Healthcare Science (Physiological Sciences), BSc (Hons)

As a Clinical Physiologist, you will contribute to the prevention, diagnosis, therapy, monitoring, and rehabilitation of patients with various medical conditions. This three-year program at St George’s, University of London, provides initial exposure to both cardiac and respiratory/sleep physiology, allowing you to specialize in one area. It includes clinical placements, with 10 weeks in the first year and more in subsequent years, focusing on practical skills. Upon graduation, you can register with the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) and pursue opportunities like the NHS Scientist Training Programme, with many graduates securing healthcare roles beforehand. The course is accredited by AHCS and RCCP, ensuring professional recognition.The modular curriculum begins with broad biomedical foundations, advancing to specialized modules on pathophysiology, diagnostic techniques, and research skills. In years two and three, you’ll study system-specific physiology and complete a clinical audit project. Assessments encompass exams, essays, presentations, and clinical evaluations, with formative feedback to build competencies. This prepares you for a career as a qualified Clinical Physiology Practitioner.

This is a modular degree that begins with a broad foundation of knowledge about all of the body systems and the disease processes that affect them but becomes highly specialised by the third year. Year one combines an introduction to the biomedical knowledge underpinning healthcare science as a whole, and especially the field of physiological sciences. From the start the course is explicitly designed as a preparation for clinical practice, slanted towards medically relevant information and clinical context. During this year you will undertake 10 weeks of clinical training, divided between different sites to give you a variety of experiences. You will work in both Cardiology and Respiratory/Sleep departments at this stage. At the end of year one you will select your speciality preference, either Cardiac Physiology or Respiratory/Sleep Physiology. Thereafter your learning will be divided between modules that are common to both strands and specialist modules that are specific to your choice. In year two you will learn about the pathophysiology of common diseases affecting both the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, taught by clinicians and researchers who specialise in these subjects and aided by time spent working with the specimens in our extensive pathology museum. You will learn to understand the scientific basis for the complex instruments that Clinical Physiologists use, calibrate and quality assure. You will also receive training in the research skills necessary for successful completion of your third-year audit/research project. Most importantly, the specialist modules cover the detailed physiology of your chosen system (Cardiac or Respiratory/Sleep), in interactive sessions delivered by our core staff of registered Cardiac and Respiratory/Sleep Physiologists. They will cover the highly skilled diagnostic techniques, methodologies and interpretation required for clinical practice, reinforced by 15 weeks of speciality-specific training in your designated clinical placement site. Year three focuses on developing your ability to apply everything that you’ve learned so far to the practice of Clinical Physiology. University-based teaching will focus on developing your specialist academic skills, while 25 weeks in the clinical workplace will complete your clinical training, providing the hands-on experience needed to build real expertise. You will complete and write up your clinical audit/research project. The third year will see you transform from a student to someone who has the knowledge, experience, professionalism and clinical competencies required of a Clinical Physiology Practitioner.