MSc Advancing Physiotherapy Practice

Study a course designed for physiotherapists who want to advance their clinical, therapeutic and reflective skills. It enhances your effectiveness by integrating and applying practical skills, theory and research. You identify ways to improve the healthcare services you provide, enabling improved patient outcomes.

This course is for qualified physiotherapists and aims to improve your practice by developing your assessment skills and clinical reasoning. You explore ways to measure the effectiveness of your clinical practice as well as issues such as collaborative practice and engaging patients.

All modules focus on elements of clinical practice, and we encourage you to apply your learning to the setting in which you work or wish to specialise. This ensures that the course gives you a balance of practical and academic skills. Assessments are designed to replicate the challenges you may face within the workplace. This offers an authentic experience and the opportunity to develop skills that are directly transferable to practice.

The course helps to improve your employment prospects and clinical skills, enabling you to lead clinical teams or work in teaching or research. If you study the course full-time, we provide placement experience in the UK where you work with an experienced clinician who is also an experienced tutor. The placement is an integral part of the course, so you choose the field in which you specialise and then apply your learning to clinical practice. If you study the course part-time and already work in clinical practice, you will be supported to apply your learning in your current post.

You learn from enthusiastic tutors including academics who have physiotherapy research published in peer reviewed journals. This includes Dr Stephen May, who is an internationally renowned physiotherapist who has contributed to several well known textbooks including the key text on the McKenzie Approach 'Lumbar Spine: Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy'.

Distance learning study
A key feature of this course is that all modules can be studied as distance learning or as university-based teaching. Distance learning allows you to study from any location in the world, and at times that are convenient for your work and life commitments.

To aid your professional and clinical development we use a range of online learning and teaching activities, such as interactive tutor and peer group discussions, patient video case studies and reflective journals around clinical practice. Experienced tutors also provide regular personal guidance and feedback.

2016 entry requirements**You typically need an approved degree in physiotherapy with work experience. If you don't have relevant work experience, you typically need a 2.1 or above or equivalent.**If English is not your first language you will need an IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills, or a recognised equivalent. If your level of English language is currently below IELTS 6.0 we recommend you consider an appropriate Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve the required level of English.