Hi Gents,
HND is normally two years fulltime study, classroom based academic instruction in say subjects such as electronic engineering. Foundation degrees are WORKBASED, you cannot sign up for the course unless you are currently working within this particular field, the subject matter reflects the job you are doing, i.e. if you follow the medical equipment pathway of the FD you will cover subjects such as anatomy and physiology, physiological and monitoring equipment, diathermy, defibs, x-ray, dental, physio, neonatal, a/thetic, vents etc etc. So it is a degree specific to your job; you will be expected to write reflective accounts on servicing e.g. a particluar defib, discuss benefits of various waveform patterns, discuss the subject on line, use POD casts etc etc you will also be assessed practically e.g. servicing and testing a Defib...
This is as all FD's are, employer led degree courses called for by employers because of their frustration at employing graduates and subsequently having to retrain them all over again for their particular role within the company. Thats the theory.
Having FdSc after your name would then allow you to attend the final year of an Hons program (if you wished to do so).
There are a number of other medical equipment based Full Hons degree programs around the UK, but full time at the Uni, there's even an MSc at Cardiff, but they are not work or practical based courses. One other important factor for the FD course is that you will require a MENTOR at your place of work, possibly your head of section/department to oversee your progress etc.
So allthough at a similar level of study to HND's, FD's are a completely different method of learning, they are practical workbased degrees with a large element of practical assessment, as recognised by universities and employers.
Hope this makes sense.
