BSc (Honours)

DIAGNOSTIC
RADIOGRAPHY
 To keep pace with new technology, research and the latest thinking, we constantly
review and update our courses. Normally there will be few changes, if any, to what we
print in the course brochure. However as the course content may change after we have
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Sheffield Hallam University

Student satisfaction
These are some of the areas given the highest ranking of ‘very satisfactory’
by students* in our 2006 Student Experience Survey

• Sheffield Hallam University as a whole

• University services
• opportunities to make friends and socialise
• studying in the city of Sheffield
• potential career prospects
• enthusiasm of teaching staff for their subject
• course content
• quality of workplace experience

Since 2000 the University has carried out student experience surveys where current students are asked about
their time at the University and asked to rate their level of satisfaction for their course and University facilities.
The full survey results can be found at www.shu.ac.uk/research/cre/index.htm
*health, bioscience and sport students.
Contents
Sheffield Hallam – a great place to build your career 4
Sheffield – a great place to live 6
Preparing you for a career in diagnostic radiography 8

Courses
BSc (Honours) Diagnostic Radiography 10

Applying for your course 12

Professional recognition
On successful completion of the diagnostic radiography
degree you are eligible to apply for registration with the
Health Professions Council.
This course is approved by the Society and College of
Radiographers.

Extended Degree Programme Health and Social Care Professions

Preparatory year (UCAS code B991)
This one year course could be of interest to you if you want a career in the health professions but cannot meet the
academic entry requirements to gain a university place. Successful completion of the course would allow you to
apply for any of our health and social care or biosciences courses.
For further information please visit www.shu.ac.uk/ug07/hsc023
 Sheffield Hallam
University
a great place to build your career
With a community of 27,000 students, over 4,000 staff and around 600
courses, we are one of the UK’s largest and most progressive universities.
We pride ourselves on supporting our
students and helping them achieve their
ambitions. We will do everything we can to
help you build your expertise for your
career.
Study with the best facilities
We have some of the UK’s best and most
modern campuses and facilities. We have
invested £81m in the last ten years on
teaching and learning facilities and plan
£80m more up to 2010. We are leaders in
e-learning, building employability into
courses and developing ways for students
to take more control of their learning.
There are learning centres on each of
our campuses housing more than 2,000
study spaces – including more than 750
equipped with PCs. Our buildings are open
to our students seven days each week
during semesters – including 24 hour
opening.
Learning Centre, Collegiate Crescent Campus Students relaxing at Collegiate Crescent Campus
4
A proud commitment to
quality teaching
With 12 subject areas rated as
‘excellent’ by the national assessment
body, we pride ourselves on teaching
that delivers results. Work-based
learning, case studies, live projects and
innovative assignments are backed by
the latest e-learning and technology.
Our graduates are in demand
Our graduates do well in finding jobs.
89 per cent* of Sheffield Hallam
graduates are in work or further study
within six months of completing their
course.
Focusing on your career from
day one
Employability is built into your studies
right from the start. We work with
partnership organisations to deliver
what’s wanted in the workplace. We
work with hospitals, primary care trusts,
industry and government agencies.
*based on graduates eligible to work that responded
The Robert Winston Building,
to the University's 2004 first destination survey Collegiate Crescent Campus
Our purpose built health and wellbeing building,
the Robert Winston Building
Teaching enriched by the latest
research
Research is a vital part of our work. Staff
working at the edge of new knowledge
can feed their expertise back into courses.
National and international organisations like
Pfizer, Peugeot, British Heart Foundation,
Cancer Research UK, Sport England,
Sheffield City Council and Department of
Health have used our research expertise.

Supporting your achievement is

our job
Nobody is on their own at Sheffield
Hallam. From accommodation and money
to personal, practical and academic
support we make sure you get the
assistance you need. That includes help
finding placements and work experience,
finding part-time work to bring in extra
cash, and helping you find the right move
after graduation.

Guaranteed accommodation
If you need to find accommodation in
Sheffield while you are studying, we can
help. We guarantee to offer all first year
students who apply for accommodation a
property, owned or managed by the
University or in partnership or private
sector accommodation.
Students on our health courses are based at
Collegiate Crescent Campus which is a five
minute bus ride or a 20 minute walk from
Sheffield city centre
Above
Heart of the Campus,
Collegiate Crescent Campus

Right
Millers Restaurant, Collegiate Crescent Campus

Our Chancellor Lord Winston opening Sheffield city centre is only a five minute bus ride Main entrance, City Campus
the Robert Winston Building from Collegiate Crescent Campus

5
 Sheffield
a great place to live

Sheffield is a vibrant modern city, strikingly set over seven

river valleys. It is Britain’s fifth largest city – and also one of its
greenest, with 150 woodlands and 50 public parks.

