Continuing Professional Development

Musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging

For accreditation information about our musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging courses please see the course pages listed below.

Part of this pathway will include a mentorship with a clinical supervisor.

Aims

This pathway supports clinicians from a range of professional backgrounds to access musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging.

Students engage with the technical considerations that underpin this imaging modality prior to musculoskeletal scanning protocols. This face to face teaching occurs at weekends at the Colchester campus. Students need a mentor to complete the clinical learning components of this pathway.

The pathway includes optional modules covering ultrasound guided injections or service evaluation.

Learning objectives

• To provide students with critical understanding of the key concepts underlying musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging.
• To facilitate students’ acquisition of practical musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging skills.
• To ensure students acquire a range of transferable employment related skills.
• To enable students to evaluate and respond to professional considerations related to musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging.
• To provide students with skills to access and critically appraise research findings to develop their own evidence-based practice.
• To enhance students understanding of the essential principles of research design and to conduct an extensive piece of independent research including: planning, formulating, designing, choosing research methods, collecting data, analysing, interpreting and writing-up.

Outcomes

We offer three qualifications in this pathway, depending on the total number of "credits" you undertake:

• Postgraduate certificate (60 credits)
• Postgraduate diploma (120 credits)
• Master of Science (MSc) (180 credits)

Advanced musculoskeletal assessment and practice

Aims

This pathway enables experienced clinicians in the musculoskeletal field to advance their practice. All students will engage in material related to clinical decision making and there are options available to advance clinical skills including injection therapy and independent prescribing.

There is flexibility within this pathway for students to direct their learning to topics and regions of personal interest.

The pathway is aligned with Health Education England's framework for advanced clinical practice, (the Postgraduate Diploma and MSc include all four pillars of advanced clinical practice, education, research and leadership).

Learning objectives

• Provide you with critical understanding of the key concepts underlying advanced musculoskeletal clinical skills beyond your normal professional scope of practice.
• Provide you with the opportunity to acquire advanced musculoskeletal clinical skills beyond your normal professional scope of practice.
• Provide you with skills to access and critically appraise research findings to develop your own evidence-based practice.
• Enhance your understanding of the essential principles of research design and to conduct an extensive piece of independent research including: planning, formulating, designing, choosing research methods, collecting data, analysing, interpreting and writing-up.
• Ensure you acquire a range of transferable employment related skills.

Outcomes

You can finish this pathway with one of three qualifications, depending on how many credits you complete:

• Postgraduate certificate (60 credits)
• Postgraduate diploma (120 credits)
• Master of Science (MSc) (180 credits)

Musculoskeletal Practice (via credit accumulation)

This course will enable an experienced musculoskeletal clinicians to gain academic recognition for their continuing professional development.

This course is run through "credit accumulation". This means that, apart from a few core modules for the Diploma and MSc, students will be able to direct their learning to topics of personal interest through a broader choice of module options.

All students will engage in material related to clinical decision making and there are options available to advance clinical skills including injection therapy and independent prescribing.

Learning objectives

• To provide students with critical understanding of the key concepts underlying advanced musculoskeletal clinical skills.
• To provide students with the opportunity to acquire advanced musculoskeletal clinical skills.
• To provide students with skills to access and critically appraise research findings to develop their own evidence-based practice.
• To enhance students understanding of the essential principles of research design and to conduct an extensive piece of independent research including: planning, formulating, designing, choosing research methods, collecting data, analysing, interpreting and writing-up.
• To ensure students acquire a range of transferable employment related skills.

Outcomes

We offer three qualifications in this pathway, depending on the total number of "credits" you undertake:

• Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits)
• Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits)
• Master of Science (MSc) (180 credits)

Advanced Musculoskeletal Assessment and Practice - Hand Therapy

For accreditation information please see the course page listed below.

Aims

This Postgraduate Certificate has been designed for clinicians who have specialised in hand therapy, (for instance physiotherapists or occupational therapists). It enables them to advance their practice, extend their clinical skills and explore service delivery issues within the field of hand therapy.

Learning Objectives

• To provide students with critical understanding of the key concepts underlying advanced musculoskeletal clinical skills in hand therapy beyond their normal professional scope of practice
• To provide students with the opportunity to acquire advanced musculoskeletal clinical skills in hand therapy beyond their normal professional scope of practice
• To encourage students to contribute to policy-making, planning and evaluation
• To ensure students acquire a range of transferable employment related skills

Outcomes

We currently offer one qualification for Hand Therapy:

• Postgraduate certificate (60 credits)

First Contact Musculoskeletal Practice

Aims

This Post-graduate Certificate enables experienced musculoskeletal clinicians to gain academic recognition for their First Contact Practitioner training. The content has been aligned with guidance from all national and professional groups involved in the development and delivery of this role.

The first module (SE761: First Contact Musculoskeletal Practice) has been designed to map to Stage 1 requirements of Health Education England's 'Roadmap to Practice', and the second module (SE786: Evaluation of Clinical Practice for First Contact Musculoskeletal Practitioners ) evidences the Stage 2 clinical competencies.

Students will explore topics relating to FCP practice including communication strategies, screening for sinister pathology, integration of the wider determinants of health, operational issues and professional accountability.

A clinical mentor is required to support the clinical learning but this mentor does not need to be 'Roadmap trained’.

Learning Objectives

• Advanced understanding of key concepts related to advanced musculoskeletal practice in primary care.
• Knowledge of how to assess complex health needs in the primary care environment (musculoskeletal presentations), diagnose, prescribe and provide individualised care.
• Knowledge of the relationships between diseases and the wider determinants of health e.g  psycho-social theories and individuals' responses to health and illness.
• Knowledge of how to critically appraise research findings and apply research evidence to question routine practice including relevant ethical and legal issues.
• Advanced ability to reflect upon one's own professional practice.

Outcomes

We currently offer one qualification in First Contact Musculoskeletal Practice:

• Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits)

Modules

Along with our two pathways, we also offer our modules on a single basis. 

Once you have chosen a specific module please complete an application form and email it to msk@essex.ac.uk addressed to Hayley Milburn.