mature students training in physiotherapy

[jagangel]

Hello
i was wondering if there is anyone out there who has trained to be a physiotherapist as a mature student?
i am 28 and have been working in the nhs for over 9 years now as a pharmacy technician (from student level up to a management roll)
i am also a fitness professional teaching regular pole fitness and aerobics (member of the register of exercise professionals) - so as you can see i have a long background in health, fitness and medicine, and working in a hospital.
well i have recently realised that a new challenge in my life is required as my main pharmacy job has become more desk based and i am a more active person who likes to interact and help and motivate people - and physiotherapy has always been of interest - but even more so now due to my increasing roll in the fitness industry and the injuries it can cause.
i have also got a neice who is under 2 and has CF so respiratory physio is also of interest to me.
my main question is if there are any or many mature students who embark on a physiotherapy degree?
were there any specific requirments you needed to obtain before a university would accept you as a mature student?
what loans/grants are available for mature students?
how hard have you found it being a bit older?
just any info or guidence appreciated
thank you
jag

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[Ironmike]

I am at the end of my second year of physio now (aged 33). For me, I had done a degree previously, and as I had a 2:1 from that could apply straight to the course. If you don't meet the entrance requirements, you might have to either do A level sciences, or as is more likely, a year long access to healthcare course. The best way to ascertain what the entrance requirements are is to e-mail the universities you are interested in directly and ask. Within my year of 60 ish students, I would say that around half are mature (over 21), so there are definitely a lot of us older lot going to uni - you won't be alone!

The same loans and grants are available to mature students as first timers. For me, I get a NHS bursary and a student loan (cut rate because of bursary), and this alongside working long hours keeps me afloat - I am in the fitness industry too, personal training and class instructing, so similar background. I've not found it hard being older at all, and actually with a full on course such as this, I have found it a benefit as I don't want to go out and get pissed every night at the student union. That is against the fact that I have to work 15-20 hours a week ontop of uni, which is certainly a challenge, especially when I am doing my 5 week placement blocks and am in hospital 9-5 Monday to Friday.

I would say your first step is to work out where you want to go. Then mail the unis asking what they want. Then you will have an idea about how you can get into those institutions and take it from there. It is very very much doable at any age, you just have to want to do it. Oh yeah, as you have an inside link with hospital, I would go about arranging work experience with the physio departments - this is something that is pretty much a must have for any interviews that you get.

[jagangel]

thank you ironmike - its great to hear from others in a similar situation, and that many mature students do embark on this
i am already in the process of finding out what unis would need me to do and it seems that as my qualifications are over 3 years old i will need to do an access course or open university module - OU is looking best due to being able to continue working and saving money
i am very keen to get work experience so i am looking into those too. lots to do and lots to think about!
hope all is going well for you!

[Ironmike]

I think I had it easy getting in with my degree, although that was about 10 years old when I applied. I guess individual circumstances will change what unis expect of you. Another thing to bear in mind is with the tuition fees rising as of the next entrance cycle, nobody is quite sure about what sort of knock on effect this will have on the number of places at uni and the sort of funding you will get. I know where I am at, they are going to be charging the full £9k, and how much of this the NHS will pick up in these times of austerity is not clear. I certainly think that it will have some sort of knock on effect on both young and old doing physio in the future.

[jagangel]

if you dont mind me asking which uni are you at?
also is there any contact info regarding nhs funding? any people to contact?
im wondering if anyone knows what the tuition fees and bursaries etc will be yet for next year? the unis i have contacted dont seem to want to answer my questions on the cost for 2012, they seem to avoid the question

[Ironmike]

I'm at St George's. The NHS bursary people are the ones who deal with the funding, so I would get in touch with them regarding any plans they might have in terms of the future.

Students Student Bursaries NHS Business Services Authority

Thing is, I suspect they will tell you they just don't know. I don't think it's deliberate, I just think that nobody knows yet what the training situation will be in two years time. I think there are 55 places for 2011 where I am at, down from the 69 that were accepted when I started two years ago. I don't wish to be pessimistic, but I can only see that number continuing it's downward trend as there are already too many unemployed graduates out there, and with the new tuition fees, each place is costing the NHS three times as much to fund as previously. It is this reason that makes me think that you should concentrate on getting as much on your application as possible over the next year in terms of work experience and reasons why they should pick you over others. It might also help to investigate which unis are more mature student friendly. I think at St Georges we have a higher amount of mature students because the uni like a bit more of a mix. Places like Kings for instance seem to be more receptive of AAA 18 year olds, although I'm sure they take some older people in.

[Guybrush]

Hi,

I am just coming to the end of my first year of physiotherapy as a mature student. I had to do an access course to get accepted onto the degree plus doing the usual experience. Some universities do one year health accesscourses that guarentee you a place onto their degree programme, keele for one.

[Gladmama]

I am interested in studing pysiotherapy and I am a mature student, Please could you advise on how to go about it, I am just finishing my access to Nursing Diploma and it is so difficult to get to nursing my other option is pysiotherapy or psychology but pysio is more appealing to me. Please advise on also Uni's that offer it in inner to outer London area as I have a young family of three.
Many thanks
Gladmama

[Ironmike]

Grrrr just replied and pressed the wrong button...

In short, we were told there were about 800 people who applied for 69 places in my cohort, and the training places have gone down in the years since (55 for 2011 start). If the only reason you are ditching nursing is because it is hard to get into, you might want to think long and hard about choosing physio as an easy option. Graduate opportunities are also pretty few and far between in the NHS, and I would certainly say as a qualified nurse you will have more jobs open to you. Furthermore, you will need to demonstrate a desire to study the course meaning you will need work experience prior to interview. This is maybe where I would start if I were you - a physio degree is full on, and if you spent three years going through the motions, I don't think you would survive. As for London unis - off the top of my head, St George's, Brunel, UEL and Kings with Hertfordshire being just outside. If you go to the CSP site, they have a section about training with a full list.

[jeannine]

Hello everyone, I'm new on this forum.

I was interested to read the post from jagangel about mature students training in physiotherapy as I have been offered a place on a physiotherapy course at the University of Hertfordshire beginning in September. I am very mature...and I mean very mature !!! I have always been interested in medicine and would have loved to be a doctor but just didn't have the right exams and grades. I know I want to work in a caring profession and thought Physio sounded just the thing, however having read all the posts aboiut the difficulties graduates face in finding a job I am seriously considering not doing the Physio course. First negative is the fact that I will be in my early 50s when I graduate and who is going to take on a 50+ when there are many other younger graduates out there. Other considerations are mostly financial. As I come from Jersey in the Channel ISlands we are not considered home students, nor International students but somewhere in between, and we are charged higher fees because of this. Don't ask me why !! Herts have told me that fees for my first year, which I am having to fund myself, are £7500, plus I will of course have to pay for accommodation and living expenses on top of this. So I calculate that my first year will cost me about £15000 which is a lot of money especially if I don't get a job on graduation. My 2nd and 3rd years fees are paid for my my local LEA. I would love to do the course and I know I would love the studying aspect, but I'm really worried about my prospects of getting a job. My other option would be to do a PGCE which is of course a much shorter course of one year and it probably would be easier to find a job afterwards. Any views on this anyone? Many thanks.

[BarryJK]

I contacted a Newcastle Uni regarding doing a physiotherapy degree; even though I have science degree, level 4 massage and level 3 sports massage, I would still have to do an access course which I could do at my local college.

There are people near where I live who advertise as sports therapists (and make a good living from it) who have just done massage courses and no degree, certainly a cheaper way of studying.