Advanced Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Skills

The Advanced Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Skills course is designed for medical and allied health professionals working at an advanced clinical level who wish to deepen their expertise in musculoskeletal (MSK) ultrasound. Building on existing scanning competence, the course will enable you to develop highly specialised technical skills, enhanced clinical reasoning, and the ability to critically evaluate research within advanced MSK practice.

You'll expand your understanding of advanced ultrasound physics, machine optimisation, and the anatomy, physiology and pathology underpinning complex MSK presentations. You'll learn to integrate scan findings into advanced clinical decision making, engage in critical debate around emerging evidence, and refine your approach to professional communication and report writing.

Specialist content includes peripheral vascular ultrasound for MSK clinicians, advanced soft tissue evaluation, and emerging technologies and techniques, preparing you to work at the forefront of contemporary MSK ultrasound. The course also explores the wider patient pathway, ensuring that you gain the understanding of the clinical impact of advanced imaging decisions and reporting in the patient pathway.

Teaching is delivered through lectures, workshops, seminars and supervised practical sessions, with rich opportunities for inter professional learning and reflection. Throughout the course, you will be encouraged to demonstrate autonomy in directing your learning needs while upholding high level professional, ethical and communication standards.

Teaching dates

• 10 September 2026
• 16-17 September 2026
• 6 November 2026

Assessment dates

• 27 November 2026 (oral presentation)
• 15 December 2026 (portfolio due)

You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.

The module includes exposure to advanced and emerging areas of MSK ultrasound practice, including: peripheral vascular ultrasound for MSK clinicians (including pedal duplex for the foot and ankle specialist), advanced soft tissue evaluation (including complex lesions, and hernia evaluation for the broader clinician), peripheral nerve ultrasound techniques and their clinical relevance, new and emerging technologies that are shaping future MSK imaging practice, and advanced report writing and communication strategies that influence and streamline current patient care pathways.

These specialist topics are reinforced through online learning, structured practical teaching and supervised clinical experience. By learning within a multidisciplinary environment, you'll also gain insight into the wider patient pathway and the clinical impact of advanced ultrasound assessment and reporting. This practical component is essential for developing confidence, autonomy and competence at an advanced level, ensuring that theoretical learning is fully integrated into day to day clinical decision making.

An agreed clinical supervisor must be arranged prior to starting the course to enhance your learning that is relevant to your specific profession. The clinical supervisor must meet the following criteria:

• Allied health professional who holds a CASE accredited / PgCert in Musculoskeletal Ultrasound (or equivalent) and has been performing MSK ultrasound techniques for a minimum of 1 year.
• Medic with two years experience using Musculoskeletal Ultrasound.

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Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel

On the Advanced Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Skills course, you'll develop a sophisticated range of competencies, including advanced technical proficiency in ultrasound physics, machine optimisation and complex MSK scanning techniques such as peripheral vascular and soft tissue evaluation. You'll enhance your clinical reasoning, enabling identification of intricate anatomical structures, interpretation of incidental pathology and integration of findings into high level clinical decision making. Alongside this, you'll strengthen your critical thinking through advanced reflection, analysis of current evidence and engagement with emerging technologies in MSK ultrasound. Professional communication skills are further refined through the development of high quality, clinically impactful ultrasound report writing.

Teaching on the course is delivered through a combination of lectures, workshops, practical scanning sessions and seminars, supported by directed reading to reinforce key concepts. You'll take part in hands on practical learning to develop advanced technical skills and clinical reasoning, alongside interdisciplinary peer activities that emphasise professional communication and collaboration. Throughout the course, you're expected to engage proactively with resources and identify your own learning needs, with formative feedback provided to support your progress. Teaching is complemented by work based supervised practice, allowing you to apply advanced ultrasound skills in real clinical environments.

Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.

Progress is assessed through two core components: an oral presentation and a portfolio, each contributing 50%.

The oral presentation allows students to demonstrate their advanced technical knowledge, clinical reasoning and ability to critically evaluate evidence, while the portfolio assesses their practical competency, reflective skills, and the application of advanced MSK ultrasound techniques within clinical practice.

Both assessments must be passed at a minimum of 50/C  to achieve an overall pass for the module.

Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.