EXERCISE REFERRAL AND PRESCRIPTION - 2025/6

Module Overview

The overarching theme of this module is for students to learn to integrate the exercise knowledge into a clinical setting and to understand and be able to apply exercise in such a setting safely and effectively. This module is the culmination of  students’ learning and will require application of knowledge from topics such as physiology (BMS1032, 1044, 2066), pathology (BMS2052) and psychology (BMS3084).

Students will enter the module with a good understanding of the pathophysiology of the most prevalent chronic diseases (gained in modules followed at L4 and L5, BMS2052 in particularly). Students will examine the evidence of using physical activity and exercise training in the prevention and treatment of (chronic) diseases in different populations and will learn to analyze, apply and implement safe and effective exercise training programs in these populations.

Students will apply this knowledge by designing and delivering exercise plans for a wide range of case studies, all with multi morbidities. Next to this, a detailed case study will be created in which students can showcase their understanding of a specific case study with its underlying pathologies, (pharmacological)treatments and psychosocial support.

When students successfully complete the module and the practical delivery aspect, then they will also receive formal accreditation to work with people with long term conditions (accreditation provided by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, CIMSPA).

Module provider

School of Biosciences

Module Leader

MANDERS Ralph (Biosciences)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

BMS1044 Principles of exercise, fitness and health and BMS2052 Pathology:  a metabolic perspective  

Module content

Indicative content includes:
• Current evidence relating to aerobic and muscular fitness training for health improvement.
• Intensity, duration, frequency, and type of exercise for health-related benefits in (sub) clinical populations.
• Different components of, and exercises to be included in an exercise programme.
• Risk stratification
• Clinical Pulmonary exercise testing
• Specific interest groups:

• 
  
  
  
  • Hypertension/CVD/PVD
  
  
  • Obesity and metabolic syndrome & diabetes
  
  
  • MSK Disorders
  
  
  • Cancer
  
  
  • Respiratory disease: COPD & Asthma
  
  
  • Pregnancy
  
  
  • Mental health conditions
  
  
  • Neurological conditions
  
  
  
  

• Relationships between exercise work rate and rating of perceived exertion.
• Different stages of an exercise programme.
• Signs of excessive strain, which should lead to termination of the programme or test.
• Current policies and legal issues in exercise referral
• Behavioural and motivational aspects of exercise and adherence to intervention programmes

• Consultation skills.

 

There will also be a series of practical sessions to allow students to get hands on experience in session development and delivery for different types of exercise sessions for people with one or more health conditions.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

In the case of the individual presentation an alternative assessment can be done by handing in the presentation hand-outs accompanied by a written explanation to the slides. For the written final report alternative assessment is not possible.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

A strong understanding of common clinical conditions and know how these can be treated and/or prevented with different modes of exercise. Students can apply contemporary research and current guidelines in order to design a detailed case study focussed on developing effective and safe exercise referral programmes based on physiological and psychological/mental health related principles. This skills will help to increase students understanding of theoretical knowledge and applied techniques furthering employability opportunities after successfully completing the module.

The assessments will include feedback both from the teaching team and peers as assessed during practicals which will allow students to get early feedback on their progress and make any required changes to their study plans.

  The summative assessment for this module consists of:

• A case study (50%, 3000 words) based on one of the highlighted case studies from the case study handbook. (addressing LO’s: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 & 8)


• A practical skills assessment (50%). Development of 10 exercise sessions (each max 2 pages) based on the presented case studies in the case study handbook. During the practical skills assessment, 2 of these sessions will have to be delivered. (addressing LO’s: 2, 5, 6 & 7)

 

Formative assessment

The formative assessments on this module are designed to allow students to:

• Understand and elaborate on medical conditions for which exercise referral is commonly prescribed.


• Demonstrate the ability to plan, prepare and safely execute a referral programme.

These formative assessments will be available to students throughout the module via SL and during practical sessions where the assessments are simulated. Discussion and sharing of opinions and ideas is a crucial element of the module and will stimulate discussion and critical thinking between the students and the team team.
 

 

Feedback

• Verbal feedback following lectures or during tutorials.


• Verbal feedback from academics or demonstrators during practicals.


• Feedback to specific queries via email, with responses being made available to all via SurreyLearn or during tutorials as appropriate generic class feedback to practical reports.

Feedback will be provided in such a way that (where relevant) individual questions will be posted on SL or discussed in teaching sessions so the entire group will receive this feedback. During seminars and practicals feedback will be provided by module staff but peer feedback will be strongly stimulated as well.

Module aims

• Learn to evaluate the beneficial effects of exercise and apply these as a treatment strategy for different chronic clinical conditions.
• Expand students¿ knowledge on the underlying metabolic and pathological causes of common health issues/conditions.
• Evaluate the specific exercise induced changes to human physiology and pathology that serve as the underlying bases for exercise referral.
• Develop an understanding of clinical exercise testing skills so that students can evaluate the different methods and create a safe an effective testing batteries for different conditions
• Gain insight into factors effecting adherence to exercise programmes.
• Become proficient in the planning and delivery of exercise sessions/classes with clients with specific pathologies or multimorbidity¿s.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy
Students are expected to engage with the weekly on demand recorded content before the scheduled seminars/tutorials that will further their understanding of the concepts underlying the health benefits of exercise in a variety of (sub)clinical conditions. Each on demand topic is supported by a lecture/workshop to discuss and expand on these concepts and to allow discussion. This knowledge will be integrated into practical classes that are designed to deepen their understanding of the topic and to provide students with the practical and professional skills required to work in an exercise referral setting. Specific seminars will be scheduled to place the theoretical knowledge in a practical perspective and to allow students to work through case studies and discuss these with their peers and module staff. Group discussions will form a crucial part of learning and knowledge exchange within the module.

Throughout the module SurreyLearn will extensively be used to inform students and disseminate specific contents such as lecture hand-outs and recordings, useful links and additional literature. SurreyLearn will also be used as the primary communication tool between students and the module team. This will allow to effectively answer questions that are of relevance to all students. Outside of the seminar sessions, students are also actively encouraged to support each other's learning via the SurreyLearn module discussion forum. Here they can post questions and comments regarding content or assessments with help from the module team.

 

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: BMS3085

Other information

The School of Biosciences and Medicine is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas: 

Global & Cultural Capabilities: Students learn to work with a broad range of people with varying pathologies, age groups and cultural backgrounds and need to be aware of underlying health conditions, how these impact exercise capacity but also how each individual needs a different approach all to ensure respectable interactions with the clients whilst still ensuring patient safety. Through the practical sessions students will be able to demonstrate awareness and understanding of the cultural differences between groups they might be working with in their future careers.

Employability: As part of this module the students will receive training and accreditation to become a CIMSPA certified specialist in working with people with long term conditions. This is a fast-growing field of importance and there is a growing need for people with this additional qualification.

Resourcefulness & Resilience: Students will learn to work with clinical populations in a wide variety of settings which will require them to think on the spot and amend their delivery and plans minutes before their session. Students will also be trained in essential skills that will allow on the spot modification of their work to ensure safe working processes with their clients who can have very rapid changes to their abilities and health and safety. Next to this, students will gain insight in how to deal with health decline and potentially end of life situations with their clients and how this impacts their patient and themselves as an exercise professional.

Sustainability: By increasing levels of physical activity and delivering exercise as an effective approach in the prevention and treatment of disease less stress will be placed on the current health care system and there can also be reductions in the amount of medications that need to be taken/prescribed.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.