Home to two major universities, Sheffield is one of the UK’s leading student
cities, with a very large student population. There is a thriving cultural scene,
with a wealth of stylish café bars, restaurants, lively pubs and nightclubs,
nationally renowned theatres, live music venues, international spectator sports,
as well as visitor attractions, galleries and museums.
The city centre includes award-winning buildings and public spaces, together
with a diverse range of shops. Ten minutes from the city centre is Meadowhall,
one of Europe’s largest indoor shopping centres.
A third of the city boundary falls within the Peak District National Park, home
to some of the UK’s most beautiful open countryside.
According to recent Home Office statistics, Sheffield is one of the UK’s safest
cities. Sheffield has one of England’s lowest cost of living for students, with
prices and rents below the national average.

Clockwise from top left

Sheffield Hallam University entrance

Sheffield has a thriving café culture

Athletics at the English Institute of Sport (EIS)

The Sheffield Winter Gardens

6
Clockwise from top

Sheffield Peace Gardens

Sheffield has a great reputation

for live music

The HUBS – Sheffield Hallam

University’s students’ union

The Peak District National Park offers

a wide range of recreational activities

Shopping in Meadowhall –
one of Europe’s largest indoor
shopping centre

7
 Preparing you for
a career in diagnostic
Diagnostic radiography is the medical
science of producing images of the human
body, which can be used to make a
diagnosis. This plays an important role in
an effective and early diagnosis of a wide
range of diseases. For over a hundred
years radiographers have been at the
forefront of medical development, and their
future role is expanding continuously.
The traditional idea of x-rays being used to
show broken bones is too simplistic and
misleading. This is a vital part of a
radiographer’s work, but medical imaging
has now developed to the point where it
can be used to examine every structure in
the human body.
What do diagnostic
radiographers do?
Diagnostic radiographers carry out their
work using highly technical equipment with
skill and accuracy, making sure they
produce high quality images with the least
possible risk of harm to the patient. They
also need to remember that their patients
have to cope with the fear of being ill in
hospital.
Radiographers sometimes work
independently, but more often work as part
of a team. You may work in a variety of
departments including the main imaging
department, operating theatre, intensive
care and accident and emergency.
Radiographers do not just work in x-ray
departments. There may be separate
departments for ultrasound examinations,
magnetic resonance imaging or nuclear
medicine, though in some hospitals these
are in a single department. They may need
to examine patients in the operating
theatre or on the wards.
There is a tremendous amount of job
satisfaction with the different aspects of
the work, and the main focus is always on
the welfare of the patient as the prime
consideration.
8
radiography
A focus on developing your
professional expertise
All our lecturers are qualified diagnostic
radiographers. Our current team have over
100 years experience of teaching
radiography between them, yet we also
have staff who have not been out of
clinical work for more than a year.
The course benefits from our close links
with the hospital departments where you
will carry out your placements, with whom
we share research and clinical expertise.
Leave us with a portfolio of
proven skills
This course equips you with the
knowledge and skills needed by
radiographers to work in the health
service.
When you graduate you will be a qualified
diagnostic radiographer who can deliver a
professional standard of service. You will
be able to think critically, analyse, evaluate
and solve problems, innovate when
meeting the needs of patients in various
hospital settings and work effectively in
teams from various healthcare professions.
We have close links with hospital
departments with whom we share
research and clinical expertise. You also
benefit from the clinical expertise and
specialised subject areas of our teaching
team. They introduce you to present and
developing methods of imaging and
conventional radiography.
Working with other healthcare
professionals
As a radiographer you will work with
medical and nursing staff and members of
other healthcare professions. The course
includes interprofessional learning modules
in each year of study. These modules are
to help prepare you for working alongside
other healthcare professionals with the
goal of providing the patient with a
seamless journey from diagnosis all the
way through their treatment.
We teach you how to communicate and
work as you would with different teams in
a hospital or other health settings. The
modules also provide you with an
understanding of the role of other
healthcare professionals and widen your
knowledge of the patient experience.
Extensive student support
You will be supported in various ways
throughout your time on the course. Online
tutorials and discussion boards are used
for the academic parts of the course, and
these can all be accessed remotely. You
will be assigned an academic tutor who
you can contact with any issues or
queries.
When you are on your clinical placement
you will be supported by a member of staff
at the hospital, who ensures you get the
relevant clinical experience and helps you
find accommodation. You will also receive
visits from a member of the University
teaching team to guide your learning.
Modern specialist facilities
The Robert Winston Building was purpose-
built to house our health and wellbeing
courses. Our specialist teaching rooms
were designed in close consultation with
practising health professionals to replicate
the actual work environment of hospitals.
The rooms are complemented by the latest
teaching and clinical equipment and
technology.
With a new direct radiography room and a
suite of computers for viewing images we
are well-equipped to provide support for
linking theory to practice.
Placements deliver real work Your career in diagnostic
experience radiography
Clinical placements are central to your Diagnostic radiographers are in demand in
training and employability. This is where hospitals throughout the UK. There may
your learning occurs in the hospital also be opportunities to work abroad.
settings. This is an important element of
After gaining a few years experience you
your training to enable you to translate the
may decide to take postgraduate courses
academic theory learned at University into
to specialise in areas such as MRI,
the clinical skills necessary for the solving
ultrasound and nuclear medicine. You
of health care problems.
could also take qualifications that enable
You spend half the course on clinical you to report on the images produced,
placements in large teaching hospitals, deliver intravenous injections and conduct
district general hospitals and specialist barium enema examinations. As your
departments covering a wide geographical career develops you may move towards
area, including Sheffield, Barnsley, Grimsby management or educational positions,
and Lincoln. away from a purely clinical role.
You will be allocated to a carefully chosen
clinical centre to gain experience,
supervised by radiographers who are well
briefed to your needs. In addition, lecturers
will pay you regular visits to ensure that
essential links between theory and practice
are recognised and developed.

