Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Rehabilitation

This dual delivery course enables students to complete this postgraduate qualification either in person, blended or fully online. The course equips students with the knowledge and skills required to make meaningful contributions to cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation practice. The scientific evidence for comprehensive rehabilitation is compelling in these populations. Furthermore, service transformations advocate for integrated approaches to delivery. As such, contemporary and evidence-based practice features strongly together with multidisciplinary approaches to the comprehensive delivery of high-quality care. The effective implementation of intensive lifestyle and medical risk factor management together with enabling psychosocial health and wellbeing are cornerstone.

Unique features of this programme include:

Flexible learning: The course uses a dual delivery approach (with a fully online option available) by incorporating scheduled hybrid tutorials and workshops coupled with directed study. This enables students to simultaneously maintain professional roles in clinical practice or manage other commitments whilst completing their studies. International students residing in Galway and those not working in clinical practice are required to complete a weekly timetable of face-to-face activities that take place in a range of clinical settings.
Delivered in partnership with the National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health (NIPC): This partnership enables an exceptional opportunity for students to interact with leading experts as well as engage in cutting-edge research and further opportunities in cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation.
Interdisciplinary expert teaching faculty: Students from a variety of backgrounds from all over the world interact with international leaders and clinical specialists from medicine, nursing, nutrition, exercise, behavioural medicine and public health.
The course addresses the latest evidence-base, implementation of best-practice guidelines and healthcare policy, behavioural change strategies, lifestyle approaches to risk factor modification, psychosocial health and medical management of risk factors including hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity and smoking. Outcome measures, health technology and innovation in service design also feature strongly to enable programme uptake and high-quality delivery. Whilst focussed on cardiovascular and pulmonary populations the content aligns strongly to the management of non-communicable diseases.

This programme aims to provide nurses, physiotherapists, dietitians, GPs, hospital doctors, psychologists, occupational therapists and other health professionals interested in or working with people with cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions, the knowledge to provide high quality care as well as an array of career opportunities in clinical care transformation, research, academia and industry.

The MSc in Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation involves students participating in a number of Level 9 modules totalling 90 ECTS.

In Semester 1 students participate in three core modules:

Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Theory and Practice
Research Methods
Reflective Clinical Practice (Part 1)
In Semester 2 students participate in three core modules:

3 optional modules across subjects in behaviour change, lifestyle and medical risk factor modification
Reflective Clinical Practice (Part 2)
Across all three semesters, students work on a primary research project that is submitted as a ready to publish article at the end of the programme.

This core teaching is delivered fully online with scheduled virtual tutorials and workshops taking place typically 1-2 Thursday/Friday evenings (3-7 pm) and 1 Saturday per month. In conjunction with this face-to-face virtual contact, students are expected to complete intensive directed studies supported by a specially designed online learning platform. In addition, students are offered a number of face-to-face opportunities to enable application of learning to practice. Where attendance to these in person is not possible online options are available.

Each module has associated assessments. At the end of Semester 1 online examinations are run for these modules. The remainder of the course has assessments in the form of essays or equivalent—e.g., written assignments, poster presentations, case reviews.

Successful applicants will possess at least a Second Class Honours, Grade 1 degree (or equivalent) in a health care discipline or related subject area (e.g., medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, dietetics, sport and exercise science, clinical or health psychology, pharmacy, health promotion, public health, etc). For those who do not hold a primary degree at the required level, consideration will also be given to applicants with relevant work experience, background knowledge and skills.

Overseas students will need to satisfy the University’s English Language requirement of IELTS 6.5 or above (or equivalent).

1 year full-time.

Next start date September 2024

Career Opportunities
There is an array of employment opportunities in public health, health promotion, healthcare management, academic and research settings and the pharmaceutical industry. Graduates of the course with a clinical background will also specifically benefit from career advancement in the specialty of cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation and integrated care programmes more broadly.