MPAS (Hons) Physician Associate Studies Degree at the University of Reading

Address key questions related to your future career. You'll develop and refine the skills required of a healthcare professional such as communication, reflection, numeracy, statistics, and sourcing and interpreting scientific literature.

Gain solid theoritical and practical knowledge, and essential skills to understand the role of pathology in human disease diagnosis in biomedical research, or healthcare.

Expand your knowledge of human physiology to understand the normal function of the human body. You'll cover the structure of mammalian cells and cellular functions which are often targeted therapeutically and biochemical pathways that underpin these processes.

Discover the effects of drugs on the human body and how to effectively explain drug action to different audiences. You'll explore how drugs are discovered, designed, developed, and delivered.

Explore how organs work to support life. You will be introduced to the basics of the anatomy of some of the major systems of the human body, and to the physiological processes taking part within and between them.

Gain a foundation in microbiology, covering the biology, diversity, structure, genetics, ecology, and evolution of bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi, and viruses. You'll discover their impact on environment and society, and how they cause infections or develop antimicrobial resistance, while exploring different methods of diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

Putting your learning into practice, you'll complete placements in hospital and simulated environments, learning from healthcare professionals to develop reflective practice, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Understand how science is used to create and administer medicines in the gastrointestinal tract. Using an integrated learning approach, you'll research specific health conditions and consider holistic care requirements for a patient.

Learn to develop nutrition public health policy from data collection and how to use behaviour change theory to develop public health interventions. You'll learn about the factors that affect diet and nutritional needs, intake and practices, and conduct data analysis on a dietary dataset to recommend a public health intervention.

Discover the fundamental principles and concepts that underpin haematology and immunology. You'll explore topics such as the production, structure and function of blood cells, the techniques used within hospital haematology laboratories to investigate and diagnose disease, the main forms of immunopathology, and how vaccines are produced.

This module will further explore the complex and fascinating systems of the human body, focusing on the endocrine system, skin, reproduction, ear, nose, and throat. We will use a systems-based approach where you will explore the functional requirements that drive the structure of the whole body and its functional capabilities. We will emphasise on the clinical relevance of the topics covered and their importance in understanding and diagnosing various medical conditions.

Gain the skills required for continuing professional development by exercising personal responsibility and decision-making on clinical placement.

Placement experience is combined with classroom discussion to reflect on your experience. This will support you in exercising personal responsibility, decision-making and continuing professional development.

Develop research skills and methods for clinical practice. You'll understand how to conduct independent, defined research tasks using spreadsheets to capture information and how statistical approaches are used to sample and collect data.

Complete clinical placements in general practice and secondary care to integrate your academic learning with practice. Exercising initiative and personal responsibility, you'll make decisions in complex and unpredictable situations.