Put your best foot forward with our leading Podiatry professionals, and study for a career in this specialist healthcare sector.
We only accept applications for Podiatry through UCAS - Apply now
This podiatry programme will help you understand how to assess, diagnose and treat people with problems of the feet, ankles and lower limbs. You will get hands-on, practical experience in our excellent clinical facilities in Bishop Auckland and Durham and you will also work on placement in an NHS Trust to put your theoretical study into practice.
This programme is eligible for the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). The NHS LSF provides additional funding for eligible healthcare students. It is supplementary financial support to the mainstream student loans system and is intended to support students whilst they train and gain professional registration. Scroll to the bottom of Entry Requirements to see full details.
On completion of the undergraduate programme, graduates will be eligible to register as a Podiatrist with The Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and become a member of the Royal College of Podiatry. Once registered you can start to practice professionally for the NHS, a private practice or both.
Study Aims
The aim of the programme is to enable students to develop the necessary skills to become an autonomous practitioner who is able to reflect on and enhance their practice using a contemporary evidence base.
These skills are introduced in the first year and developed and employed throughout the programme, ensuring you are aware of the importance of continued professional development.
The teaching and learning in the school of Health, Life Sciences, Early Years and Education is underpinned by a teaching philosophy that encourages you to develop the knowledge and skills required to practice as a Podiatrist in the current health environment.
The programme aims to enable you to:
Times of Delivery
Any times indicated are based on current courses and may be subject to change in future years. Full timetables will be confirmed at the start of each course.
Teaching and Assessment
This is a full-time programme that requires you to undertake self-directed study, and work experience in our podiatry clinics. Times and days of delivery are subject to change.
The following units will be assessed using the methods detailed below: Clinical Practice (Level 4 and 5)
Human Physiology
Dermatology
Functional Anatomy
Research (Level 4)
Clinical Practice (Level 5)
Podiatric Medicine
Prescriptions only Medicine -Sale & Supply/Administration
Musculoskeletal Pathology & Management
Research (Level 5)
Clinical Practice (Level 6)
Issues of Ageing
Enhanced Practice
Applied Podiatric Biomechanics
Research (Level 6)
You will have access to one-to-one academic support from our New College Durham Academic Support Team.
Industry Links
The programme has been designed with the needs of the local NHS Podiatry Service in mind, to ensure the programme continues to meet the requirements of a modern NHS workforce.
Guest speakers deliver sessions to further your knowledge of modules, such as applied podiatric biomechanics and clinical practice. We find this is a great way to keep content up-to-date and applicable to practice. Content typically includes a general practitioner or company representative sharing their knowledge on new and innovative products that can be used in practice.
Placement
At Level 4, you will visit your 'home' trust for an observational five day placement. The first visit is to the Podiatry department where you will be introduced to all aspects of working in a busy NHS Podiatry department, including the booking of appointments and the interface of admin and clinical staff.
At Level 5, you will visit your home trust for six single days. This placement will give you the opportunity to treat patients within the NHS settings. You will be supervised by an NHS clinical educator for the duration of your placement. You will also have a block week placement in your home trust at the end of the academic year.
At Level 6, you will undertake a one-week block placement. During this time, you will experience specialist placements which will include nail surgery, biomechanics, wound care, domiciliary and ward visits. You will carry out patient treatments at the end of your clinical studies. You will treat band 5 patients whilst being supervised by NHS clinical educators. You will be supervised by an NHS clinical educator for the duration of your placement. You will also have a block week placement in your home trust at the end of the academic year.
You will also have a one day placement with a podiatric surgeon where you will experience a patient pre-op assessment, surgery and patient discharge. You will also have the opportunity to undertake other enhanced placement opportunities.
What else?
We are one of only 13 institutions in the country to offer this degree.
Entry Criteria
You must be able to demonstrate that you meet the minimum entry criteria stated below to be eligible for the next stage of the application process - enquire to discuss your application further.
You must hold or be working towards achieving GCSE English Language and Maths, or equivalent Level 2 Functional Skills.
You must have a minimum of 64 UCAS tariff points accumulated from any of the following:
If you do not hold the above, you may be considered based on the following criteria:
If English in not your first language, an IELTS score of over 6.5 is required in all components: Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing.
Additional Costs
This programme is eligible for the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF).
The NHS LSF provides additional funding for eligible healthcare students. It is supplementary financial support to the mainstream student loans system and is intended to support students whilst they train and gain professional registration.
It is made up of the following allowances:
You will be supplied with all clinical instruments, clinical tunics and clinical scrubs, however, you will be required to purchase smart black trousers and plain black shoes (suitable for the clinical environment).
Our Durham School of Podiatric Medicine clinics are located offsite – transport is not provided so it is essential that you consider travel arrangements and or expenses before you apply.
NHS placements take place in a variety of clinical sites which also should be considered (you may be able to claim NHS placement travel costs back depending on your personal situation).
Vaccinations may be advised and required these could potentially incur costs.
What are the next steps?
If your application is successful, you will be required to attend an interview session.
During the interview process you will receive an overview of the course from a current member of the Podiatry team, and you will have the chance to talk to current students studying on the Podiatry programme. You may also have the opportunity to talk to an NHS manager and service user depending on their availability.
During the process you will be asked to undertake a number of small tasks throughout the morning to assess your suitability for the course and the profession (further information can be provided upon request). This will then lead to an individual one on one interview.
In preparation, you can find further information on the Royal College of Podiatry’s website.
