First Contact Musculoskeletal Practice (Taught)

Our Postgraduate Certificate First Contact Musculoskeletal Practice course enables experienced musculoskeletal clinicians to gain academic recognition for their First Contact Practitioner training. The content of this course has been aligned with guidance from all national and professional groups involved in the development and delivery of this role.

The first module, First Contact Musculoskeletal Practice, has been designed to map to Stage 1 requirements of Health Education England's 'Roadmap to Practice', and the second module, Evaluation of Clinical Practice for First Contact Musculoskeletal Practitioners, evidences the Stage 2 clinical competencies. You explore topics relating to FCP practice, including:

• communication strategies

• screening for sinister pathology

• integration of the wider determinants of health

• operational issues

• professional accountability

A clinical mentor is required to support your clinical learning, but this mentor does not need to be 'Roadmap trained'.

Completing this course will enable you to demonstrate:

• advanced understanding of key concepts related to advanced musculoskeletal practice in primary care

• knowledge of how to assess complex health needs in the primary care environment (musculoskeletal presentations), diagnose, prescribe, and provide individualised care

• knowledge of the relationships between diseases and the wider determinants of health, e.g. psycho-social theories and individuals' responses to health and illness

• knowledge of how to critically appraise research findings and apply research evidence to question routine practice, including relevant ethical and legal issues

• advanced ability to reflect upon your own professional practice