All module information is for 2026/7 entry and is subject to change.
First year
Core
Introduction to Paramedicine
This module introduces you to the contemporary profession of paramedicine, exploring its evolution, scope of practice, regulatory context and contribution to the wider UK healthcare system. It supports you to understand how urgent and emergency care is organised across NHS and multiagency settings, and examines the expectations placed on HCPC registered paramedics in relation to professional identity, conduct, communication and accountability. Through guided study, discussion and foundational learning activities, you will begin to appreciate the values based, person centred ethos that underpins modern paramedic practice, including compassion, respect, cultural safety, inclusivity and advocacy for diverse patient populations.
Alongside these professional foundations, the module develops essential early skills required for successful engagement in simulation, academic study and supervised clinical experience. You are introduced to effective interpersonal communication, reflective practice, feedback literacy, and the behaviours associated with safe participation in practice based learning environments. Ethical awareness, basic legal principles, and the importance of psychological wellbeing and resilience are embedded throughout. By the end of the module, you will have established a secure grounding in the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours that prepare you for the practical, academic and professional demands of the remainder of the programme.
This module includes the university mandatory online (canvas) courses covering consent and safety.
Anatomy and Physiology for Paramedics
This module provides you with foundational scientific understanding of human anatomy and physiology across major body systems, forming the essential base upon which safe clinical assessment and decision-making are built. You will explore the structure and function of the body in a way that connects directly to the early clinical observations they will encounter, developing accurate terminology, scientific communication skills, and confidence engaging with biological concepts.
The module introduces typical human physiology, physiological variation, and indicators of health relevant to pre-hospital assessment. Throughout the module, you will repeatedly connect anatomy and physiology to common paramedic assessment activities, including vital signs, patient history, physical assessment, recognition of deterioration, and communication of clinical findings.
In addition to scientific foundations, the module develops students’ ability to interpret basic physiological information, understand the clinical relevance of typical findings, and appreciate how anatomy and physiology underpin later study of pathophysiology, trauma, and medical assessment. The module supports you in building their identity as emerging paramedic practitioners by connecting scientific knowledge to professional behaviours, reflective learning, and safe engagement in simulation and early practice education experiences.
Skills for Emergency Care
This module aims to introduce you to essential beginner-level paramedic clinical skills used in emergency and urgent care settings. It provides foundational training in structured patient assessment, baseline observations, airway management, manual handling, infection prevention and control, communication skills, and basic life support. Through repeated practice, demonstration, and feedback, you gain the confidence and technical grounding needed for safe participation in simulation-based learning and supervised clinical placement.
Alongside technical competence, the module aims to foster non‑technical skills including situational awareness, teamwork, communication, professionalism and reflective practice. You learn to apply core principles of patient safety, risk awareness, consent, and respect when delivering care in simulated environments. The module emphasises safe beginner practice and the development of behaviours expected of trainee paramedics undertaking their first exposure to practical learning and practice education.
Introduction to Mental Health and Social Inclusion
This module aims to introduce you to the core mental health theories, social determinants of health, and interpersonal factors that influence patient behaviour, patient wellbeing and engagement with emergency care. It builds on concepts of communication and clinician mental health in the first part of the programme. You develop an understanding of human behaviour across the lifespan, including how stress, trauma, cognition, development, vulnerability, and environmental factors affect the ways in which individuals experience illness, respond to emergency situations, and communicate with healthcare professionals. Through a person-centred approach, you begin to appreciate how psychological and social contexts shape interactions, expectations, and decision-making in prehospital and urgent care environments.
The module further aims to provide you with the knowledge and attitudes required to recognise and respond sensitively to psychosocial needs, safeguarding concerns, stigma, vulnerability, and diverse community experiences. You explore the influence of culture, inequality, poverty, housing, and social support networks on health outcomes and service access. The module provides opportunities to practise communication strategies, reflective thinking, and collaborative problem-solving in scenarios involving psychosocial complexity. Overall, the aim is to build the foundations of compassionate, culturally safe, and socially informed practice that supports safe participation in simulation, interprofessional learning, and early clinical practice.
Evidence for Practice
This module introduces you to the fundamental principles of evidence-based practice (EBP) within paramedic science, supporting the development of early research literacy and the ability to engage critically with information that informs safe, person-centred decision making. You explore how evidence is generated, interpreted and applied in pre-hospital settings, including familiarity with research terminology, study types, guideline structures and professional expectations for evidence-informed care. The module promotes confidence in locating and understanding evidence relevant to emergency and urgent care practice.
The module also aims to develop your capacity for critical thinking, reflective judgement, and academic communication, enabling you to identify credible sources, recognise bias, and understand the role of evidence in shaping clinical guidelines, protocols, and professional standards. Through guided activities, you learn how evidence contributes to the Programme Learning Outcomes and the HCPC Standards of Proficiency, establishing a foundation for more advanced study in pharmacology, pathophysiology, clinical assessment and final-year research.
