Online Advanced Surgical Practice Degree :: Accredited Universities

Course Aims
To offer knowledge and expertise to enhance evidence-based practice and to be able to teach others, especially from an interprofessional perspective. The course does not attempt to incorporate all surgical specialities but draws together a collection of fundamental information in an e-Learning format. The course provides a transition in knowledge between theory and the students own clinical practice. Emphasis is placed on the general principles of surgical practice rather than on the management of specific conditions.

Special Features
Unique – presently there are no other e-learning, interprofessional surgical and perioperative care courses at this level.
Interprofessional approach to enhance group work, discussion sessions and case-based presentations.
Emphasis on a biopsychosocial approach.
Course Description
An e-Learning, inter-professional course. The taught component introduces the student to the multifaceted nature of caring for surgical patients, from admission through to discharge. The modular approach allows students to evaluate care from an evidence-based perspective, starting with admission and preoperative preparation through to postoperative care and discharge. Professional issues, including clinical governance and inter-professional practice, will be covered. Some of the modules are core; others allow student choice. The e-Learning assessments are structured to allow students to evaluate the topic in relation to their practice areas of interest and professional base.

There are approximately forty places are offered each year and the majority of students are self-funded; however some students obtain awards from charities and trusts. The course takes two years to complete inclusive of the dissertation component (9 months for the Postgraduate Certificate level; 9 months for the Postgraduate Diploma level and a further six months for the dissertation stage) spanning just over two academic years.

Assessment: Students are assessed through six modular assignments (three leading to a Certificate and six leading to the Diploma). In addition to successfully completing these assessments, MSc students must complete a dissertation.

Entry Requirements

Suitable applicants should:

Hold a UK higher education qualification, minimum of a BSc (Hons) or BA (Hons) grade 2:2 or above, from a UK institution with relevant degree awarding powers as detailed by the Department of Education and Skills;
OR Hold a non-UK qualification equivalent to CQFW credit level 6 or above as defined and detailed by the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (NARIC);
OR Be able to demonstrate equivalent skills that are sufficient to meet the demands of the programme of study in question and be approved as such by the Head of School;
AND have held for a minimum of two years a position of responsibility of relevance to the proposed programme, i.e. have been a qualified health care professional for a minimum of two years before entry into the programme;
AND satisfy any applicable University language competency requirements as detailed in the Cardiff University Senate regulations – please see the Cardiff University website Senate Regulations for further detail (briefly detailed below).
PLEASE NOTE that all students enrolling for this programme must be in relevant paid employment, i.e. in a relevant clinical area. If candidates are unsure of the required detail of this specification please contact the programme team for advice.

Applicants whose first language is not English must satisfy the Cardiff University General Entrance Requirements including the English Language requirements*. Please see our English language requirements webpages for further information.

*Applicants who do not meet the qualification criteria listed under the English language requirements in the above link should contact the course team to discuss whether alternative evidence of English language competence may be sufficient (e.g. evidence of successful completion of a first or subsequent degree entirely in the medium of English, for a minimum of one year).

Students should have taken either the TOEFL or the IETLS, no more than TWO years BEFORE the proposed date of entry to the University.

Other Fees

Fee inclusive of non-refundable deposit of £600.

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This course is designed for veterinarians in small animal practice to develop further their skills in a number of discipline areas relevant to small animal clinical practice and provides instruction on the new diagnostic techniques and therapeutic modalities. Evidence-Based Clinical Practice and Case Reports are core units; with electives in Clinical Pathology, Dermatology, Medicine (1-3), Research Methodology, Epidemiological Studies and Advanced Surgical Techniques, Veterinary Anaesthesia and Critical Care, Advanced Diagnostic Imaging and Veterinary Practice Management. The entire content of this course is delivered online.

Entry Requirements

Current registration as a veterinary surgeon in Australia, or recognised qualifications that would permit registration as a Veterinary Surgeon in Australia. Clinical Practice experience (Recognised Prior Learning) of at least one year in the workplace if applying to enter directly into the Master of Veterinary Studies (Small Animal Practice).

