Click here to edit using the old editor
{"available": "entirely", "availability": {"status": {"Recruiting Status 25/26":"RP 25/26","Recruiting Status 26/27":"RP 26/27","Recruiting Status 24/25":"RP 24/25"}, "dates": [{"name":"January 2025","month":"January","year":2025},{"name":"January 2026","month":"January","year":2026},{"name":"January 2024","month":"January","year":2024},{"name":"September 2025","month":"September","year":2025},{"name":"September 2026","month":"September","year":2026},{"name":"September 2024","month":"September","year":2024}]}}

FdSc - Assistant Practitioner (Health)

The programme willl support you to become an assistant practitioner in your choice of one of the following fields of healthcare: radiography, midwifery, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and health social care.

If you're a support worker wishing to progress in your career, this programme will enable you to deliver high person-centred and holistic care within the scope of your practice. You will be a level in between support worker and registered healthcare practitioner at the end of the programme. It will ground you in your clinical field and facilitate your onward journey to registered practitioner if you are clinically and academically able to do so.

APPLY NOW Register Interest
Book an Open Day


Accredited by:

Accreditation logo

Health and Care Professions Council, and approved by the College of Radiographers

Assistant Practitioner (Health) cover image

Course Overview

On this Assistant Practitioner foundation degree, you will choose one of five pathways to specialise in: radiography, midwifery, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and health social care. As well as studying a set of generic modules alongside students from all pathways, you will study three distinct modules (two in year one and one in year two) which are specific to your field of practice. There will be opportunities to learn in your field-specific groups, and progression routes are available for each pathway.

You will be in university study online for one study day per week, as well as working in employment. At your workplace, you will apply your learning to the real world, with opportunities to work alongside registered healthcare professionals to enhance your levels of clinical skills and knowledge. You will also be provided with a personal tutor who is from your specific field of practice.

On this course you will...

  • Develop the skills and knowledge needed to progress from a support worker role to an assistant practitioner within your own field and scope of practice.
  • Work within the limits of their competence and authority to provide high quality, evidence-based clinical, diagnostic or therapeutic care and holistic support as part of the wider healthcare team.
  • Communicate effectively with a wide range of people whilst maintaining a safe and healthy working environment.
  • Learn whilst staying in your own clinical area for two years, and gain in-depth experience in your chosen field of practice.
  • Develop clinical and professional skills to enable you to fully integrate and support registered healthcare practitioners and provide excellent patient care.
APPLY NOW
Book an Open Day

Course Structure

What you will learn

You will study two profession-specific modules in your first year, and one profession-specific module in your second year. Each year builds towards the end point assessment and towards improving your knowledge of clinical practice, policy, procedures and professional accountability. You will understand systems of the body and how in your own area of practice knowledge of anatomy and physiology impacts decisions made about care, physical health, and mental health and wellbeing. You will understand how to read and research literature to back up your practice and how to consider your own development within a framework of practice and evidence. Each module has a reading list tailored to the content of the module and will include articles as well as online books and interesting Ted talks and YouTube videos. Understanding how to read academic work and how to review different areas of research as they apply to your own area of practice is key to your development as an evidence-based practitioner.

Modules

There are 5 different Pathways to choose from within this course:
Health and Social Care
Midwifery
Occupational Therapy
Physiotherapy
Radiography

Year one

In year one you will learn what evidence-based practice is and how it relates to your field of practice. You will start to understand the applied biological and anatomical areas needed to ensure you can relate them to your practice. You will understand what the professional codes of practice are for your own areas and how they relate to the policy and procedures for your organisation. Alongside codes of conduct you will also study legal and ethical implications of practice. You will explore patient and service user journeys in each of your clinical areas and the experience we should all aim to provide in healthcare.

  • Introduction to Professional Practice
    To explore and apply key legal, professional and ethical concepts to complex decision making in health and social care practice.
  • Service User Journey 1
    To develop a learner’s understanding of the fundamental relationship between the delivery of care related to their scope of practice and the service users’ journey through their area of work.
  • Applied Biological Sciences 1
    To introduce the Learner to a range of subject areas, relevant to their profession, that underpin subsequent teaching of anatomy, physiology and pathology of the human body. Whilst this may be taught in some generic ways there will also be pathway specific work associated with each pathway.
  • Evidence Based & Reflective Practice
    This module aims to develop learners’ knowledge and understanding of the skills required to succeed in academic study and assessment, particularly research skills, analytical, reflective, and critical skills.
Year two

In year two you build on the knowledge that you gained in year one by exploring areas such as leadership, management and quality. The service user and patient journey will become more detailed as will the applied biological sciences and your explorations of your professional duties and codes of conduct. You will consider the application of these areas of knowledge to clinical practice and in particular the practice in your own organisation. In-depth consideration of the impact of your practice on the multi-disciplinary team in which you work will be an essential component for completion alongside the evidence base for your own field of practice.

