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MSc Parkinson's Disease Practice

A postgraduate distance learning course at Leeds Metropolitan University for health and social care professionals working with people with Parkinson's

Who's the course for?

The tutors are approachable and enthusiastic.

Student

The course is available to all health and social care professionals living in the UK and overseas who have a minimum of 2 years' experience of working with people with Parkinson's.

The course contains Parkinson's-specific modules plus modules studied with students drawn from other Master's courses in epilepsy, stroke and Multiple Sclerosis.

Students work in a wide range of acute and community healthcare services. They include specialist nurses, physiotherapists, doctors, speech and language therapists. Students like studying in this multi-disciplinary forum.

How long does it take?

The course takes 4 years part-time.

Each year there are two modules of 15 weeks.

The expectation is about 12 hours of study per week in term time. This includes time in clinical practice thinking about course-related topics.

Students find they can fit this around work, children and family life.

Who runs the course?

It's run by Faculty of Health, Centre for Community Neurological Studies (CCNS) at Leeds Metropolitan University

How does an online course work?

The technical side of how to access online facilities is taught at an induction day. Ongoing support is via email, phone and online.

Work is mainly done through password protected online classrooms. Course content is made up of written materials, a series of threaded blogs plus a selection of links to online media, personal accounts, and audio or movie files.

Core resources are provided electronically. These include copies of policies, scientific papers, published surveys and book chapters. An internal email facility helps students keep in touch.

A second virtual classroom enables students to meet their tutor online in real time from home and allows direct exchanges within the group.

Students enjoy virtual meetings and say they diminish the sense of isolation usually associated with distance learning.

Who's the course leader?

The course leader is Ana Aragon, who qualified as an occupational therapist in 1989. She's registered with the Health Professions Council of the UK and is a member of The College of Occupational Therapists and their specialist section for neurological practice.

From 1996 to 2007 Ana worked in a multi-disciplinary service for people with Parkinson's and related movement disorders.

She's contributed to books, papers, guideline development projects, research, training and conferences around the UK.

Ana has a special interest in Parkinson's-specific cognitive and sensory rehabilitation strategies, inspired by the work of The Kingston Centre, Australia.

She's also a keen gardener.

Find out more

Full details of the course are available from Leeds Metropolitan University.