Clinical Audit and Research for Healthcare Professionals

PGCert

This course will equip you with the range of basic skills necessary to undertake research and audit activities within the healthcare sector. The programme has been specifically designed to address this vital educational need.

You can choose to study on either a part-time or full-time basis,

Why
Teaching & Assessment
Careers
Entry Requirements
Fees/Funding
Your Application

Why study Clinical Audit and Research for Healthcare Professionals at Dundee?

In recent years there has been a rapid growth in clinical audit and research to evaluate treatment interventions and improvement in patient care and any associated cost benefits. This has led to an increasing number of healthcare professionals being exposed, often for the first time, to clinical audit and research methods. This rapid growth has been recognised here at the Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, which has an active and expanding Clinical Audit and Research Unit.

The Clinical Audit & Research Unit is a joint venture between Industry, Dundee Teaching Hospitals Trust and the University of Dundee. It is involved in a number of clinical audit projects relating to orthopaedics and provides clinical and statistical expertise in audit of process, project planning, data processing and trial control mechanisms.

The combination of expertise in postgraduate education delivered by open learning methods, coupled with an active research environment, has enabled us to develop a programme specifically tailored to deliver the skills needed by the healthcare profession to successfully undertake research and audit.

This is a modular course, taught by distance learning, covering the following subjects:

Research and the Scientific Method
Information Gathering and Review
Statistical Methods
Reporting and Presentation
Implementing Clinical Audit
Funding Issues
Ethical Issues

Who should study this course?

This course is designed for healthcare professionals seeking to improve their career opportunities.

Related courses

Other Orthopaedic PG courses

Teaching & Assessment

This course is taught by staff from the department of Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgery based in the School of Medicine.

The programme consists of nine learning units. These units may be studied individually so that you can choose to study the units you wish. Each unit requires approximately 100 notational hours of study.

If you successfully complete all the unit assignments, you will be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate by the University of Dundee. You will be able to use this to demonstrate that you have undertaken the programme successfully.

How you will be taught

Learning Materials

The programme is supplied in a presentation folder containing a student handbook and the nine units. The student handbook provides information about the structure, recommended reference materials and the tutor support system. For every unit there is a study guide that explains the objectives of that unit (what you will have learned by the end of the unit) and leads you through the learning material, section by section, using text, illustrations, activities, exercises and references to the recommended textbooks.

You monitor your own progress through the unit by completing the self-assessment questions, which are placed at regular intervals throughout the text, and checking your answers against those provided in the study guide. When you need to discuss any aspects of your study, you may contact your tutor for support.

Tutor Support

When you need to discuss any aspects of your study, you may contact your tutor for support. Your tutor is available for direct contact by telephone at set times during the week, as specified in the module guide for each module. A telephone answering service is available after office hourse and you may also contact your tutor by email, post or fax. Tutor support is available for each module for a maximum period of three-months from the date you start the module.

What you will study

The units which make up this course are as follows:

Unit 1 - Research and the Scientific Method (10 SM SCOTCAT Credit Points)
Unit 2 - Information Gathering & Review (5 SM SCOTCAT Credit Points)
Unit 3 - Descriptive Statistics (10 SM SCOTCAT Credit Points)
Unit 4 - Statistical Inference (10 SM SCOTCAT Credit Points)
Unit 5 - Non-parametric Statistical Inference (10 SM SCOTCAT Credit Points)
Unit 6 - Reporting & Presentation (10 SM SCOTCAT Credit Points)
Unit 7 - Implementing Clinical Audit (10 SM SCOTCAT Credit Points)
Unit 8 - Funding Issues (5 SM SCOTCAT Credit Points)
Unit 9 - Ethical Issues (5 SM SCOTCAT Credit Points)

Please visit the course website for more details about the individual modules.

How you will be assessed

Formative assessment consists of self-assessment questions in the Study Guides. Summative assessment consists of a tutor-marked assignment at the end of each module. The exact nature of each assignment is designed to reflect the aim of the module. To qualify for the Certificate students will need to complete and pass the assignments in all nine modules undertaken.

Careers

This course is aimed at those who are already on an established career path and will improve opportunities for career progression and development.

Entry Requirements

Open to qualified health care professionals, holding a diploma or non-honours degree, and eligible for state registration with an appropriate body.

English Language Requirement: IELTS of 6.0 (or equivalent), if your first language is not English. Please check our Language Requirements page for details of equivalent grades from other test providers, and information about the University of Dundee English Language courses.

Fees and Funding

Academic Year	Home/EU/Overseas
2012-13	£244 per unit £147 per half unit £880 units 1-4 £1,025 units 5-9 Total: £1,905
2013-14	to be confirmed

Sources of Funding

The School of Medicine is not currently offering any school scholarships.

Other sources of funding for postgraduate students can be found on our Scholarships webpage.

Living Costs

Dundee is ranked as one of the most affordable places for students to live in the UK, and the cost of living is around 15% cheaper than the UK average.
Increasing numbers of students are successfully undertaking part-time work to supplement their income. You can get advice from our Careers Service, both about job opportunities and how to find a suitable study/work/life balance. EU and international students are also allowed to work up to 20 hours per week.
As a student in Scotland, you have free access to the National Health Service. Visits to doctors and hospitals, as well as prescriptions, sight tests and dental checkups, are available free of charge.

Your Application

How to Apply

Fill in our online enquiry form via the Distance Learning Section website

Programme Director

Dr Tim Drew
Distance Learning Section
Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery
College of Medicine Dentistry and Nursing
TORT Centre
Ninewells Hospital and Medical School
Dundee
DD1 9SY
Scotland

Telephone: 01382 496278 (from the UK)
Telephone: +44 1382 496278 (from outside the UK)

Fax: 01382 496200 (from the UK)
Fax: +44 1382 496200 (from outside the UK)

Email: dls@dundee.ac.uk

Course Secretary

Rosemary Williams
Distance Learning Section
Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery
College of Medicine Dentistry and Nursing
TORT Centre
Ninewells Hospital and Medical School
Dundee
DD1 9SY
Scotland

Telephone: 01382 496278 (from the UK)
Telephone: +44 1382 496278 (from outside the UK)

Fax: 01382 496200 (from the UK)
Fax: +44 1382 496200 (from outside the UK)

Email: dls@dundee.ac.uk