Applicants with a Graduate Certificate in Veterinary Studies in Small Animal Practice (International) (AQF Level 8) are required to have achieved a GPA of at least 60 percent in that degree course.

Active engagement in small animal practice.

Other Fees

Overseas examination fees

Textbooks

Student Services and Amenities Fee (Max. $281/year)

Incidental unit costs

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Students of refractive or cataract surgery are often in full-time employment and have difficulty attending taught courses. Hence, a novel approach has been used where internationally renowned refractive specialists such as Jorge Alio, Dimitri Azar and Michael Mrochen to mention a few, have given talks which are presented in an e-learning format. This enables students to study in their own time and location with the support of e-tutors and course discussion pages. Weekly discussion themes are based on different case scenarios.

At present, cataract and refractive surgery is poorly taught in most countries. In the UK, there is no formal training in refractive surgery and most people who undertake refractive surgery teach themselves with some help from the short introductory courses available from different organisations around the world and specific instrumentation courses organised by the manufacturers. The course aims to develop the qualities and transferable skills necessary for the understanding of the key theoretical elements necessary for effectively assisting or performing Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

The aims are to:

Promote the ability to correlate pathophysiology of cataract and refractive errors with principles of surgical correction.

Promote the ability to assess available patient information and data.

Develop independence in the planning, assessment, implementation and post surgery care of cataract and refractive surgery activities; in particular microkeratomes and various lasers.

Facilitate the acquisition of a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of refractive surgery and its applications and to enhance the ability to correlate the physical principles guiding each surgical step while adhering to the principles of good medical practice.

Enhance understanding for recognition and management of intraoperative and postoperative complications.

Cultivate practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge with promotion of a critical and scholarly approach to the application of a range of refractive surgery methodologies and the interpretation of their results.

The programme aims to develop in its students the qualities and transferable skills necessary for the understanding of the key theoretical elements necessary for effectively assisting or performing Cataract and Refractive Surgery. After completion of this course further training and experience gained from shadowing individuals involved in the procedures or assisting those involved would continue to advance knowledge and understanding and develop new higher-level skills to an advanced level.

Entry Requirements

Applicants must

(a) have gained

an Honours or non-Honours degree in a cognate discipline from a university of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, from the Council for National Academic Awards, the National Council for Educational Awards, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council or from an institution of another country which has been recognised as being of an equivalent standard; or
Or an equivalent standard in a Postgraduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate or an approved alternative qualification;
and

(b) provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English (GCSE grade C or equivalent) and evidence of competence in mathematics (GCSE grade C or equivalent).

or, as an alternative to (a) (i) or (a) (ii) and/or (b):

(c) in exceptional circumstances, where an individual has substantial and significant experiential learning, a portfolio of written evidence demonstrating the meeting of graduate qualities (including subject-specific outcomes, as determined by the Course Committee) may be considered as an alternative entrance route. Evidence used to demonstrate graduate qualities may not be used for exemption against modules within the programme.

English Language Requirements
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Applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate their proficiency in English through the achievement of an IELTS score of 6.0 with no individual band score (in the four bands of reading listening, speaking and writing) below 5.5 or a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper-based).

Other Fees

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The Post Graduate Certificate/ Diploma/ MSc in Lower Limb Preservation in Diabetes aims to meet, in part, the key strategy of the Global Diabetes Plan by the provision of an international educational programme that takes an integrated approach to the management of diabetic disease and its effects in the lower limb.

Nationally/ internationally there are a number of courses/residency programmes offering advanced learning in the field of patients with at risk lower limbs predominantly suffering from diabetes. All of these have merit but lack academic foundation or approval in the realms of infection, revascularisation, surgical management and optimisation of outcome for those patients at risk and who may ultimately face amputation.