Practice Education 1
This module aims to introduce you to clinical practice in a supportive, developmental manner, allowing you to gain early insight into the expectations, routines and responsibilities of professional paramedic practice. Through supervised observation and participation, you begin to understand how theoretical knowledge taught on campus connects to real-world care environments.
Practice Education 1 provides you with your first structured exposure to supervised clinical practice. As an introductory Level 4 module, it supports you in transitioning from campus-based learning into real-world healthcare environments, enabling them to observe, participate in and reflect upon the work of registered paramedics and wider multidisciplinary teams. The module establishes foundational professional behaviours, communication skills and an understanding of safe practice that prepares students for effective engagement in future practice.
The module is designed to help you develop emerging confidence in professional behaviour, communication and safe practice. You will encounter diverse patient groups, clinical scenarios and interprofessional interactions, gaining early awareness of how paramedics contribute to wider health and social care systems.
As part of the wider programme, this module lays essential foundations for subsequent practice education experiences and contributes to meeting professional expectations associated with paramedic training. No prerequisites are required, but you must adhere to placement provider requirements, including occupational health clearance and professional standards.
Second year
Core
Medical Assessment and Management
This module aims to develop your competence and confidence in the structured assessment and management of undifferentiated medical presentations across the lifespan. Building on foundational skills acquired at Level 4, the module supports you in integrating history‑taking, physical examination, vital signs, and clinical reasoning to form working impressions, identify red flags, and initiate safe, evidence‑informed management within the paramedic scope of practice. Emphasis is placed on recognising time‑critical conditions, understanding escalation thresholds, and applying clinical frameworks consistently in dynamic pre‑hospital environments.
The module also aims to strengthen your clinical decision‑making, communication, and professional judgement when managing medical patients in complex and unpredictable contexts. You develop the ability to justify decisions using evidence, guidelines, and physiological rationale, while maintaining person‑centred care and effective interprofessional communication. Through applied learning and simulation, the module prepares you for increasing responsibility during supervised practice and the year in practice, supporting progression toward safe, autonomous paramedic practice.
Pathophysiology for Paramedics
This module aims to develop your understanding of the pathophysiological processes that underpin acute and long‑term illness encountered in paramedic practice. Building on Level 4 anatomy, physiology, and evidence‑based practice, you explore how disease processes disrupt normal function, leading to clinical signs, symptoms, and patterns of deterioration. The module supports you in linking theoretical mechanisms to patient presentation, forming a critical foundation for accurate assessment and safe clinical decision‑making.
The module also aims to enhance your ability to integrate pathophysiological knowledge into applied clinical reasoning. Through case‑based learning and simulation‑supported activities, you develop the skills required to recognise severity, anticipate complications, and justify management priorities within the paramedic scope of practice. The module prepares you for more complex medical and trauma management, pharmacology, and increasing autonomy during supervised practice and the sandwich year.
This module builds on your foundational knowledge of evidence-informed practice developed at Level 4, advancing your ability to critically appraise, interpret, and apply research evidence within paramedic and urgent care settings. You will develop a deeper understanding of research methodologies, evidence hierarchies, data interpretation, and the strengths and limitations of different forms of evidence used to inform clinical decision-making. The module aims to enhance your confidence in evaluating the quality, relevance, and applicability of evidence to contemporary paramedic practice, supporting safe, effective, and person-centred care.
The module also develops your ability to critically analyse the relationship between research evidence, clinical guidelines, policy, and professional practice. Through engagement with current literature and contemporary healthcare challenges, you will explore how evidence is translated into practice and how it contributes to service improvement, quality assurance, and patient outcomes. You will strengthen their academic communication, critical thinking, and reflective skills, enabling them to construct evidence-based arguments and justify clinical decisions using a range of credible sources.
By engaging with increasingly complex evidence and clinical scenarios, students will develop the skills required to evaluate research findings and their impact on paramedic practice, preparing them for Level 6 study, independent research activity, and evidence-informed leadership within multidisciplinary healthcare environments.
Practice Education 2
This module consolidates clinical skills, reasoning and professional behaviours through supervised practice‑based learning. You progress from supported participation to increased responsibility, demonstrating safe practice, reflective learning and effective teamwork across varied settings, (including ambulance and wider healthcare settings).
Emphasis is placed on applying clinical assessment and management frameworks consistently, communicating professionally, engaging with feedback cycles, and evidencing competence and development within the Practice Assessment documentation (which is aligned with the HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Paramedics).
Pharmacology for Paramedicine
This module aims to develop your understanding of pharmacological principles underpinning the safe and effective use of medicines in paramedic practice. Building on Level 4 anatomy, physiology and evidence based practice, the module introduces core concepts including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, indications, contraindications, adverse effects and interactions. You will develop the ability to explain how medicines act within the body and how patient specific factors influence therapeutic and adverse responses.
The module also aims to support the integration of pharmacological knowledge into clinical reasoning and decision making. You learn to justify medicine use within paramedic scope of practice, recognise risk, anticipate complications, and communicate medication related information clearly and professionally. The module prepares you for increasingly complex clinical responsibility during supervised practice and progression toward autonomous, safe pharmacological decisionmaking within the bounds of current and evolving paramedic practice.
