PGDip Education for Health Professionals

Why choose this course

Study a hands-on, clinical curriculum to inspire and nurture new talent to meet modern healthcare demands – as an existing qualified health or social care professional, including:

• Medics
• Midwives
• Nurses
• Paramedics
• Physiotherapists
• Allied health professionals.

Learn from a multidisciplinary team of lecturers, who are all healthcare professionals with experience working in the NHS.

Access one of the only health education programs in the south of England and gain a teaching qualification to become an educator within healthcare practice.

What you will study

You’ll develop and hone your analytical and critical thinking skills, enhancing your teaching, as well as your own professional practice. You’ll explore and analyze key educational and leadership issues in health and social care while challenging and debating contemporary theory and practice.

You’ll understand the complex nature of curriculum design, ranging from philosophical underpinning, student experience, and learning and teaching strategies. With this, you’ll develop a formal curriculum document based on a topic of choice.

You’ll study topics, including the art of learning and teaching, framing learning through the curriculum, implementing change in practice, research design and methodology, and supporting education in practice.

Teaching

Your teaching will be delivered through a combination of:

• Group work (e.g. discussion groups)
• Lectures
• Online learning
• Role plays
• Seminars
• Tutorials.

Outside of these, you’ll be expected to carry out independent study, including coursework, essays and reading.

There may be occasions when the delivery of your teaching is supported by graduate teaching assistants. The University has a set of procedures that govern the use of postgraduate research students in this way.

Academic year structure

This part-time course will enable you to flexibly complete modules, fitting these around your existing commitments.

Course length

*This course can take between 2-4 years to complete. This is dependent on how many modules you select to study at a given time.

Modules

The modules listed are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that modules may be subject to teaching availability, student demand, and/or class size caps.

The University operates a credit framework for all taught programs based on a 15-credit tariff. Modules can be either 15, 30, 45, 75, or 120 credits, and additionally for some masters dissertations, 90 credits.

The structure of our programs follows clear educational aims that are tailored to each program. These are all outlined in the programme specifications which include further details such as the learning outcomes:

Part Time

• Research design and methodology
• Supporting education in practice
• Framing Learning through the Curriculum
• Implementing change in practice
• Strategic leadership for healthcare
• Art of learning and teaching

Optional modules for Unstructured - FHEQ Level 7

Students must take all core modules and choose one optional module. Information on CPD modules can be found at: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/healthsciences/professional-development/cpd-modules.htm

Timetable

Course timetables are normally available one month before the start of the semester. Please note that while we make every effort to ensure that timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week (Monday – Friday). Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities. Part-time classes are normally scheduled on one or two days per week, details of which can be obtained from the Academic Hive.

Assessment

We use a variety of methods to assess you, including case studies, presentations, and written work.

We offer career information, advice, and guidance to all students whilst studying with us, which is extended to our alumni for three years after leaving the University. Our graduates have lifetime access to Surrey Pathfinder, our online portal for appointment and event bookings, jobs, placements, and interactive development tools.

By completing this course, you’ll fulfill the growing demand for excellent teachers within the healthcare sector. 91 percent of our health sciences postgraduate students go on to employment or further study (**Graduate Outcomes survey 2022, HESA). Our alumni typically work for the NHS, private healthcare organizations, and academic institutions.