Medical and Healthcare Education MSc

Designed to reflect the current trends and practices in health professions education, the Masters is aligned to the UK Professional Standards Framework for Higher Education allowing you to apply for Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

This course will provide opportunities for you to engage with key principles and philosophies of teaching and learning, which you can apply in your specific professional context.  You'll be supported through this process through a range of activities and formative assessments, complemented by individual tutorials that encourage personal reflection and goal setting, developing you as an independent learner. Further to this you'll be given the opportunity to develop specialist skills in healthcare education relating to your field, culminating in a research project in an area of your choice. You'll have direct access to a Faculty with a wealth of experience in delivering healthcare education, who will support you in addressing an authentic research problem.

Practising what we preach, you'll be introduced to and experiment with a wide range of active learning techniques. Reflecting this approach, you'll demonstrate your learning through a series of non-traditional assessments. Studying alongside GPs, junior doctors, consultants, nurses, dentists, midwives, paramedics and other allied health professionals, discussion and inter-professional learning are key to the vibrancy of this course, enriching your student experience.

This course can also be taken as a PG Cert with the option of topping up to a full Masters course.

Modules

Principles of Medical and Healthcare Education

This module will introduce you to some of the key principles within medical and healthcare education. Encouraging you to reflect upon your own experiences, both as a learner and as an educator. You’ll develop and enhance your own teaching practices, exploring principles, incorporating critical analysis of relevant literature. You'll address practical aspects of teaching, from motivating learners through to designing effective learning resources to enhance your teaching strategies and we'll provide guidance on planning, delivering and reflecting on teaching sessions to maximise the quality of your learning experience.

Philosophies of Medical and Healthcare Education

During this module you’ll engage with fundamental questions concerning the aims, values and outcomes of education, within your sphere of practice. You'll be encouraged to reflect on your role within the educational process and how your personal aims and values might influence your practice. You'll explore incidences of when policy and practice are misaligned and the practical implications of this within your field, drawing on your understanding of educational theory to propose solutions.

Postgraduate Research Design

This module will give you the tools you need in order to identify and plan research to address a real world problem within your practice, or address a gap in your existing knowledge within your field. It is designed for participants from across the School of Medicine which is reflected in the diverse content including: evaluating literature, designing research questions, systematic review procedures, qualitative and quantitative research methods and data analysis, issues of rigour and ethical considerations in research.

Postgraduate Research Project

As a central component of the Masters award, the major project provides you with the opportunity to address a suitable research problem or gap in your knowledge within your practice. Through synthesis of your learning from pervious modules, you'll be able to plan a research project, including the selection of appropriate methods of data collection and analysis, execute the design, and communicate your findings in a suitable manner.

Optional Modules

Specialist Techniques for Medical and Healthcare Education (Optional)

You’ll develop specialist techniques required for your role in medical and healthcare education. You'll have the opportunity to explore 5 techniques (of ten offered) that you believe will benefit your practice. You'll be encouraged to reflect on how you might use these techniques to address identified areas for development in your practice and benefit your students' learning.

Global Leadership (Optional)

Businesses, whether private, public or third sector, operate in a world facing a range of urgent global issues. You’ll examine the fitness of businesses and individuals to tackle such issues, based on the Global Leadership model developed by lecturers at ARU. You’ll cover effective decision making, adoption of a global approach, creation of a new business paradigm and creation of a contemporary mission. You’ll also consider the related concept of mis-leadership, which looks at how leaders have often failed to achieve the optimum outcomes for those they lead.

Advancing Professional Decision Making (Optional)

This module will help advance your decision making skills through critical reflection.  You'll need to be able to utilise practical decision making skills within an area of professional knowledge and to develop strategies to facilitate the implementation of the outcomes of the decision making process into practice, either as an individual or within a team/organisation. Management of change and service development are seen as core elements of the module, together with the enhancement of professional judgment and leadership.

Assessment

Assessment methods vary according to module selection, but will include written essays, teaching observations, research proposals, educational portfolios and research reports.

Dr Rahul Pathak

Course Leader Postgraduate Medical and Healthcare Education

Rahul is the course leader for our PG Cert and MSc in Medical and Healthcare Education and a member of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences.

Rahul graduated with a degree in medicine from King George Medical University India in 1993. He worked in the Department of Surgery in a hospital in India, and then moved to South E Africa where he worked in the Department of Forensic Pathology.

He completed postgraduate qualification in forensic science from University of Strathclyde Glasgow.

Rahul joined Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge Campus) in 2007 and until Sept 2022 he worked in the School of Life Sciences as a Senior Lecture and Course Leader for postgraduate forensic science.

Our Medical and Healthcare Education MSc is studied 100% online.

You’ll study through Canvas, our world-class online Learning Management System (LMS), which can be accessed from your phone, pc or tablet at home or on the move. Canvas provides instant access to study materials, forums, and support from tutors and classmates, as well as enabling easy submission of your assignments.

On successful completion of your studies you’ll be invited to attend a graduation ceremony on campus. If attending the ceremony in person is not possible then we’ll arrange to have your certificate sent to you.

What could a Medical and Healthcare Education MSc do for my career?

The full MSc in Medical and Healthcare Education not only provides you with the educational training requirements for GP Trainer Associate and GP Trainer (gained at PG Cert level) but also meets the NMC requirements for the professional recordable qualification - Stage 4: Practice Teacher - as well as the opportunity to conduct your own research as part of the major project that culminates to the MSc award. As with the PG Cert, you would have the option to gain Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

What skills will I get from a Medical and Healthcare Education MSc to help my career?

You’ll enhance your CV with a higher-level award that includes both deeper knowledge of the subject and added transferable skills such as the ability to:

• Deliver effective learning lessons
• Reflect critically on the effectiveness of your teaching and professional responsibilities
• Identify and facilitate opportunities for inclusion
• Communicate and present effectively
• Integrate theory with educational practice
• Problem-solve
• Manage research and work-based projects

What can I study after a Medical and Healthcare Education MSc?

Successful MSc students, who particularly enjoy engaging with the academic environment and who wish to pursue academic careers in lecturing and / or research, may progress to doctoral study at Anglia Ruskin University or elsewhere.

Careers Advice Service

Once you become an ARU student you will be able to access our Employability service to help you whatever stage of your career, whether that’s landing your dream job or the next progression step.

We offer:

• careers advice, including one-to-one online and telephone appointments with our experienced advisers
• help with your CV, job searches, applications and interview preparation
• an online portal packed with useful careers resources
• our Employability Programme, which helps you hone the skills employers say they want in graduates.

Fees

The full tuition fee for this course is £7,700.

The tuition fees you pay each year for the full Medical and Healthcare Education MSc will be £3,850. The course is studied over 2 years.

Approved prior learning may reduce the tuition fees. This will be confirmed once your application has been submitted.

Funding

Your course can be fully funded by the new Postgraduate Student Loans now available (subject to eligibility).

We offer payment by instalments, so you can spread the cost of studying with us.

For military students: You can use your ELCs towards this course. Anglia Ruskin University is a recognised ELCAS provider (number 1007). Please contact your Learning Centre for details of ELC, eligibility and how to apply.

For more information on how you fund your studies please see our funding page.