Musculoskeletal Ultrasound PgCert - Frequently Asked Questions

This course is Consortium for the Accreditation of Sonographic Education (CASE) accredited for situational learning experiences carried out in the UK and Republic of Ireland only.

Yes, you'll need to attend all the taught contact days and examination dates that are planned for the modules. The dates are: 

As part of the course, you'll be required to complete the assessments for all the peripheral musculoskeletal regions that are covered. Unfortunately, it's not possible to focus on a particular region.

You'll be required to complete 250 ultrasound investigations in total as part of the module. 100 of these must be directly supervised and 150 will be unsupervised. You'll need to audit the 100 supervised ultrasounds.

Unfortunately, we're unable to provide you with a placement, so you'll need to arrange your own situational learning experience. Prior to starting the integrating musculoskeletal ultrasound into practice module, you'll be required to arrange and submit a learning agreement signed by an appropriate clinical mentor. You'll also be required to arrange three possible independent assessors for the final examination.

Each module is awarded 30 master’s level credits and successful completion of both modules is awarded with a Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) in Musculoskeletal Ultrasound.

Module 1 (The fundamentals of musculoskeletal ultrasound) has five full taught days at Brunel with an examination day. Module 2 (Integrating musculoskeletal ultrasound into practice) has four full taught days plus an examination day. Heavy emphasis on practical learning and high student to ultrasound machine ratios ensures you’ll have plenty of hands-on scanning experience. The fantastic online learning and state-of-the-art teaching facilities at Brunel provide a comprehensive learning experience.

Module 1: The fundamentals of musculoskeletal ultrasound
Day 1: Physics of ultrasound, professional issues, machine utilisation, quality assurance.
Day 2: Practical teaching – the lower limb – hip, knee, ankle and foot.
Day 3: Practical teaching – the upper limb – shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand.
Day 4: Practical teaching and revision – the lower limb – hip, knee, ankle and foot.
Day 5: Practical teaching and revision - the upper limb – shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand.
Day 6: End of module exams - Practical examination and physics examination.

Module 2: Integrating musculoskeletal ultrasound into practice
Day 1: Introduction to Portfolio and Portfolio Planning, Normal versus pathological anatomy, practical assessment of pathology, clinical assessment to aid ultrasound evaluation, group learning and practical revision.
Day 2: Presentation and practical scanning sessions covering – lower limb – hip, knee ankle and foot, upper limb – shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand.
Day 3: Case presentations. Image analysis, clinical relevance of identified pathologies, reporting pathological findings. Supervised group work and scanning revision. Presentations on report writing skills.
Day 4: Practical scanning revision sessions – scanning challenging structures. Clinical scenario examinations.
Day 5: End of module examinations – Assessed clinical scenarios

Full details of our entry requirements can be found on the course page.

Yes. In order to be eligible to study this course, you must have professional registration with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) or General Medical Council (GMC). Once you have applied, please email your HCPC or GMC registration number to our Admissions team.