Every day, we are reminded of how important good healthcare is. From the COVID-19 pandemic to the ongoing fight against cancer, it is clear that healthcare is essential to our society. We all know someone who has needed care at some point in their life, and we all know the impact of good healthcare on someone's recovery.
When you study healthcare at university, whether that’s nursing, midwifery, or other specialisms you become part of a driving force to make a difference. When you study healthcare, you’ll learn how to promote good health and prevent ill health; assess, plan, provide, coordinate and evaluate care; lead and manage nursing care, work in teams; and improve safety and quality of care, beyond that, you’ll be part of something making a difference.
What does it mean to study Healthcare?
Healthcare is an essential component of society. When we study healthcare we study what it means to protect and improve the health of individuals and communities. Healthcare includes everything from preventive measures to treatment and rehabilitation. There are so many different specialisms and areas in the healthcare field, and you’ll find that the courses on offer differ depending on your specific interests in healthcare.
When you study nursing you’ll get to grips with becoming a skilled, caring professional, you’ll learn how to assess medical situations, how to use evidence-based practice to inform the ways you care about patients.
Broadly, nurses provide quality care to people who need it most. Studying nursing, you’ll learn how to assess, plan and implement that care to meet patient needs. Whereas Midwifery courses are focussed on providing support for pregnant people and their families, it relates to pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care.
When you study midwifery, you’ll get to know the academic and practical aspects of the discipline, applying this knowledge to support healthy pregnancies and births.
Higher education courses can focus on various aspects of healthcare, from its scientific principles, effective practice and research to the organisation and delivery of healthcare services. It also examines the ethical, legal, and economic issues surrounding healthcare. Healthcare courses prepare students for a variety of careers in healthcare, including nursing, midwifery, healthcare administration and organisation as well as public health and community care.
What qualifications and subjects do you need to study Healthcare?
Undergraduate Study
To get on to a medical degree, you will require three A levels and A grades. Typically, chemistry and biology A levels are required, with some schools preferring a third related science subject. It is important to check individual requirements with each university.
Entry requirements generally range from CCC to AAB, with the universities and colleges most commonly asking for BBB.
In addition to the different A level requirements above you will also need at least five GCSEs (A-C) including science, English, and maths.
For other healthcare degrees, like nursing courses, midwifery courses and other vocational qualifications you’ll need to demonstrate a high level of technical ability and the right soft skills for the job. You’ll usually find that a strong science A level, like biology can help you excel on your course.
There are many options to study healthcare courses, check the entry requirements of your specific subject of interest. Some healthcare courses, like nursing and midwifery courses, will accept students who show an aptitude and passion for care, even if they don’t have a relevant academic record.
Ready to explore more undergraduate healthcare courses?
Postgraduate Study
To study for a Masters degree in healthcare it’s likely you’ll need a 2:1 or equivalent in a relevant subject. Applications are also welcomed from candidates with a 2:2 or equivalent and relevant work experience.
There are lots of opportunities to further develop your subject knowledge through postgraduate study in healthcare, and lots of ways to specialise. There are general Masters courses in healthcare and progression is available to Masters in Midwifery degrees, or
Masters in Nursing degrees when you’ve finished an undergraduate degree in the field. These postgraduate qualifications usually aim to develop your knowledge and skills surrounding a specific subject. Many are coupled with registrations in your chosen vocation, so when you graduate you’ll have a Masters in healthcare and be a registered Midwife, Nurse or other healthcare professional.
Check the course details of your chosen subject, as the outcomes will be different depending on the Masters degrees in healthcare that you choose.
Popular postgraduate healthcare courses include:
- Master of Public Health
- Health Professional MSc
- Global Healthcare Management MSc
- Health Psychology MSc
- Nursing MSc
- Advanced Nursing Science MSc
Ready to explore more postgraduate healthcare courses?
What are the benefits of studying Healthcare?
A career in demand
Nurses are in high demand all around the world, meaning that qualified nurses, midwives and healthcare professionals will always be able to find work. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global nursing shortage is expected to reach nearly 13 million by 2030. This means that there will be plenty of opportunities for your future career.
A rewarding profession
When you study healthcare, you will have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. You’ll see people at their most vulnerable, you’ll see people’s recovery advance and be an integral part of their progress. It is a demanding but ultimately rewarding profession.
Funding is often available
Healthcare courses are often supported with bursaries and scholarships at universities. The NHS offers financial support to help people get into healthcare. Find out more about what bursaries are available at Northumbria University for healthcare courses.
Learn something new everyday
Once you have studied an undergraduate healthcare course, you will be able to specialise in a particular area of interest, either through studying a Masters in healthcare or whilst working via professional development. You might specialise in midwifery, nursing, radiography, mental health care or children’s nursing. Beyond that, a day in the life of a healthcare professional is never dull, you’ll learn and develop new skills every day.
