Why you should study this course
Our Physiotherapy BSc (Hons) course is designed to provide you with the skills, knowledge and experience required to be a safe, effective physiotherapist that will not only make a difference to individuals throughout their life but also to wider society in a variety of healthcare contexts.
The physiotherapy programme aims to develop safe and effective physiotherapists who have the skills of problem solving, enterprise and resourcefulness to respond to the changing needs of future healthcare. Your learning experience will help you to adopt the professional values and behaviours expected of a physiotherapist - working respectfully within a multidisciplinary team, providing healthcare underpinned by current evidence and placing the clients in the centre of the therapeutic process.
As a professionally accredited course, it is designed to prepare you personally and professionally for a successful career as a chartered physiotherapist. You will develop a wide range of practical and academic skills in contemporary physiotherapy with multiple opportunities to develop your clinical skills through work-based learning – a total of 1,120 hours completed over the course of five clinical placements – in which you will participate in physiotherapy practice under the supervision of a fully qualified, experienced physiotherapist.
The course not only provides you with an academic qualification but also a professional status, as the course is accredited by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) and enables you to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) (additional costs may apply).
A distinctive feature of our course is that your skills development and essential learning takes place in your first year prior to clinical placement. This foundational learning occurs in our state-of-the-art Alison Gingell Building, allowing the use of authentic simulation experiences to put your learning into context in a supportive environment prior to your first placement. We are regularly informed that clinicians enjoy having Coventry students because they are so well-prepared for placement and can optimise the experience.
The multi-million-pound Alison Gingell Building provides state-of-the-art facilities for teaching and research, featuring hospital simulation, interactive manakins, community houses, rehabilitation, clinical skills training, sport and exercise environments.
You’ll be taught by a team of enthusiastic, research-active staff who place great emphasis on your individual development, equipping you with the theoretical, practical, analytical, interpersonal and research skills required for effective clinical reasoning. You will have the opportunity to develop the confidence to make informed, competent treatment decisions, initially during placement and subsequently as you move forward into your physiotherapy career.
You’ll have the opportunity to attend guest lectures led by experts in their fields and employers in large NHS trusts, private practice, industry and sport (subject to availability). Previous speakers have included the Head of Sports Medicine at WBA FC, and Karen Middleton, Chief Executive of the CSP.
It is acknowledged that working as an allied health professional requires emotional intelligence, resilience and a dedication to lifelong learning. Throughout the course you will be supported in your personal and professional development in order to meet these demands. This will allow you to develop strategies to protect your own personal health and wellbeing as well as identify opportunities to flourish in your career.
What you'll study
Year one
You will be taught the theoretical knowledge and practical skills required to assess and treat a variety of client groups within diverse healthcare settings. Simulation, service-user involvement, interprofessional activities and innovative teaching practices will enable you to apply this learning and gain feedback in a supportive environment providing a smooth transition into the clinical environment.
Modules
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Pathophysiology - 20 credits
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Anatomy of the Upper Quadrant - 10 credits
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Anatomy of the Lower Quadrant - 10 credits
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Introduction to Physiotherapy Assessment - 10 credits
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Physiotherapy Intervention and Management - 20 credits
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Movement Analysis, Physical Activity and Exercise - 10 credits
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Health and Wellbeing in the Community - 20 credits
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Research and Study Skills - 20 credits
Year two
During the course you will undertake 30 weeks of practice-based education, which is sourced for you by the university, well in excess of the minimum required by the CSP.
During your second year, you will complete three out of five clinical placements offering you a wide range of educational and professional transformative learning opportunities. Each placement lasts for 6 weeks and you will work 40 hours per week, giving you a total of 1200 practice hours throughout the course. We will visit you whilst you are out on placement to ensure you are meeting your learning objectives and support you and our clinical colleagues in the exciting process of transferring theory into practice. We have strong partnerships with practice to ensure placement quality and capacity. These partnerships are within both NHS and private settings, ensuring a wide range of educational and professional transformative learning opportunities representative of the diverse professional practice.
The CSP requires that placements should make progressively greater demands on students and this is reflected in the learning outcomes and assessment of the placement modules. Placements are positioned within the course to allow for blocks of university-based study that support your advancement through these placement modules towards you becoming an autonomous qualified practitioner.
Modules
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Decision-Making in Physiotherapy Practice - 20 credits
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Entering Practice (Placement 1) - 20 credits
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Evidence-Informed Physiotherapy - 30 credits
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Exploring Values-Based Physiotherapy in Practice - 10 credits
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Progressing Practice (Placement 2) - 20 credits
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Developing towards Autonomous Practice (Placement 3) - 20 credits
Final year
Employment and your future career will be at the forefront of your mind as you approach the end of your course and the final year modules facilitate your preparation for entry into the physiotherapy profession.
A dedicated module exploring employability, enterprise and entrepreneurism is designed to equip you with the skills to secure your first job and flourish professionally within public, private or third-sector organisations. Another module aims to support the development of the leadership behaviours and management and skills required to function effectively as a newly qualified healthcare professional within a multi-disciplinary team in the delivery of high-quality care. In addition, you will complete your last two university sourced clinical placements of 40 hours per week over 6 weeks each, culminating with the final placement which provides the opportunity to perform in a supervised environment at the level of a newly qualified physiotherapist.
You will also be required to undertake a detailed research project, conducting an investigation in an area of interest. Past students, for example, have conducted experiments in physical activities, such as breathing or jumping, to analyse electromyography (EMG) activity of muscles. Others have focused on qualitative research, conducting focus groups with footballers or current students, for instance, to understand different attitudes to treating people with a muscle injury or communication difficulties. We are proud that a number of students have disseminated their research at large physiotherapy conferences. There is a suite of research modules throughout the course that will prepare you to engage in your own research and you will have a dedicated supervisor to assist you in the process.
Modules
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Engaging in Quality Practice (Placement 4) - 20 credits
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Entrepreneurialism in the Workplace - 10 credits
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Advancing Research Skills - 10 credits
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Exploring Physiotherapy Practice - 20 credits
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Transition to Autonomous Practice (Placement 5) - 20 credits
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Dissertation - 20 credits
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Leadership and Management for Healthcare Professionals - 20 credits
