Health & Social Care (Applied)

AQA

Health and Social Care is an AS/A-Level subject with a difference. It combines the academic knowledge and rigour of an AS/A-level, exploring one of the largest areas of employment in our economy, with opportunities to develop and apply care and ‘people’ skills. It will appeal to you if you are interested in health issues and the way care is provided in our society.

The course is taught by teachers who have practical experience of working in the caring professions which adds value and ‘realism’ to your learning.

You will study the many ways and context in which we care for people and the skills needed to do so. We look at the importance of communication with patients and people receiving care, how to respect cultural and personal differences and to be sensitive to needs or disabilities. You will explore the different roles in providing health and care and consider some of the issues currently facing professionals as you research a health-related topic of your choice as a coursework assignment.

Most students take up the opportunity of a two-week work placement, putting into practice some of the skills you have learned and helping with career planning. Some placements are residential, e.g. holiday care for adults with disabilities, while others are more local and with children.

Students say they work hard on the course but enjoy it and recommend it to others.

Health and Social Care combines well with a wide range of other AS/A-level courses including Psychology, Sociology or Biology. Students have gone on to university to study nursing, midwifery, radiography, social work, teaching and physiotherapy, or directly into employment or further training.

AS Health & Social Care

In AS Health & Social Care you will learn about:
• Effective Caring: What is “a good quality of life” and preserving this for patients and clients; psychological and physical factors; the skills and techniques needed to treat people well; the responsibilities of health and social care professionals in meeting needs and available services and how these are accessed.
• Effective Communication in a care setting: Why good communication is important; barriers to good communication and strategies to overcome them. You will learn techniques and practise these as part of the course.
• Health, Illness and Disease: Public understanding and attitudes to health; the use of screening tests such as amniocentesis, mammograms and testicular cancer; immunisation – why we do it and how it works.

Assessment

Two pieces of coursework and a short-answer examination.

Entry requirements

A minimum of BBCCC at GCSE including English/Language and Mathematics or a science.

A2 Health & Social Care

In A2 you build on the knowledge and skills you learned at AS.
• Human development – factors and theories. How we develop our behaviours and personalities and how psychologists explain this.
• Working in health and social care – you will explore what is needed for two contrasting careers, such as midwife and social worker, and assess your own suitability for them. This will include preparing a CV, writing a personal statement, and applying for relevant university courses or jobs.
• Coursework – a piece of research on a Health & Social Care topic of your own choice. There are plenty of topics to choose from e.g. complementary medicine or teenagers and STDs. To prepare you for this you will learn how to conduct research – scientific and research methods, terminology and the ethics of research and you will look at examples of published research.

Assessment

One short-answer written examination and two pieces of coursework.