Come and work with us
The Pre-Registration Podiatry; Accessible Recruitment & Employment (PREPARE) trainee podiatrists programme will give you the opportunity to:
- Be integrated into the NHS Fife Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) Podiatry department throughout your study.
- Earn a salary.
- Study for four years to achieve a BSc (Hons) in Podiatry.
- Have guaranteed full-time employment as a Band 5 Podiatrist on completion of the programme and HCPC Registration.
Find out more and apply
I chose Podiatry after a career in the Army as I wanted to prevent ulcerations and amputations from occurring. Working in NHS Fife Podiatry allows me to work at the top of my training with potential to continue my career in many different roles.
What is a podiatrist?
Podiatrists are one of the Allied Health Professions (AHPs), the third largest clinical workforce in health and care. The focus of AHPs is on prevention and improvement of health and wellbeing to maximise the potential for individuals to live full and active lives from birth to palliative care.
Podiatrists provide preventative care, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of conditions affecting the feet, ankles and legs.
How we will support you
The service and staff are well established in supporting undergraduate students with practice-based learning as part of their degree.
Following recruitment in 2024 we have 2 PREPARE trainee Podatrists in post and almost half way through the programme.
Drew Telford
I chose this role as a way to progress my career while building on my previous experience within another healthcare profession. Advancing professionally to become an autonomous practitioner has always been a goal of mine; however, I wanted to do so without leaving the security of full-time employment. The PREPARE route provided balance, allowing me to earn whilst studying and developing clinically.
While the role is rewarding, it is important to recognise that the workload can be demanding. Balancing university study with full-time NHS work, as well as personal commitments, is challenging. However, both the NHS podiatry team and university staff are supportive, and the hybrid delivery model offers flexibility through a mix of campus and remote learning. Working across the service allows me to build relationships and become familiar with colleagues I will be working alongside upon course completion.
Gillian Fox
Being a PREPARE podiatry student has been a busy and sometimes challenging experience, especially while balancing clinic, university, being a mum, and life in general. It takes organisation, flexibility, and plenty of determination, but it’s also helped me grow in confidence and resilience.
What makes it so worthwhile is the support from the team and the opportunity to gain hands-on experience every day. Feeling part of the wider team and seeing the difference we can make for patients makes the hard work feel so meaningful and rewarding.
We are well equipped and excited to be one of the NHS Scotland Boards progressing with PREPARE and building on its success in partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University.
Developments within our service are all about maximising the skills of our Podiatrists and Health Care Support Workers to deliver person centred care and improve the patient journey. All our podiatrists can refer directly for x-ray and give local anaesthetic, Many can supply prescription only medicines from a limited list and others are able to independently prescribe and administer steroid injections.
We use the latest therapies like laser and shockwave to reduce pain and manage muskuloskeletal conditions, alongside more traditional treatments such as stretching and exercise programmes, orthoses and acupuncture.
Podiatry is about much more than a person's feet. Our diagnostics can indicate issues elsewhere in the body, eg Atrial Fibrillation(heart condition) being discovered by using a handheld Doppler Ultrasound.
Within the socio-medical model we treat people holistically, finding out what is important to them and how we can help them achieve it, it's making that difference which gives being a Podiatrist such job satisfaction.
Study for the PREPARE Programme will be at:
There will be an open event at the Podiatry Department, located in the Carnegie Unit at Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline, on Tuesday 31st March from 5:00–7:00pm.
Come along if you would want to learn more about the services we provide, and find out what this role involves. We’d be delighted to see you there.
Contact us
For an informal discussion or further information please contact Moira Dunsire Podiatry Clinical Service Manager by email moira.dunsire@nhs.scotor telephone 01592 645285
PREPARE Trainee Podiatrists will earn a salary and be integrated into NHS Fife HSCP Podiatry throughout their study.
You will achieve a BSc (Hons) Podiatry and have guaranteed full-time employment as a Band 5 Podiatrist on completion of the programme and HCPC Registration.
Fantastic Fife
