotes student centred learning with a focus on small tutorials and workshops rather than large lecture based programmes.
• It costs the same in tuition fees as other 3 year BSc. Programmes. In fact on average there is a saving of around £12000 living costs when studying an accelerated programme.
• On average 96% of graduates are in employment within 6 months of obtaining their degree.
• Academic and NHS clinicians work side by side in our state of the art clinical facility to deliver a comprehensive clinical programme that mirrors the requirements of the modern healthcare environment.
• Our programme provides over 1000 hours of high-quality clinical placements alongside our NHS partners that span the spectrum of podiatric medicine within the public and private sectors.
• The clinical teaching programme involves experience with patients from various medical/ surgical disciplines; this ensures a high level of quality practice education for students.
• The course offers wide-ranging specialist opportunities which include addressing biomechanical and developmental issues in children, aiding and facilitating elderly mobility, treating chronic conditions such as diabetes, peripheral arterial disease and arthritis that directly impact the foot and lower limbs and treating and managing lower extremity sports and fitness injuries.
• We believe our graduates are better prepared for further study. Students who can complete a 3 year course in just 2 years have already demonstrated the ability to work under pressure and complete tasks to a high standard within a set timeframe.
• When in employment, employees do not get a long summer break and neither do our students. This informs prospective employers that our graduates are already accustomed to the demands of the workplace which enables our graduates to stand out from the crowd

A Levels

Required grades: BBB

International baccalaureate

Required points: 34

Subject requirements

Required subjects: At least one Science

Preferred subjects: Chemistry or Biology

In the case of applicants who do not have Biology at A Level they should have studied the subject to AS Level (or equivalent) and achieved at least a grade B/C

Equivalent qualifications

• Approved Medical/Biomedical foundation programme
• Irish Leaving Certificate – 120 points to include B in Biology
• Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers – 120 points to include Biology
• Access to HE Diploma
• BTEC programme – DDM to include sports and exercise science, sports therapy.
• For applicants offering a degree – they should have a Bachelor degree in a subject cognate to Medicine, Nursing or Allied Health and have or be predicted a minimum classification of 2.1.

Equivalent international qualification

Prospective international applicants with other qualifications should contact us for an individual assessment.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language we will ask you to obtain a recognised qualification. The required IELTS level for this course is 7.0 (with a minimum of 6.5 in each category). The required CAE average scare is 191, with a minimum of 185 in each paper.

Selection days

Our admissions process consists of two stages: the first stage is to submit an application with all supporting documents (either via UCAS or directly to us), via the Apply button.

If the applicant meets our entry requirements, he or she is invited to the second stage which is a Selection event. We hold numerous selection events during each admissions cycle.

Selection Day is when we interview candidates using Multiple Mini Interviews. Our decision to make an offer is based on how well the candidates do at Selection.

The course will introduce, in a defined manner, inter-professional learning in both academic and clinical modules. It will have, as its central focus, the integration of theory with clinical practice with opportunities for interprofessional learning with other health care professionals to provide a comprehensive clinical teaching programme. The clinical placements will span the spectrum of podiatric medicine including experience with patients from various medical/surgical disciplines to ensure a high level of quality practice education for students.

The programme is taught using a range of teaching methodologies such as lectures, small group tutorial sessions, workshops, problem-based learning, one-to-one personal tutoring, seminars, practicals and personal assessments.

What subjects will I study?

Level 4 (September – March)

• Podiatric Dermatology
• Podiatric Medicine 1 (Introduction and orientation to clinical placements)
• Applied anatomy and physiology
• Lower Limb Kinetics and Kinematics
• Podiatric Medicine 2 (In house block placement)

At Levels 5 and 6 the theory is delivered prior to the professional practice, which mainly occurs outside the university, to allow the application of theory to practice in a real-world setting.

Level 5 (April – December)

• Musculoskeletal assessment
• Medicine and pathophysiology
• Health and Behaviour
• Pharmacology (POM-S)
• Musculoskeletal diagnosis & management
• Podiatric Medicine 3 (Assessment and diagnosis of the complex patient in practice)
• Podiatric Medicine 3 (Block placement)

Level 6 (January – September)

• Evidence based practice
• Local Anaesthesia and Surgery (POM-A)
• Research Methods and Design
• Leadership and innovation in practice
• Research dissertation
• Podiatric Medicine 4 (Management of the complex patient in practice)
• Podiatric Medicine 4 (Block placement)

The introduction of 5 longitudinal themes within the curriculum allows for greater integration of related subject matter.

• Core Medical Knowledge
• Professional Development/Lifelong Learning
• Research
• Clinical Skills
• Multidisciplinary Team Working & Interprofessional Education

How will I be assessed?

The assessment strategy utilises a range of methods designed to meet both the programme and modular learning outcomes. ‘Assessment for learning’ (rather than ‘examination of learning’) is the core concept for teaching and learning at all levels in our programme level.

This 2 year accelerated podiatry programme introduces synoptic assessment for learning as the primary summative outcome assessment strategy, which encourages each student to better understand the connections between the interrelated modules and subject areas within each academic level (across one or more terms).

Assessment Types

Synoptic assessments

• Written examinations
• Clinical focused examinations:
  • Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
  • Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE)
  • Personal Development Portfolio
  • Clinical assessment
• Individual/ group presentations
• Viva

Non-synoptic assessments

• Written Assignments
  • Essay
  • Individual Project
• Pre-Clinical OSCE/ OSPE

As a qualified Podiatrist, the following are all possible:

• NHS employee working as a hospital or community clinician or in a management role
• Business owner running a private practice
• Medical sales representative
• Lecturer or researcher working in a university
• Self-employed locum working in private practices and private hospitals
• Clinician working overseas
• Representative or technician working with one of the associated trade organisations
• NHS Consultant Podiatrist
• Specialist practitioner working in podiatric surgery

Transferable Skills for your CV

You will gain experience in both academic and clinical environments during your degree and this will equip you with many transferable skills. Transferrable skills are those skills that can be applied to lots of different situations. Make the most of any opportunities you have to develop your transferable skills as these can, help you in your further studies, boost your CV and chances of getting a job you want, be useful in your future career and in life in general.

Transferable skills gained on your course include:

• • oral and written communication
  • analytical and problem solving
  • team working
  • management and leadership
  • planning and organisation
  • empathy
  • time management
  • taking initiative
  • adaptability and flexibility
  • Conflict management
  • networking
  • research
  • computing and the use of statistics

NHS learning support fund

Podiatric medicine and other Allied Health professional degree students can apply for an NHS grant and will receive at least £5,000 a year. There will also be up to £3,000 further funding. You may be eligible for additional financial support from the NHS while studying for this degree. Check the criteria on the NHS learning support fund website.

Discounts

Students who graduate from the University and plan to continue their studies with a postgraduate degree at Buckingham can benefit from a very generous automatic discount on their fees:

• 33%, those with a first class honours degree from Buckingham
• 25%, those with a Second Class Honours, Upper Division (2:1) degree from Buckingham

Scholarships

The University of Buckingham Bursary aims to support students on low incomes or from low-income families. The bursary is worth £2000 per year and students receive this as a termly reduction in tuition fees (£500 reduction per term). Read about the eligibility criteria and how to apply.

We welcome applications in two different ways – directly via our online application form or through UCAS.

If you’re interested in transferring to Buckingham from another university then please get in touch to talk through your options.