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Physiotherapy MSc Info Needed

Hi,

I'm 28, male, from Ireland, just completed a BSc in Microbiology receiving a 2.1. I would like to do a Physio MSc in one of the UK universities and am looking for info. I will more than likely be doing a Microbiology Research MSc for the next two years (in case physio thing falls through) and intend to get physio experience in that time and then apply to Physio courses in 2013.

My questions are

- how much and what type of experience are the universities looking for? (i.e. hospital, private practice, nursing home, a few days, months, years etc)

- how difficult is it to actually get a place on these MSc courses? (I figure with my 2.1 and eventually 2 years research MSc I will demonstrate I’m academically capable, and I figure I will be able to get a decent bit of exp in two years, like a few hours here and there)

- after you qualify I know the jobs front in Ireland and the UK is pretty bad, but aren’t the jobs good in Canada, OZ and NZ ya?

- don’t English Uni’s cover the college cost etc, and all u have to pay is living costs etc?

Any info would be great, thanks! :smile:
Reply 1
Avatar for kd19
kd19
Hi there,

I'm applying for 2013 too! after an unsuccessful 2012 application :P

This course is extremely competitive! I reckon each university has well over 250 applicants for only 16-20 places. I counted myself very lucky to have been invited for interviews last year. The feedback I got was that I didn't have enough healthcare experience as I only had 3days of observational physio w/e at a nearby hospital. To fix that ive now got a job as a healthcare assistant at a hospital so fingers crossed for next year!

to answer your questions... the best w/e you could get would be within a NHS setting - Although it is very difficult to get hold of. It took 6 months to get my first physio observational day placement! However any care experience is considered to be good experience as the universities understand how difficult it is to get placements within physio depts! The only thing i've been told that universities aren't keen on is private w/e. I would say this is mainly because private usually focuses on more sports therapy and doesn't show you the full spectrum of what physio is about in the NHS.

Also all of the courses are NHS funded! - except for the new MSc starting at oxford brookes next year :frown: They're charging something like £10,800 tuition fees per year so I definitely wont be applying there!

Finally the job situation is really awful , however although i'm not 100% sure, Ive been told that you have to have worked full time in the NHS for a minimum of 2years before you can work abroad.. Dont take my word on it, i'm still looking into it myself!

Hope some of that helps! Good luck :smile:
Reply 2
Avatar for kd19
kd19
Original post by oph
Hi,

I'm 28, male, from Ireland, just completed a BSc in Microbiology receiving a 2.1. I would like to do a Physio MSc in one of the UK universities and am looking for info. I will more than likely be doing a Microbiology Research MSc for the next two years (in case physio thing falls through) and intend to get physio experience in that time and then apply to Physio courses in 2013.

My questions are

- how much and what type of experience are the universities looking for? (i.e. hospital, private practice, nursing home, a few days, months, years etc)

- how difficult is it to actually get a place on these MSc courses? (I figure with my 2.1 and eventually 2 years research MSc I will demonstrate I’m academically capable, and I figure I will be able to get a decent bit of exp in two years, like a few hours here and there)

- after you qualify I know the jobs front in Ireland and the UK is pretty bad, but aren’t the jobs good in Canada, OZ and NZ ya?

- don’t English Uni’s cover the college cost etc, and all u have to pay is living costs etc?

Any info would be great, thanks! :smile:


O and also just to add.... get as much experience as you possibly can!! really need to be able to demonstrate that you know what the profession is about!
Reply 3
Avatar for djk_99
djk_99
13
I think the universities are looking for any sort of experience in a caring role.... work experience in hospitals can sometimes be quite difficult to come by, so maybe volunteering in a care home, or in a children's centre or something. You could also try to contact groups where physio's may work with that type of patient e.g. local stroke groups, MS, AS etc. I got into my course with volunteering at a care home and a day at a private physio clinic.

Competition is fierce, there are typically hundreds of applicants for only tens of places. Good luck! Places are also being cut due to funding- for Essex my year was 33 places, I understand this year they've only taken on 17 students.

Yes, job situation is a bit better abroad, look into it.

At the moment the NHS covers your fees and gives you a bursary every month, which is non-repayable. However, this is likely to change, so have a look into it before financially committing yourself!

Any questions on the MSc give me a shout, I've just finished mine!

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