 Ground-breaking
Clinical Sciences courses exceed admissions expectations
With careers ranging
from health sector management, bio-informatics, primary care to the pharmaceutical
industry, and medicine, it comes as no surprise that the newly-launched
Foundation and BSc Clinical Sciences degree courses at the University
have exceeded their admissions targets.
The expected target
for the unique Foundation course in Clinical Sciences/Medicine - which
includes subjects such as chemistry, biology and health studies - has
been surpassed by 43%. There are 57 students on the course - from the
planned 40.
The three-year innovative
BSc Honours degree in Clinical Sciences has also beaten projected targets
with an increase of 23% on the anticipated figure (from 40 students to
49).
The courses have been
designed to widen participation for students entering healthcare education
from non-traditional backgrounds, as well as overcome the growing shortage
of medical and healthcare staff in Yorkshire - where hospital vacancy
rates are now the highest outside London.
Admissions Tutor Dr
Debbie Hepworth said: "We were very pleased to see the courses recruit
so well and exceed our expectations. Staff worked extremely hard prior
to and following the launch of the courses in the summer and I'm pleased
to see that has paid off. It is clear from these admission figures that
the students from both courses recognise the opportunities that are available
to them and have chosen to take advantage of them."
Lucia Rothera, 36,
from Thornton, Bradford, chose the Foundation course after attending a
University Open Day. Originally a programme manager for the Internet,
design and development, she was given the opportunity to change her career
but was unsure of her options.
Lucia said: "I basically
went back 18 years and thought what would I liked to have done then and
it was something in the medical profession. I was ignorant of what the
NHS was about so I started looking around. The course is ideal for someone
like me from a different background. It allows you to go down so many
different avenues, with the option of going into medicine if you are of
the right calibre."
Naheed Hussain, 24,
from Manchester, agreed: "It is a way of getting into all sorts of different
areas such as optometry, pharmacy, etc. I would like to go into medicine
but if that doesn't happen there are lots of different options. I am really
enjoying the course and I'm learning a lot of things about different areas.
I never realised how interesting some of the different fields were."
One of the initiatives
being used to encourage potential students for Clinical Sciences is the
University Compact Scheme. Widening Participation Co-ordinator for Clinical
Sciences, Andrea Diston, works with local schools and colleges opening
up access to careers in medicine and healthcare, broadening the range
of social and ethnic backgrounds from which students are drawn.
For information about
the course please contact Debbie on 01274 (23)6584 or email d.l.hepworth@bradford.ac.uk
or visit the University's website www.bradford.ac.uk/acad/clinsci
3 December
2002
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