9

UCAS code
B821
Attendance
Three years full-time
Assessment
• assignments • case studies • project
work • professional development
portfolio • research project • lectures
• seminars
Entry requirements
260 points from three GCE/VCE A
levels, except general studies, with at
least 80 points from each subject, one
of which must be a science subject, or
BTEC National qualifications.
Geography, psychology, sociology and
sports studies are considered as
science subjects. VCE or double
award must be in science or health
and social care. If you are unsure
please contact our admissions staff.
Course content
Year one modules
• imaging principles and practice 1
• imaging science 1 • professional
development 1* • imaging principles
and practice 2 • imaging science 2
• clinical education and practice 1
• practice skills 1
Year two modules
• imaging principles and practice 3
• imaging principles and practice 4
• imaging science 3 • sectional
imaging • professional development 2*
• professional development 3*
• clinical education 2 • practice skills 2
Year three core modules
• imaging principles and practice 5
• imaging science 4 • professional
issues • professional development 4*
• professional development 5*
• clinical education 3 • practice skills 3
• option module
Year three options
One from • towards ultrasound
• towards paediatric imaging
• towards image interpretation
• towards radionuclide imaging
• towards gastrointestinal tract
imaging • independent study module
*You share these modules with
students from other health professional
groups, including nursing, occupational
therapy, physiotherapy, radiotherapy
and social work.
10
BSc (Honours)
Diagnostic
Radiography
Who is this course for?
This course prepares you for a career in
diagnostic radiography. You will need to
relate to the wide variety of people that you
will come into contact with when working
as a diagnostic radiographer. You will need
good communications skills, and a caring
personality. You will also need to be able to
work effectively as part of a team.
You must also have spent at least two days
in a major hospital imaging department
prior to applying for course. The visit must
be verified by the hospital department, who
need to provide feedback and an outline of
the visit.
When you graduate you will be able to
• think critically
• analyse, evaluate and solve problems
• innovate when meeting the needs of
patients in various hospital settings
• deliver a professional standard of service
• work effectively in teams from various
healthcare professions
Professional recognition
You must be state registered to work as a
diagnostic radiographer. This means you
need to register with the Health Professions
Council (HPC). When you have successfully
completed this course you can apply for
registration with the HPC.
Sheffield Hallam University and the Joint
Validation Committee of the College of
Radiographers validate the course.
Building your expertise
You will learn radiographic and other
imaging techniques alongside the related
anatomy, pathology and patient care. This
means you will understand how the
different parts of your study fit together to
give you all the skills you need to be a
competent radiographer.
You will begin by learning relatively simple
procedures, and progress to complex,
specialised orthopaedic and trauma
investigations. You will learn about the
different parts of the body, and the subtlety
and care that develop a radiographer’s
skills for advanced practice. Specialist
lectures will tell you about the increasing
amount of imaging research and
development devoted to exploring
demonstration of the body’s organs and
their function.
You will experience the full range of a
radiographer’s work settings, but out-of
hours emergency duty experience will only
be arranged during the later stages of the
course, as you finally prepare to start your
career as a qualified radiographer.
The course takes you through a sequence
of academic study periods and clinical
placements. This is so you learn about the
theories behind radiography, and you are
able to apply these in a practical way. As
well as lectures and tutorials there are case
studies, problem-based learning and
laboratory sessions. You will produce a
portfolio, which includes evidence of your
clinical experience and your own record of
your learning achievements in University
and on placement.
Your placement
We have a comprehensive range of
hospitals across the region, where you may
go on placement. You will be allocated to a
carefully chosen clinical centre to gain
experience, supervised by radiographers
who are well briefed to your needs. In
addition, academic lecturers will pay you
regular visits to ensure that essential links
between theory and practice are
recognised and developed.
The clinical placement centres on our
course will give you a full range of imaging
experience. You will use conventional and
advanced medical imaging procedures
including
• computed tomography (CT scans)
• ultrasound
• magnetic resonance imaging
• radionuclide imaging
The clinical placements are arranged in six
week blocks, and allow you to build new
skills and link the theory you learn in
University with your practice while on
placement.
The placements are at the following Careers Kelly Tate, 2006 graduate
hospitals Diagnostic radiographers are in demand in ‘I find dealing with the trauma patients
• Barnsley District General Hospital, hospitals throughout the UK. There may in accident and emergency really
Barnsley also be opportunities to study abroad. As exciting and enjoyable. I thrive on
your career develops you may move having to work under pressure in the
• Bassetlaw Hospital, Worksop towards management or educational high energy environment. But I found
• Boston Pilgrim Hospital, Boston positions, away from a purely clinical role, dealing with seriously ill patients really
or you may choose to specialise in one of difficult at first. I was given loads of
• Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, the newer imaging systems. support from the more experienced
Sheffield* staff, which helped me learn how to
The majority of our students gain
• Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Royal deal with it.’
employment in the NHS.
Hospital, Chesterfield
• Diana Princess of Wales Hospital,
Grimsby
• Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Doncaster
• Grantham and North Kesteven District
General Hospital, Grantham
• Kings Mill Hospital, Sutton-in-Ashfield
• Lincoln County Hospital, Lincoln
• Northern General Hospital, Sheffield
• Rotherham District General Hospital,
Rotherham
• Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield
• Scunthorpe General Hospital,
Scunthorpe
• Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Sheffield*
*These hospitals are special placements
only. This means you will only have a short
clinical block. Other hospitals have
students placed there continuously.
You may not get your first choice of
placement but you must attend the
hospital where you are placed.

