Musculoskeletal Ultrasonography PGDip

This course is in clearing with spaces available

Overview

Course options

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Postgraduate

  1. PGDip Musculoskeletal Ultrasonography

    • Home Applicant
    • Full time, 1 year
    • For applying and fees and funding please contact the programme leader directly: p.resteghini@nhs.net
    Applications are currently closed for this intake.
  2. PGDip Musculoskeletal Ultrasonography

    • Home Applicant
    • Part time
    • For applying and fees and funding please contact the programme leader directly: p.resteghini@nhs.net
    Applications are currently closed for this intake.

Course modules

Select year

The Science, Instrumentation and Application of the upper & lower extremity

Competency in Ultrasonography within Clinical Practice

Guided Injection Therapy in Application to Upper and Lower extremity

Competency in Ultrasonography for guided injection Therapy in Clinical Practice – Work-based Placement

NOTE: Modules are subject to change. For those studying part time courses the modules may vary.

Download course specification

Your future career

Your future career

This course gives you the skills, experience and knowledge to allow you to undertake an extended scope of practice in the field of musculoskeletal medicine with the use of diagnostic ultrasonography.

The Royal College of Radiologists has formally recognised that there is a national shortage of sonographers and acknowledged the need to involve other professional groups in this area of musculoskeletal ultrasound training.

The advanced skills you acquire will help you complement patient management choices in your own clinical practice and integrate academic learning with the development of higher levels of professional practice.

The course also offers you professional development through an enhanced ability to deliver more holistic assessment and treatment options to patients under your care.

Your diagnostic skills will help determine the cause and pathology. They will also be highly useful in facilitating injection-guided therapy, where a detailed understanding of anatomy, complemented by the ability to obtain and correctly interpret ultrasound images of the musculoskeletal frame, will offer precise information in terms of where and how to inject.

The provision of equipment by BK Medical will familiarise you with the latest methods of working with up-to-the-minute technology. We will also give you the chance to work with live models and offer support with anatomy models on the course.

Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.

I found the recent two-day teaching block to be one of the most beneficial CPD sessions that I have ever done. The teaching was excellent, the concept was excellent, venue/facilities/equipment were all of the highest order. Essentially perfect and a very valuable teaching tool for practitioners."

Dr Shabaaz Mughal

Head of Medical & Sports Science [Tottenham Hotspur]

How we support your career ambitions

We offer dedicated careers support, further opportunities to thrive, such as volunteering and industry networking. our courses are created in collaboration with employers and industry to ensure they accurately reflect the real-life practices of your future career and provide you with the essential skills needed. You can focus on building interpersonal skills through group work and benefit from our investment in the latest cutting edge technologies and facilities.

Career Zone

Our dedicated and award-winning team provide you with careers and employability resources, including:

  • Online jobs board for internships, placements, graduate opportunities, flexible part-time work.
  • Mentoring programmes for insight with industry experts 
  • 1-2-1 career coaching services 
  • Careers workshops and employer events 
  • Learning pathways to gain new skills and industry insight

Mental Wealth programme

Our Professional Fitness and Mental Wealth programme which issues you with a Careers Passport to track the skills you’ve mastered. Some of these are externally validated by corporations like Amazon and Microsoft.

See more details

We are careers first

Our teaching methods and geographical location put us right up top

  • Enterprise and entrepreneurship support 
  • We are ranked 6th for graduate start-ups 
  • Networking and visits to leading organisations 
  • Support in starting a new business, freelancing and self-employment 
  • London on our doorstep

What you'll learn

The Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip MSK US) maybe considered as two independent Postgraduate Certificates. The first is a Postgraduate Certificate in Musculoskeletal Ultrasonography Diagnostics (PGCert MSK US Diagnostics) which is designed to provide the student with a scientific evidence based approach to understand the physics and instrumentation of ultrasound. This underpins the practical training in the use of complex diagnostic ultrasound equipment for competent use in the student’s area of practice. The emphasis is for accurate and detailed anatomy education to gain skills in the safe and correct attainment of ultrasound images for examination of musculoskeletal pathologies. 

The second is a Postgraduate Certificate in Ultrasound Guided Musculoskeletal Injection Therapy (PGCert MSK US Injection Therapy). This is aimed at the postgraduate medical and allied health professional who already has a basic knowledge of musculoskeletal ultrasound and who is familiar with non-guided injection techniques. The modules aim to support and formally recognise the professional development of those clinicians working in the field of Musculoskeletal Medicine developing both knowledge and practical clinical skills in the application of ultrasound guided musculoskeletal injections. 

Each programme may be completed independently of the PGDip MSK US. Two core 30 credit modules make up each PGCert. Module 1 of each PGCert will be delivered in attendance as block release. Module 2 of each PGCert will be a work-based learning module, predominantly distance learning. 

All applicants to either PGCert or the PGDip will be qualified clinicians with autonomy and independence in US application and injection therapy without the formal competencies provided by the programmes. Pre- requisites are therefore not professionally appropriate. It is desirable that the existing PGCert MSK US in diagnostics should be completed prior to the proposed PGCert MSK US in Injection Therapy, although this will not be a prerequisite. It is desirable that module 1 of each PGCert should be attained prior to attending module 2, although this will not be a prerequisite.

How you'll learn

The first module of each PGCert consists of classroom lectures and practical sessions both at the University and in the Anatomy Lab. 

The second module of each PGCert requires that students complete a work-based portfolio. For the PGCert - Diagnostics this consists of 250 scans and for the PGCert - Injection Therapy 35 guided injections. These need to be under the direct supervision of a suitable mentor submitting the finished portfolio for the successful completion of the module. It remains the responsibility of the student to ensure that they have an appropriate mentor. 

There is no definitive qualification that is required for the mentor. However, it would be expected that one or more of the following are met:

a. Radiologist with regular MSK US list 
b. Sonographer, Physiotherapist or Sports Physician with a PGCert / Dip 
c. Sonographer, Physiotherapist or Sports Physician who may not have a recognised qualification but who has regular MSK US list. 

The fees for each PGCert are £3200.

How you will be assessed

The first module is assessed via a practical OSCE examination. For the second module, you need to organise a suitable clinical placement and complete a work-based portfolio including a minimum of 250 examined scans.

A work-based clinical mentor will observe and review the clinical musculoskeletal images that you produce.

Campus and facilities

Water Lane, Stratford

Who teaches this course

This course is delivered by the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience.

The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.