Cardiac Physiology (Healthcare Science)

About this course
Acquire the skills and expertise to detect and quantify cardiac and respiratory health problems in people of all ages and pathologies, in the rewarding field of cardiac physiology.

Your three-year Cardiac Physiology (Healthcare Science) degree is challenging but rewarding and focuses on the detection and assessment of heart disease in a wide range of settings, with 2,000 ours of practice placements where you'll work as part of a multidisciplinary team. Our dedicated physiology team will be teaching and supporting you from day one meaning you'll be fully prepared to join the Cardiac Physiology graduates from Southampton who are employed in cardiac departments and working in the NHS.

Key features of the course:

• The course is divided equally between academic and clinical placement learning, giving you the skills to change lives through your specialist care

• In your first year you’ll study cardiovascular, respiratory and sleep physiology, then specialise in cardiac physiology in your second and third years. You’ll learn how to use specialist diagnostic equipment and interpret clinical information to make key decisions

• You'll be based at Southampton General Hospital and Highfield campus, where you'll put your learning into practice in our dedicated specialist cardiac skills lab

• You’ll benefit from a high level of patient interaction and workplace training through placements in out-patient departments, wards, theatres and ITU.

Student support
You'll be supported from day one, both during your time studying on campus and during your placements, by your personal support network of academics: your Personal Academic Tutor (PAT), a senior tutor, and by your fellow students via initiatives like the Schwartz Rounds designed to support health-care staff to deliver compassionate care by helping them to reflect on their work in groups of peers.

Further information
On successful completion of this degree course you'll be able to apply for registration with the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS).

The NHS Learning Support Fund may assist your journey to becoming a registered healthcare professional. If you're a UK applicant you could be eligible for £5,000 per academic year, depending on your programme of study.

"Throughout this course you'll explore the breadth of the discipline, with a mixture of compulsory and optional modules that offer you the flexibility to tailor your degree to your interests and ambitions.

Year 1: Cardiovascular respiratory science, introduction to clinical practice in a cardiac department

Year 2: Study of non- invasive cardiac physiology, including electrocardiography and echocardiography and continuing clinical practice in a cardiac department

Years 3: Focus on invasive cardiac physiology including cardiac catheterisation procedures, cardiac rhythm management, more clinical practice in a cardiac department

For a full list of modules available please visit the course page.

The learning activities for this course include the following: lectures, classes and tutorials, coursework, individual and group projects and independent learning (studying on your own).

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• The Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists (RCCP)