The Post Graduate Certificate/ Diploma/ MSc programme in Lower Limb Preservation in Diabetes is open to all those who practise or wish to progress their knowledge in Diabetes, Limb Preservation and related areas. The course is designed for, but not limited to: specialist podiatrists, nurses, medical, surgical and healthcare professionals. is targeted at those currently working in or with aspirations to gain education and / or employment in the field of diabetes and limb preservation and is rooted in regional, national and international drivers towards integrated Diabetes care. The programme is multidisciplinary and multi-professional, with rich and challenging content and sound educational process. Delivery of the programme at inception will be face to face, to allow optimisation of learning and teaching resources which will then be offered entirely online, maximising a blended learning approach that fully embraces the opportunity for international practitioner engagement.

The educational programme aims to offer the student the opportunity to develop evidence based theoretical concepts of limb preservation transferable to professional practice, informed by a critical knowledge and understanding of integrative care requirements for those patients “at-risk” due to diabetes; who are in danger of primary amputation (patients with diabetes, end-stage renal disease and/ or peripheral sensorimotor neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease), and for those who have already suffered an amputation and are at risk of moving toward a second amputation, or have unacceptable dysfunction.

Entry Requirements

Applicants must:

have gained
an Honours or non-Honours degree in a relevant Medical, Nursing or Allied Health Profession from a University of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, or from a recognised national awarding body, or from an institution of another country which is recognised as being of an equivalent standard; or
an equivalent standard in a Postgraduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate or an approved alternative qualification; and
(iii) where applicable be eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council or other relevant professional governing body; and

have a minimum of one year’s post-qualification experience (excluding course attendance); and
be working in an area of practice relevant to the programme that enables clinical interaction with colleagues working in the field of lower limb preservation and ongoing access to clients;
and

(b) provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English (GCSE grade C or equivalent). International students must have evidence of achieving an IELTS score of 6.0 or a TOEFL score of 550);

or as an alternative to (a) (i) or (a) (ii) and/or (b):

(c) In exceptional circumstances, where an individual has substantial and significant experiential learning, a portfolio of written evidence demonstrating the meeting of graduate qualities (including subject-specific outcomes, as determined by the Course Committee) may be considered as an alternative entrance route. Evidence used to demonstrate graduate qualities may not be used for exemption against modules within the programme.

Other Fees

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This new two year part-time Masters programme in Vascular & Endovascular Surgery, taught entirely online, is offered by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh, and leads to the degree of Master of Surgery (ChM).

Based on the UK Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum, the programme provides advanced training for surgeons preparing for the intercollegiate fellowship examination and approaching independent surgical practice.

The ChM provides advanced training for surgeons preparing for the intercollegiate fellowship examination and approaching consultancy.
On completion of this programme students will be able to:

- demonstrate in-depth knowledge of their chosen surgical subspecialty, and be able to apply this knowledge to the systematic assessment and management of surgical patients in the elective, urgent and emergency clinical setting

- recognise the leadership contribution and responsibilities of the surgeon in the multidisciplinary management of complex surgical disease

- critically reflect upon day-to-day surgical practice in the context of recent advances, and engage in critical dialogue with peers and experts in other specialties
apply the general principles of clinical study design, ethics, and statistics to critically evaluate the scientific literature in surgical research, and make informed judgments on new and emerging issues in surgery

- exercise a high level of autonomy and initiative in professional activities at a level of independent surgical practice

Entry Requirements

Prospective entrants must hold a basic medical qualification recognised by the General Medical Council, and would normally have acquired their MRCS (or equivalent assessment milestone) and be an Advanced Trainee in General or vascular surgery (ST [specialist training years] 3/4 in UK or equivalent outside UK).

Applicants should have completed 2 years of training in vascular surgery and be based within a supervised training surgical programme at the time of commencing the course.

English language requirements
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If English is not your first language, you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your spoken and written English.

- IELTS Academic module: 6.5 (with at least 6.0 in each section)

Other accepted tests and scores

- TOEFL-iBT: 92 (with at least 20 in all sections)

- PTE: 61 (with no score lower than 56 in each of the 'Communicative Skills' sections - 'Enabling Skills' section scores are not considered)

- CPE: Grade B; CAE: Grade A

Other Fees

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