30 years of Podiatry education at the University of Huddersfield
Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:16:00 BST
September 2008 marked the 30th anniversary of the opening of the School of Podiatry at Huddersfield. The (then) Polytechnic of Huddersfield was chosen to be the host of a new School, building on the talents and experiences of staff colleagues in existing courses in Biological and Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences and Management studies.
The original School of Chiropody opened in September 1978 with a first intake of students. From this start, the current Division of Podiatry has progressed incrementally over the past 30 years to enjoy national and international recognition for high standards of excellence in the education and training of Podiatrists.
In 1992, the Polytechnic of Huddersfield became the University of Huddersfield and the University continued to support the development of the work of the Division of Podiatry. The original ethos is still retained with the emphasis on the high standards of education and training for Podiatrists and the "employability of professionals".
In 1996, the University was joined by the former West Yorkshire College of Health to create the School of Human and Health Sciences which is the largest School in the University. This move enhanced the University's pool of expertise in Health and Social Care and new initiatives in shared learning are a central tenet of developments. The Podiatry course now sits alongside courses in Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Midwifery, Operating Department Practice, Sports Therapy and Health and Fitness in the Department of Clinical and Health Sciences. This broader spectrum of Health related professions has benefitted all courses in their academic and professional development.
Today the Division of Podiatry hosts 150 students in all 3 years of the full-time degree course and 40 students enrolled to the part-time degree route.
To support the students' learning, there is a team of 10 full-time members of academic staff; three dedicated technical support staff; two reception staff and a Divisional Course Assistant. There is also an excellent team of IT support, who service the lecture room facilities and ensure problem-free access to modern technology to support the students' learning. To enhance the clinical component of the course there are also clinical associates who usually practice within the NHS but come in to the University to teach for one or two days of the week.
An ongoing development in the conduct of the course includes the Placement programme, developed in partnership with our colleagues in the NHS on a National basis. Over the 3-years of the course students are in placement for a total of 14 weeks. Each placement is linked to and supported by a module of learning that enhances the students' practice skills.
A key feature of the Division's work is a close working liaison with the Clinical Users Group (service users group). This is a pro-active group that has provided the catalyst for a range of innovations that support the Division. Most recently the group have cooperated in a small research study to investigate the role of patients in the assessment of students' communication skills.
A major development by the Division is the development of a fully operational decontamination and autoclave system for clinical instruments in a purpose built environment that is compliant with current regulations.
We have also been able to develop a system that enables each set of instruments used to be traced. It is now possible to trace instruments using a quality assured system, to know which student has used which instruments on which patient, by date and time. This has been developed in collaboration with a commercial company and a modified version is now available for general sale to practitioners.
Traceability of instruments can now be assured using a system pioneered and developed at the University.
The Division also enjoys excellent clinical, I.T. and skills laboratory equipment.
Adjacent to the clinic is a purpose built PC lab that enables students to access clinical information and teaching CD ROMs to support their learning.
Staff research is a feature of the profile offered by the Division and this is shared through conference presentations, posters and academic papers in journals. This will also enable the undergraduate curriculum to be advanced and undergraduate and postgraduate research to be facilitated.
To date, former graduates have progressed in their careers in the NHS and many are today's managers and innovators.
The University has recently validated two new Masters degree routes; an MSc in Podiatry and an MSc in the Theory of Podiatric Surgery have been offered from September 2008, the first MSc Theory of Podiatric Surgery course provided in the North of England. We are delighted with this new development and look forward to making a contribution to the profession's post-graduate advancement and CPD provision for colleagues in practice.
The University has also validated a Professional Doctorate route of learning; embedded within this is the opportunity to study for the award of Doctor of Podiatry.
This year the clinical facility has undergone a major refurbishment (above: before; below: after) to provide a new clinical facility to reflect the modern needs of clinical teaching.
The Division currently has over 4,500 patients registered and we are happy to accept new referrals from the local medical community by letter. The clinic manages over 12,000 appointments a year. Typically patients pay a marginal appointment fee (as this article went to press the fee is £7.50) and attend for assessment and diagnosis of their condition, which may be managed locally or referred to a more appropriate specialist health practitioner for care. There is a separate charge for specialist orthoses where required. All patients' needs are matched to the students' skills and all treatments are managed by students under the direct supervision of Podiatrists who take overall responsibility for the clinical teaching of students.
Over the past 30 years, the Division of Podiatry has been a public face of the University, where members of the community are regular attendees. We have been proactive in developing new initiatives in clinical education and have responded to many changes in professional and educational practices by being innovative in curriculum change. We look forward to continuing this theme for the future generations of staff and students.
