PGCert Clinical Echocardiography
About
Our 12-month Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Clinical Echocardiography constitutes the academic component of the longer (18-month) Echocardiography Training Programme (ETP). This is a workforce development pathway developed by the National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS) in collaboration with the British Society of Echocardiography (BSE).
You'll have access to an echocardiography service and local supervision, enabling you to contextualise theoretical learning. Close alignment of academic content and clinical experience will allow you to progressively develop competence while maintaining patient safety.
On successful completion of this course, you'll be able to:
- apply in-depth knowledge of the science of cardiac ultrasound to professional practice.
- demonstrate the practical physical skills needed to perform echocardiography.
- critically analyse images obtained when performing echocardiography, leading to clinical diagnosis in a variety of clinical scenarios.
- evidence development in all academic and practical skills required to perform the role of an echocardiographer.
Entry
Entry requirements
All entrants, direct or in-service, must meet one of the following requirements:
- 1st or 2:1 in either an undergraduate honours degree (including an integrated master's degree) in Cardiac Physiology or a relevant scientific subject (examples include Biology, Human Biology, Sports Biology and Sports Science).
- 2:2 undergraduate honours degree in Cardiac Physiology or a relevant scientific subject plus an appropriate level of experience in cardiology.
- Alternative/vocational qualification plus sufficient and relevant experience and appropriate underpinning knowledge and skills in cardiology as evidenced for example by appropriate voluntary registration with the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists or Academy for Healthcare Science.
How to apply
Recruitment of students and provision of funding is managed by the National School of Health Care Science with NHS England commissioners. Details are provided to UWE Bristol subsequently to compete the admissions process.
Once funding has been approved, applicants must apply for both modules using the links provided by UWE Bristol.
For further information
- Email:
CPD Admin: pd@uwe.ac.uk
Funding enquiries: england.nshcs@nhs.net
Academic enquiries: duncan.sleeman@uwe.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0)117 32 81158
Structure
Content
You must take 60 credits from the two core modules:
- Introduction to Clinical Echocardiography
- Ultrasound Imaging in Cardiac Disease.
The content of the courseprovides a broad core of academic and applied learning associated with clinical echocardiography. It's designed to support learners from a variety of academic disciplines, ensuring that the underpinning knowledge and understanding is firmly provided regardless of previous discipline.
The course is fundamentally practice-led, with clinical application acting as the central driver for learning. You'll gain supervised hands-on experience within an echocardiography department, where you'll develop scanning skills, clinical workflow understanding, and familiarity with real world diagnostic decision-making.
The curriculum is closely aligned with clinical practice and carefully sequenced to ensure coherency across modules. As your confidence and competence grow, the content moves from core principles of ultrasound physics and anatomy to specialist imaging, interpretation, and multidisciplinary application.
Work-based learning is embedded throughout, providing structured clinical exposure, supervised scanning, and workplace-based assessments that reinforce taught content. Regular formative feedback ensures you develop not only technical proficiency but also professional autonomy and decision-making capability.
A strong link with professional bodies, most notably the BSE, is maintained throughout the course, ensuring a focus on professionalism and key employability skills gained alongside academic skills.
Learning and Teaching
This PGCert is purposefully designed to build theoretical understanding, practical echocardiography skills, and advanced clinical reasoning through a coherent and practice-led model. The two modules, Introduction to Clinical Echocardiography and Ultrasound Imaging in Cardiac Disease, run sequentially.
Learning is delivered through a blended model, combining asynchronous learning resources, on-campus block weeks, and online synchronous learning via lectures, webinars and tutorials.
You're taught and mentored by experienced academics, clinical scientists, echocardiographers, cardiologists, and practice educators, ensuring exposure to a wide range of professional perspectives and real-world clinical scenarios.
See our full glossary of learning and teaching terms.
Assessment
Assessments have been designed to have an applied and practice-led focus. For example, the integrated portfolio within both modules provides key skills essential for learners to advance within their chosen field. Key skills and knowledge will be developed and assessed within the first module, studied early in the course. This will help your progression and growth, and allow both formative and summative feedback to feed-forward into subsequent assessments.
You'll complete a range of assessment types to accommodate different learner backgrounds and learning styles. There are opportunities for flexibility within planned assessments, allowing you to adapt your studies according to your interests and career goals. Examples of assessments include a poster presentation and a work-based project, which reflect the applied and practice-focused nature of the course. These will be completed alongside assessments such as written tasks, and innovative assessment types such as development and evaluation of service audits.
Fees
There is currently no published fee data for this course.
Supplementary fee information
This course is funded by NHS England.
Features
Study facilities
The School of Applied Sciences at UWE Bristol has significant prior expertise of delivering blended learning, through applied practice-oriented degrees, CPD and apprenticeship provision. The content of the PGCert will be delivered by academics and clinical specialists with many years of experience in the field of echocardiography, including congenital.
At the main Frenchay Campus, there is 24-hour access to computing facilities.
Find out more about the facilities and resources UWE Bristol has to offer.
Take a personalised virtual tour of the Health Professions facilities and experience what a typical day could look like here for you.
If the course you're applying for is fully online or blended learning, please note that you're expected to provide your own headsets/microphones.
Life
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