Advancing Physiotherapy Practice MSc

Course overview

Develop your physiotherapy reasoning to a higher level, supported by an experienced and dedicated team of staff.

• Opportunities to develop your assessment, clinical reasoning and treatment skills in the three core areas of practice: cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and neurological physiotherapy.
• Aims to improve your employability by enhancing clinical reasoning, management and leadership skills.
• Opportunities to develop and practise your clinical skills in an environment which closely resembles real-life clinical practice.

Why you should study this course

• This course offers physiotherapy graduates the opportunity to progress their professional development after successful completion of a relevant undergraduate programme.
• You will have the opportunity to be taught in our multi-million-pound Alison Gingell Building, which has skills labs, simulation suites, therapy equipment and technological support⁴.
• Our current teaching staff are both experienced in teaching and also clinical experts (staff are subject to change). Supporting your transition to master’s level learning is an integral part of our staff's teaching role. Past students have found this staff support to be an invaluable contribution to their academic development.
• You will have the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills and cultural competence from learning alongside a diverse group of students in both the physiotherapy classes and the inter-professional classes.
• You will have the opportunity to undertake the Global Professional Development module, which has been developed in partnership with the Chartered Management Institute¹. You will have opportunities to develop skills in strategic leadership and entrepreneurship and on successful completion will gain additional qualifications from the CMI (see accreditation section for more information).

Careers and opportunities

Upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to:

• Critically discuss the principles of assessment, treatment and holistic management of clients with a range of impairments and activity limitations
• Justify clinical decision-making through effective clinical reasoning
• Critically evaluate the theoretical basis of physiotherapy practice.
• Critically appraise contemporary research to formulate evidence-informed approaches to physiotherapy management
• Use critical self-reflection effectively as an integral part of life-long learning
• Communicate decision-making effectively with others
• Critically evaluate the principles for leading and developing people and entrepreneurial practice in strategic contexts
• Justify choice of research design, methodology and methods to investigate (under supervision) a research question relating to physiotherapy practice and present it in a way that would stand up to critical review in academic and professional settings.

This course aims to improve your employability by enhancing clinical, management and leadership skills, so that successful graduates can influence practice and service delivery, working in line with government initiatives.

As well as providing opportunities to develop advanced clinical physiotherapy skills, the course aims to enhance your understanding of research- and evidence-based practice. In addition, you will have the opportunity to develop your communication and leadership skills to a higher level. This skills and knowledge development is designed to allow graduates to move into higher positions within the field of physiotherapy and wider health and social care, research or education.