A world of opportunities
Healthcare is required in every country so your career opportunities will not be limited to the UK alone. In fact, the healthcare education provided in the UK is highly advanced so if you were to seek opportunities and experience overseas you would be competent and able to pursue it.
What Healthcare course options are there?
Types of healthcare degree
If you’re interested in healthcare courses, then there’s plenty of variety. There are lots of different areas of subject focus, and you’ll find plenty of options in course structure depending on your needs. Qualifications tend to be from BSc (Hons), though their field offers MB degrees (Medicine), HND, HNC, and Foundation Certificates too.
Popular healthcare courses include:
- Medicine and health studies
- Medicine (general) and clinical
- Anatomy, physiology, and pathology
- Pharmacology, toxicology, and pharmacy
- Complementary medicines, therapies, and wellbeing
- Nutrition
- Dietetics
- Optometry
- Oral medicine
- Nursing
- Medical technology
Most healthcare courses are offered singularly, but there are a few combined degrees, there are options for full-time and part-time degrees depending on your needs.
Why choose Northumbria University for Healthcare?
The University of Northumbria is proud to prepare its students for rewarding careers in healthcare with its leading nursing courses, midwifery courses and general healthcare courses. NU has global and growing, research-active lecturers and academic staff. This enhances your teaching and learning but also influences national health policy and practice.
Ready to explore more about studying Healthcare at Northumbria?
Facilities
Facilities at Northumbria are state of the art, whether you’re studying for an undergraduate or Masters healthcare degree you’ll access industry-standard equipment and high-quality simulation environments so you can develop your expertise safely. When you study healthcare at Northumbria, you’ll have access to all the study resources you need, our 24-hour library is there when you need it and there are study spaces all over campus, including on our Coach Lane Campus where our nursing courses and midwifery courses are based.
At Coach Lane, you’ll find the Clinical Skills Centre. This space is your dedicated healthcare nerve centre. Offering an interactive environment where you can develop your specialist skills and become a confident and effective healthcare professional.
You’ll have access to:
- A peri-operative suite complete with an anaesthetic room, hi-fidelity simulation mannequins, a six bedded ward area, occupational therapy assessment area and therapeutic intervention in physiotherapy.
- A SIM Man and SIM Baby. These are hi-fidelity mannequins that produce altered physiology, including heart and lung rhythms, and are capable of procedures such as surgical interventions and haematology sampling.
- A six bedded ward area equipped with handling and lifting equipment.
- Intensive care unit and paediatric intensive care area.
- A midwifery room including a birthing bed and pregnancy mannequins. A Sim Mom: a hi-fidelity advanced birthing mannequin that provides manual and automatic delivery to teach obstetric skills during simple or complex birthing situations.
- Computerised birthing models.
- An occupational therapy kitchen and splinting area.
Career Focussed
Employability is threaded through all aspects of undergraduate and Masters degrees in healthcare at Northumbria. Midwifery courses are developed with the National Midwifery Council standards in mind, with core values that underpin the NHS constitution. When you study Midwifery at Northumbria you will leave with the skills, confidence and competencies to apply for professional registration.
When studying Nursing at Northumbria you’ll have the opportunity to graduate as an accountable professional with rich experiences in practice and a good knowledge of nursing science. When you graduate you’ll have all the knowledge and skills to become a registered nurse.
As part of many healthcare courses at Northumbria, you’ll complete work placements that provide you with experience of working in a real-life, multidisciplinary environment, something that can prove invaluable when applying for jobs.
Reputation
Northumbria’s reputation in healthcare is strong. NU boasts excellent links with the NHS and other organisations in the North East and students are renowned for their high level of skill, something that is demonstrated by consistently high employment rates and student satisfaction scores.
Many healthcare courses at Northumbria are developed with the NHS and many are approved by Professional Regulatory Statutory Bodies (PRSBs) including the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or the Health Care Professions Council.
Northumbria University is proudly 14th in the UK for the Health Professional course- Guardian University Guide 2022.
Research Excellence
At Northumbria, it’s important to us that your degree stays as relevant as possible to help you achieve your goals after graduation. We’re committed to evolving our practice and your teaching alongside national modernisation of healthcare delivery. Our relationship to research in this field ensures that your degree is future-proof, when you study healthcare at Northumbria you’ll be experiencing exciting developments in the field from day one.
Research at Northumbria covers six core themes; health economics and applied statistics, implementation and innovation research, living better in later life, the northern hub for veterans and military families research and workforce education and practice development. We also contribute to the University’s multidisciplinary research theme (MDRT) ‘Integrated Health and Social Care’.
Northumbria’s research in Healthcare and related fields is ranked 8th in the UK for research power, out of 91 submissions according to REF (2021). We’re proud that 88% of our research outputs are internationally excellent (3*) or world-leading (4*).
Beyond that, our research in healthcare affects the lives of real people, everyday. Take a look at some of the ways our research has impacted local and global communities.
Please Note
All content is accurate as of the time of writing, the information in this guide is subject to change and will be updated as required to reflect this.
