Podiatry (Hons) University of East London

Overview

You will be taught about anatomy, physiology and pathology, and how the body reacts to illness and injury but always with a special focus on foot and lower limb problems.

One of the distinctive features of this Podiatry (Hons) programme from University of East London is the vast amount of practical experience it gives you. Under supervision, you'll start seeing patients at the start of the second term of your first year in our on-site Clinical Education Centre. You will also undertake clinical placements within National Health Service clinics across London and the east of England, beginning towards the end of your first year. 

Applicants are required to complete an enhanced occupational health assessment to ensure that you are occupationally fit to work in the health and social care setting and complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services check. 

What you'll learn

This three year course gives you the scientific knowledge you will need to qualify as a podiatrist as well as showing you how taking the appropriate action can prevent foot-related disease and disability.

Your first year concentrates on the normal working of the body and the main core skills of podiatry. In year two you'll gain an understanding of the common pathologies affecting the foot and lower limb and how to manage them. In year three, you will concentrate on complex cases and the decision-making that underlies management planning.

You will learn about the important diseases that can affect the foot, such as diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis. You'll have the chance to engage with specialist clinics via your placement experiences, which will allow you to put your learning into context.

We will teach you how to undertake nail surgery using local anaesthetic so you can competently carry out these procedures upon graduation and also give you the chance to observe podiatric surgeons at work. Many of our students' study for postgraduate qualifications to become podiatric surgeons.

The 1,000 hours of clinical practice you will achieve through working at our in-house clinic and at outside placements will make you highly employable on graduation.

In fact, 90 per cent of our graduates end up in a clinical position within six months of graduating. 

The approximate amount of hours for this course are:

• Year 1: scheduled teaching - 445 hours; guided independent study - 650 hours; clinical placement - 105 hours
• Year 2: scheduled teaching - 352 hours; guided independent study - 514 hours; clinical placement - 350 hours

• Year 3: scheduled teaching - 186 hours; guided independent study - 666 hours; clinical placement - 420 hours

Your future career

The ultimate aim of the course is to prepare you for a career in podiatry as a qualified healthcare professional making your own clinical decisions.We've designed the course to reflect the employment opportunities open to qualified podiatrists and to make sure your degree gives you a head start in the job market. Many of our students have landed jobs in the same organisations where they undertook clinical placements.One of the advantages of a degree in podiatry is the career choice available to you when you graduate. You could go on to work within the NHS or in private practice. If you choose the NHS route, in a fairly typical career progression you would move from entry-level podiatrist to specialist podiatrist and then to team leader.Alternatively, you might find yourself working in a retail outlet or private hospital or even abroad. Some of our graduates go on to pursue careers in research and lecturing. A podiatrist's scope of practice is broad and there are many exciting career opportunities to investigate including some very specialist posts such as a forensic podiatrist, examining footprints in criminal investigations; working as part of multidisciplinary teams with vascular specialists or in joint clinics with other allied health professionals, such as physios or occupational therapists. Whatever direction you choose, you will be in a great position to find employment. With relatively few UK universities offering undergraduate podiatry courses, you will find yourself among an elite group of practitioners.