  • Applied Biological Sciences 2
    This module will enable the learner to contextualise their own scope of practice with the wider service user, their families and carers journey. They will be able to do so using themes including health and wellbeing, local and national policy, health promotion and MDT working.
  • Leadership Management and Quality
    To develop the leadership skills to work as part of a team and deliver high quality, safe and effective care.
  • Professional Studies
    To provide you with the clinical skills and experience to enable safe and effective practice within a defined area of practice to demonstrate the outcomes of the Assistant Practitioner (Health) programme. This will be used to complement and consolidate learning from the previous modules.
Health and Social Pathway
  • Pathway Specific 1 - Health and Social Care (Year One)
    To enable students to gain knowledge and understanding of the fundamental principles that inform Nursing Practice.
  • Pathway Specific 2 - Health and Social Care (Year One)
    To explore perspectives of biological, psychological, social, cultural, spiritual and behavioural determinants of health and promote person centred wellbeing across the lifespan.
  • Pathway Specific 3 - Health and Social Care (Year Two)
    To enable students to understand and apply the principles of pharmacology and medicine therapeutics in the management of care. To ensure that they communicate aspects of pharmacology to service users, their families and carers in lay terms.
Radiography Pathway
  • Imaging Technology 1 (Year One)
    This module aims to provide students with knowledge and understanding of the technology used within medical imaging and therapy. This will underpin the safe and effective use of these technologies within the practice environment.
  • Science & Radiation Protection (Year One)
    This module aims to deliver a range of subjects that underpin the practice and science applied to medical imaging.
  • Medical Imaging Technologies 2 (Year Two)
    This module builds on the learning outcomes of FDAP4019 and aims to deliver a range of subjects that underpin the practice and science applied to medical imaging technologies.
Midwifery Pathway

Please note that this pathway will be a direct route to the BSc and Apprenticeship Midwifery course.

  • Public Health in Midwifery Practice Midwifery (Year One)
    To understand the principles of public health, health promotion and protection for all women, birthing people, newborns and families.
  • Wellbeing and Mental Health in Maternity (Year One)
    To understand the principles of wellbeing in relation to supporting your own mental health and those you care for.
  • Childbirth Emergencies (Year Two)
    To facilitate the acquisition of the skills and knowledge required to support midwives and obstetricians to manage childbirth emergencies. In addition, to demonstrate situational awareness, advanced communication skills and knowledge of human factors.
Occupational Therapy Pathway
  • Occupational Therapy Process and Paradigms (Year One)
    The aim of this module is to introduce you to Occupational Therapy within health and care. The focus will be on developing your knowledge and understanding of the Occupational therapy core skills and the Occupational Therapy process to deliver best practice. You will be able to develop knowledge an
  • Exploring and Applying Occupational Science (Year One)
    The aim of this module is for you develop your understanding of Occupational Science and the relevance of Occupational Science to Occupational Therapy. You will be able to explore the art and science of occupation and its relevance to understanding humans as Occupational beings and link this to occu
  • Developing Occupational Therapy Theory to Practice (Year Two)
    The aim of this module is to enable you to design and evaluate an Occupational Therapy intervention. The intervention will be designed using theoretical knowledge of life sciences and human occupation and applied to local, national and global practice contexts of Occupational Therapy.
Physiotherapy Pathway
  • Physiotherapy Examination, Assessment and Treatment (Year One)
    The aim of this module is to introduce you to the core physiotherapy skills of examination, assessment, treatment and management. You will develop your understanding of physiotherapy examination and assessment processes and be able to apply these to clinical contexts.
  • Applied Human Science (Year One)
    The aim of this module is to develop your understanding of the structure and function of the human Neuro-musculoskeletal (NMSK) system and your understanding of the interrelationship between structure and function of the NMSK system in health and ill-health.
  • Promoting Health, Wellbeing and Exercise Physio (Year Two)
    The aim of this module is to introduce you to the use of physical activity and therapeutic exercise as a means of health promotion. It will challenge you to consider the biopsychosocial factors that can influence health and wellbeing, and the role health care professionals can play in the prevention

Attend an Open Day at Cumbria

An Open Day is your opportunity to explore one of 5 campuses, meet your lecturers, and find out how the University of Cumbria could become your new home.

Take the next step towards achieving your dreams.
A student stands in front of a wall splattered with paint.