BSc (Hons) Health and Wellbeing Practitioner

Course Overview

The BSc (Hons) Health and Wellbeing Practitioner has been developed in consultation with three NHS trusts to meet the increasing demand for NHS services, and the need for a different type of Health and Wellbeing professional to work within the NHS. This role would lead to jobs supporting patients with their overall wellbeing including physical, mental and social health, with the aim of improving patient support and reducing the burden on GP and Emergency services. Patient support would be delivered both individually and in group settings. Patients could include those undergoing serious treatment such as cancer treatment, those with longer-term illnesses or those with complex needs.

Students will train at a range of on-campus Health and Wellbeing Clinics, such as a back clinic, cancer clinic, fibromyalgia, ulcer or diabetic clinics.

Marjon is a pioneer of health and wellbeing provision in the South West and is increasingly recognised as a centre of excellence for health and wellbeing practice by regional health care providers. Our strong links to the local healthcare system means you will also have access to a range of internal and external partners which provide excellent opportunities for hands-on experiences to develop your career.

Why this course at Marjon?

We work closely with NHS teams and local health employers to ensure students develop the skills and knowledge that are most desired by graduate employers.
You’ll get real world experience in our laboratories and on-site clinics and through our extensive professional networks.
You'll be taught by a multi-disciplinary team of academics ensuring you learn from a range of experts.
You'll develop the ability to design, deliver and evaluate a variety of health intervention programmes using physical activity, social engagement and behaviour change models.

Perfect if you're curious about:

How can health and wellbeing interventions better support people in health crisis?
How could we break the cycle of GP and emergency services for some patients and give them sustained ongoing support?
How do health and wellbeing professionals approach working with individuals and groups?
What can the government do to improve the health of the nation?
Why are there inequalities in health between different groups in society, and is there anything we can do about it?
How can science help improve health and wellbeing in vulnerable groups?

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Course Snapshot

Dr Joe Layden - Course Leader

"In your first year you will learn a sociological, psychological and physiological viewpoint on the wellbeing of a person. You will also learn techniques to help people via physical exercise and engagement. During the second year you will learn more about health and wellbeing across all ages, including nutrition, as well as how to encourage behaviour changes in patients via counselling techniques. During the third year you will learn about healthcare policy, provision and nutrition and hone your practical skills as a health care professional."

What might you become?

This is a new course designed to develop front-line clinical staff for the NHS to support the healthcare crisis and to reduce the burden of ill health. This is an area of high demand: the NHS created over 67,000 new posts for frontline qualified clinical staff between 2012 and 2017 and over the same period some 37,000 more people, such as health care support workers have been recruited to provide direct clinical support.

The broad range of options includes NHS graduate schemes, healthcare delivery, health promotion, and public health provisions in the public and third sector workforces. The course provides an excellent foundation for postgraduate study with options to progress onto our Masters of Public Health or Master of Research (MRes) programmes.

How will you be taught?

Innovative and flexible teaching includes interactive lectures, tutorials, group work, practical sessions, online activities and independent study.

How will you be assessed?

A wide range of innovative and contemporary assessments help students develop essential skills. These include essays, report writing, practical assessments, presentations and website development.

Course Leader

Dr Joseph Layden

Senior Lecturer

Joe has 20 years experience within the area of health and exercise physiology. Prior to arriving at Marjon he worked as an occupational physiologist and researcher for organisations such as the UK Ministry of Defence and the Netherlands National Research Office. Joe's research interests are in health and well-being and he has published work on health care interventions, physiology and metabolism and he is passionate about sharing knowledge and educating others.

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Lecturers

Dr Saul Bloxham

Associate Professor

Saul's research focuses on the prevention and treating non communicable disease through lifestyle interventions. He has established several health and wellbeing clinics in partnership with the NHS and charitable organisations to support patients with back pain, cancer, fibromyalgia and leg ulcers.

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Dr Kass Gibson

Senior Lecturer

Kass is a qualified PE teacher who has taught in schools, colleges, and universities in New Zealand, Japan, Canada, and the UK. He is a member of the University of Toronto’s Suffering, Pain and Ethics Lab Scientific Team. His research examines experiences and practices in physical activity health promotion, sport, and physical education.

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Juliana Hopkins

Lecturer

Juliana is a BACP Senior Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist and currently works in private practice alongside this lecturing role.

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Ben Jane

Senior Lecturer

Ben has more than twenty years of experience working in various health and fitness roles. In this time he has worked with more than a thousand participants and helped train hundreds of fitness professionals.

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Dr Alister McCormick

Senior Lecturer

Alister teaches psychology and its applications to sport, exercise, and health. His main research interest is how psychological interventions can be used to improve the performances of people who participate in endurance events, such as middle- and long-distance running, cycling, swimming, and triathlon events.

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