Physiotherapy (Pre-Reg)

We want you to be a step ahead when you graduate, so we offer:

• courses designed with employers
• tutors with professional industry knowledge
• hands-on learning which may include industry-led projects, placements or Professional Experience modules.

Alongside your course, there are lots of other opportunities to build your skills and experience:

• add value to your CV with an ARU Certificate of Professional Development
• get involved in a thriving volunteering programme
• develop your brilliant business ideas
• work with businesses to make a social impact.

We’re here to help you develop your CV and find that all-important role after graduation. Our Employability Service offers tailored career appointments, advice on writing your CV, help to complete job applications, and much more. You’ll have 24/7 access to an online Careers Centre too, which is packed with useful resources.

The support continues after you graduate, with lifelong access to our Alumni Career Centre.

Find out more about careers support at ARU.

To qualify as a physiotherapist, you’ll spend a minimum of 1,000 hours in practice or in a practice simulated environment.

Placements and simulations are a rich learning experience that support your classroom learning.

You’ll work with service users, overseen and directed by a Clinical Supervisor. Through this you’ll develop:

• procedural skills
• diagnostic and clinical problem-solving and management skills
• clinical communication skills.

Placement blocks
We work with community and hospital services across the East of England.

You’ll usually have five different, full-time ‘block’ placements. This means you’re on placement full-time, with formal teaching nearly always organised around placements.

Placements (including simulations) will most likely include a musculoskeletal, neurological and cardiorespiratory rehabilitation block.

Placements start from the last trimester in Year 1 and continue across Year 2.

How much time will I spend on placement?
Placements are generally structured on 37.5 hours per week, however, your working patterns may vary. They may include overnight and weekend shifts, as well as virtual and simulated placements.

Placement locations and travel

Cambridge:

• Addenbrooke's Cambridge University Hospital
• Peterborough City Hospital
• Cambridge Community Services
• Cambridge and Peterborough Foundation Trust
• Private practice
• Simulated/virtual placement

Chelmsford:

• Mid and South Essex Hospital
• Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
• Colchester Hospital
• Provide
• Private practice
• Simulated/virtual placement

You'll be responsible for funding your travel to all of your placements; however, your placement team will endeavour to arrange placements near to your term time address. There may be occasions when you have to travel further distances. It’ll be up to you to choose the most suitable transport to punctually attend your placements.

It’s worth considering how you might travel to placements and manage the cost involved. You'll be responsible for funding travel to all of your placements, but can apply for a non-repayable training grant to cover day-to-day expenses like travel and other living costs. Your placement team will try to arrange placements near your term-time address but please note this can’t be guaranteed.

Supervision
Practice Educators and Mentors will support and supervise you while on placement. They will help you organise your case load and answer any questions. 
For each rotation, you’ll typically have an initial discussion with your supervisor to work out personal objective setting and action plans. Pre-placement briefings and classroom learning will help to prepare you for these discussions.

Your course team and link tutors at ARU will also meet with you while you’re in placement. They’ll check-in in-between times, too.

In between placement blocks, you’ll return to university for formal and informal placement debriefs.

We use a variety of summative assessments to ensure you're able to integrate your theoretical and practical knowledge with relevant contextual understanding.

Assessment types include MCQ, short answer and SBA exams; practical clinical examinations (OSCE); critical writing; presentations; patchwork text; reflective writing; and Placement Assessment Documents (PAD).