Choosing physiotherapy degree: experiences of Salford, Nottingham, Liverpool and York St John?

[Fayrazzled]

My daughter is holding several offers for physiotherapy but is unsure where to firm and insure. Any insights from anyone re. Salford, Nottingham, Liverpool or York St John please- the good, the bad and the ugly!

That's quite a range in terms of standing of unis.

Are the offers similar? Are Salford and York SJ known for their physio courses (apols I don't know).

Liverpool is a city a lot of people love, it’s very lively and not as expensive as some in terms of accomm. Nottingham is a lovely campus at the edge of the cty but be aware that all the on-campus accomm is catered so costs start at £8-9k + per year for the first year. SC accomm is available off-campus (a short walk). Sports facilities at Notts are excellent if that's of interest, and I would imagine as it's a pretty sporty uni that there are good opps for sports physio experience.

York is also a great city tho more ££ for students rents. Salford I don't know anything about – never known anyone going there – but ofc Manchester is another great city to be a student in.

I have no clue on physiotherapy degrees, but Dd is currently in her last year at YSJ and she’s absolutely loved it. It’s a brilliant uni as very small compared to a lot of others, so a much more personal approach, and the buildings are beautiful. It’s central and most student halls and houses are no more than a 20 minute walk, plus York is lovely and a pretty safe place to live. DD has also been very ill with serious health issues and her tutors have been fantastic. The only downside is York rent is ridiculously expensive - not sure how
it compares to the other cities you mentioned, but be prepared yearly rent will be upwards of £8/9000. Some students do live in leeds which is cheaper, but then you have the added hassle of commuting every day.

Manchester is also expensive for accommodation. No idea about the price of Salford halls but for private accommodation the ripple effect of the Manchester boom is definitely affecting Salford. Some parts of Salford are closer to Manchester than the traditional Manchester student areas and the Manchester students are cottoning on to this.

I like Nottingham as a city. There’s shops and bars, etc opening up all the time. It feels quite buzzy atm. Is it UoN or Trent she has an offer for?

Just wanted to add my other child will most likely be going to Nottingham, as pp said it’s a very lively buzzy city with great vibes, it’s definitely known as a student city if your daughter is into nightlife and bars. We don’t actually live too far from Notts so visit regularly.

It's Uni of Nottingham rather than Trent.

I think Nottingham and Liverpool have the best 'uni reputations' overall. There are fantastic hospitals to do placements at in Liverpool. My daughter loved Salford when she visited but I think is now wondering whether it is the best option. York St John was very pretty and I think the smaller size would suit her, but her placements could be anywhere all over Yorkshire.

Is she sporty? Nottingham is great for sport.

Have you looked at league tables. Seems to be Liverpool, then Nottingham, then Salford with York last. In the complete university guide which is generally seen as the better league table compared to the guardian. However in the guardian Salford out performs them all, it’s student satisfaction there which brings it up. I’d avoid York and research more opinions on the other 3 including placement experience

She is sporty but not uni level sport.

Neither of us really know how much weight to give to the league tables given than physiotherapy is a much more vocational degree than a traditionally academic subject. I think (perhaps incorrectly) than uni is less important here.

Also take into consideration what the catchment of clinical placement hospitals is. Lots of clinical in 2nd and 3rd year with high demand due to number of students. Depending on placements available you can end up with long commutes

University does matter especially in the current climate of the nhs job market not being great. Unfortunately it can be hard to tell from league tables what the reputation of the students from that university is. I lecture on a similar subject and our students have a better reputation with local trusts than the students from the higher ranked RG university.

saying that they will always want to employ a good student who they know and like over and above someone who just happens to have trained at a better university. So one question she needs to think about is where can she see herself potentially living after qualifying. If she’s a student with a good reputation she’s got a better chance of landing a job at a hospital she’s trained at. The hospitals back home might be busy employing the students they know and it can be harder to get a look in.

obviously that all depends on the job market in 3 years time. Hopefully it improves. At least with phyiotherapy I guess she’d have the option of private practice. But again they may be more likely to offer a job to a very good student who’s done a placement with them.

Id also be asking about break down of how many weeks on what sort of placement. So how much respiratory placement, how much muscular skeletal placement, etc. I also think staff to student ratio is a good metric. Also attrition rate.

Liverpool.

Thanks for your comments- a lot to think about!

I would ask what placements are available? The amount of time on placements will be the same. It doesn’t matter what uni you do a physio degree on, there will still be jobs but it does matter whether you like the area and the placements appeal to your daughter.

Lots of good comments about placements and job potential from PPs @Fayrazzled

This struck me from you She is sporty but not uni level sport.

Sport at uni is definitely for all. Even somewhere like Loughborough, known for sport and with a high level of athletic talent, really promotes sport for all in terms of taking part and keeping active. And at other unis she may well find she is more than good enough for the team (depends on the sport obvs).

I don't think uni reputation makes a huge difference even in the current climate. Maybe a slight edge but it would be one of many factors. As pp says, having done a placement in a hospital you want to work at can help, as does having a solid range of placement experience particularly covering musculoskeletal and respiratory. Degree level will help too.

Something I'd consider is the research reputation of the hospital for physiotherapy (or medical research in general). At some universities it is possible for students to be involved in research studies undertaken by staff, and this will look very strong on a cv.

Definitely look at the potential placements, and factor the costs of that in.