11
 Applying for your course
Along with the entry requirements there are
other criteria that you must meet before
we can accept you on to our courses.
These are standard requirements for all
students wishing to work in the health and
social care environment.
Your fitness to take the course
At the selection interview you must sign a
declaration of fitness to take the course.
Admission and progress depend on
continued fitness. It is your responsibility to
tell your admissions tutor at once of any
change of circumstances.
All students on health-related courses
must be immunised to meet the needs of
the Department of Health. On enrolment
you will have a medical and start the
immunisation programme so that you are
ready to take part in your clinical
placements.
Computer access at the Crescent café
12
Criminal record
During the admissions process you must
declare criminal convictions, cautions and
bindings over, including those considered
spent under the terms of the Rehabilitation
of Offenders Act. Criminal convictions do
not necessarily prevent acceptance on a
course, but some may be regarded by an
employer or professional body as
excluding you from practice. A full criminal
record check takes place on enrolment.
We are happy to discuss any issue with
you that you feel may affect your
application.
Flexible entry requirements
If you do not meet our normal entry
requirements we may be flexible in our
offer if you can show a commitment to
succeed and have the relevant skills and
experience. You may have gained these
through employment, caring, voluntary
work or private study. We consider each
application on merit and take account of
prior experience.
We are committed to equal opportunities
for all. If you have a disability which you
think may affect your studies, please tell
us. Our course tutors and disabled student
support staff will make every effort, under
the Disability Discrimination Act, to meet
your needs to help you study effectively.
Please contact them on 0114 225 3964
(voice and Minicom).
Tuition fees and bursaries
All places on this/these courses are funded
by the Department of Health. This means
that your course fees will be paid for you,
and that you are entitled to apply for a
means-tested bursary to assist with your
living expenses while you are at University.
You may also receive money towards
travel expenses while you are on
placement.
Further details on funding can be found at
www.nhsstudentgrants.co.uk
Clockwise from top
For details on Sheffield Hallam bursaries
visit www.shu.ac.uk/study/ug/money Students?????
Caption studying X-ray images

Reception at the Robert Winston

Building

The HUBS, Sheffield Hallam

University’s students
students’union
union

Forgers cafe,
café, Heart of the Campus

13
Notes

Graduation ceremony at Sheffield City Hall

 This booklet is printed on Revive 75,
9846-05/07

Sheffield Hallam University

Faculty of Health and Wellbeing
Collegiate Crescent Campus
Sheffield S1 1WB
Telephone +44 (0)114 225 5555
Fax +44 (0)114 225 3066
E-mail admissions@shu.ac.uk
www.shu.ac.uk
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