The Institute of Health Sciences Education (IHSE) offers programmes in clinical education, physician associate studies, and prehospital medicine
The Institute of Health Sciences Education (IHSE) is focused primarily on medical education and forms an integral part of Queen Mary University of London's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. Our academic staff are leaders in curriculum design, delivery and assessment.
We have world-class facilities at our campuses across east and central London and our partner organisations where we teach our students.
Queen Mary was ranked in the top ten in the UK for medicine by the QS World University Rankings by subject 2022. At a global level, medicine was ranked joint 16th in the world for research citations (citations per paper) by QS World University Rankings by subject 2022.
The Institute currently offers postgraduate taught programmes in the areas of:
Our MSc Physician Associate Studies is designed for you if you are a life sciences graduate looking to enter the healthcare profession or an allied health professional looking to develop your career.
For health professionals already working in the sector, we also offer programmes in clinical education and prehospital medicine, and we deliver a new physician associate degree apprenticeship.
MSc Physician Associate Studies
Our MSc Physician Associate Studies is a fast-paced and intensive 24 month programme designed for graduates with a background in life sciences, biomedicine or health sciences, or allied health professionals interesting in pursuing a challenging and exciting career in healthcare.
We have strong links with NHS Trusts and GP practices across north east London that can offer excellent clinical placements. The programme has been developed with consideration for both the needs of healthcare employers and the strategic aims of the NHS. Students rotate between different clinical specialties and areas of practice to develop a varied ‘portfolio’ career with a strong patient focus.
The course prepares you to become a physician associate: a collaborative healthcare professional with a generalist medical education, working in a multidisciplinary team alongside doctors, surgeons and GPs. Graduates will be placed on the Physician Associate Managed Voluntary Register (PMVR) at the Faculty of Physician Associates, Royal College of Physicians.
MSc Physician Associate Studies (Masters Apprenticeship)
The Physician Associate Masters degree apprenticeship is a 30-month course based in a vibrant and diverse east London community, delivered through a blend of learning on campus, online and in your workplace. On successful completion, you’ll gain a full MSc degree from a from a Russell Group university alongside a Level 7 qualification, which will prepare you for a career as a physician associate.
Designed for those already working in the NHS, this programme will prepare you to become a physician associate; a collaborative healthcare professional with a generalist medical education. In the UK, physician associates (PAs) work in a multidisciplinary team alongside doctors, surgeons, and GPs, providing medical care to patients in hospital and community settings.
Queen Mary is currently working with a number of NHS Trusts to deliver the Masters Apprenticeship programme.
For healthcare professionals interested in education, we offer a MA and PGCert in Education in Clinical Contexts, and a postgraduate apprenticeship programme in Clinical Education at PGCert level.
These programmes are designed for professionals looking for better ways to motivate and engage learners in clinical education, improve teaching practice and develop the necessary expertise to lead clinical education programmes in the workplace. Designed to fit around professionals’ busy working lives, you can start in January or September, and modules can be studied in person or online on a part-time basis. The MA is also available to study full-time.
MSc Prehospital Medicine is one of very few such programmes in the UK focused on the treatment of injury and illness outside hospital, and in particular, working to manage the time-critical reversible aspects of physiological processes activated when the human body suffers significant clinical insult. It is designed as a part-time programme for busy doctors and paramedics, who wish to gain advanced knowledge of prehospital medicine.
The programme is run in partnership with the Institute of Prehospital Care (IoPHC) and London’s Air Ambulance, a world leader in the field of pre-hospital medicine. Through its research, innovation and education activities, the Institute has influenced clinical guidelines, governance standards, and the practice of air ambulances in the UK, Europe and Australia.
Students will be based at the Institute, next to The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, which is a leading trauma centre for London, and with the Institute of Prehospital Care, using London’s Air Ambulance training facilities.