Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Foot and Ankle PgCert

Ultrasound imaging of the foot and ankle region within musculoskeletal healthcare is a rapidly developing area of clinical practice. A significantly increasing number of allied health and medical professionals are utilising it to assist differential diagnosis, impact patient pathways and guide procedures.

Developing a core competency in your ability to visualise and interpret common musculoskeletal pathologies of the foot, ankle and lower leg regions is increasingly important from a clinical governance perspective when utilising ultrasound imaging in clinical practice.

This CASE accredited course will provide you with a demonstrable competency in this fantastic new addition to your skills.

This is a unique course developed by Brunel University London in partnership with the highly regarded teaching team from The Ultrasound Site and provides a unique opportunity for medical and allied health professionals.

The Brunel London University campus at Uxbridge is conveniently located, approximately a 15 minute drive from London Heathrow Airport, close to the M25 with parking available on site and a short walk from Uxbridge tube station on the London Underground. There is also on-site hotel accommodation at the Lancaster Hotel and Spa for those staying overnight.

Your clinical lecturers from Physiotherapy, Radiology, Podiatry and Rheumatology backgrounds have a unique skill set of working across NHS MSK community clinics, private practice and Radiology services. You will have access to high quality ultrasound systems in small groups, alongside fantastic learning facilities on our Uxbridge campus.

Please be aware that for us to consider your application you will need to upload a completed form to your Brunel myApplication portal. We use this form to collect more  information about applicants’ professional readiness to complete this course successfully. You can find the form under the section ‘UK entry requirements.

Applications open for September 24/25, dates coming soon!

To apply please complete this form

Got a question about this course? Check out our FAQs as well as our Work Based Learning page.

Course dates

This programme comprises of two different modules. On successful completion of both modules, you'll graduate with a PgCert in Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Foot and Ankle.

Integrating Musculoskeletal Ultrasound into Practice module also includes a practice based learning experience and assessment. Before commencing the experience, you'll be required to arrange a clinical mentor. 

This course can be studied 1 year part-time.

This course can be studied 12 Months part-time, starting in September.

On successful completion of this course, you'll be able to demonstrate a competency-based award in musculoskeletal ultrasound to employers. This will enable you to work autonomously as a musculoskeletal sonographer in a number of different clinical settings.

Our Musculoskeletal Ultrasound PgCert Foot and Ankle programme will equip you with the skills needed to work within focused sonography roles in the foot and ankle speciality. You’ll also be able to incorporate these skills within your current clinical practice. This could open up a new career path alongside your established clinical work.  

Watch this video to hear first-hand from our musculoskeletal ultrasound students and how this course is helping them in their field of work.

• A UK 2:2 honours degree, or equivalent internationally recognised qualification in Health Care related subject that is registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC), General Medical Council (GMC) or CORU (Regulating Health and Social Care Professionals). After you apply email the Admissions Office with your HCPC, GMC or CORU registration number. We need this to assess your application.
• It is mandatory for applicants to complete this form in full as part of their application. Once complete, please upload this to your My Applications portal 

• IELTS: 7 (min 6.5 in all areas)
• Pearson: 64 (59 in all subscores)
• BrunELT: 68% (63% in all areas)
• TOEFL: 98 (min 23 in all areas)

You will be taught by UK based clinicians working in the NHS and private sectors, in both point-of-care musculoskeletal clinics and radiology sonography roles.

You’ll also benefit from guest lecturers who have expertise in a range of specialist areas including podiatrists, medical physicists, radiographers, consultant musculoskeletal radiologists and consultant rheumatologists.

This offers you an exciting combination of clinical expertise, bringing together the different clinical domains where musculoskeletal ultrasound is used. You'll not only learn the core skill of musculoskeletal ultrasound image generation, interpretation, and reporting but there's also a strong emphasis on clinical relevance, clinical reasoning, and you'll learn the impact this can have on patient care.

All of our team remain in clinical practice and currently work in hospitals and other clinical settings, so they'll be teaching you up-to-date scientific knowledge and musculoskeletal ultrasound skills. Our lecturers are also active in research and often contribute to the development of professional guidelines, so you know you’re being taught by practicing clinicians with a high profile in the sector.

Our teaching approach is diverse and you’ll benefit from lectures, tutorials, practical sessions (small groups), study guides and our computer-based learning packages.

During the course you'll be assessed in a variety of ways and you'll be assessed differently for each module.

The Fundamentals of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound module will be assessed via:

• Completion of mandatory online lectures with multiple choice questions
• Practical Exam and VIVA
• Physics multiple choice and short answer question paper.

Integrating Musculoskeletal Ultrasound into Practice will be assessed through:

• VIVA case study presentation
• Logbook submission of 250 scans, including an audit of 100 supervised scans
• Work-based learning assessment 
• Final assessment of practice based learning from supervisor

As part of the final assessment for the ‘Integrating Musculoskeletal Ultrasound into Practice' module, you'll be required to perform a practical ultrasound scan examination on three different patients.

This is assessed by your supervisor, as well as an independent assessor. You'll need to provide the details of up to three independent assessors for the final exam, one of which will be selected by the University. Both the supervisor and independent assessor are required to sign the relevant agreement prior to you starting this module.

To apply please complete this form

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