Applicants must aspire to a career in surgery and possess an acceptable basic medical degree obtained (in normal circumstances) within four years of the proposed date of admission. Applicants must demonstrate that they will be in a supervised clinical environment for the likely duration of the course. Applicants who obtained their medical degree more than four years prior to applying must demonstrate their ongoing commitment to surgery. Those possessing MRCS/FRCS are not eligible to apply (see Learning outcomes, below).
Academic titleMSc Surgical Sciences
Course descriptionProgramme
This online programme in Surgical Sciences is jointly offered by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Professor David Rowley) and the University of Edinburgh (Professor James Garden). The Edinburgh Surgical Sciences Qualification consists of a modular programme building up by credit accumulation from certificate, through diploma and, with the addition of a small research project, to a Masters degree.
Learning Outcomes
The modules leading to the postgraduate diploma cover the UK intercollegiate surgical curriculum and will consequently prepare students for the MRCS examination. The third-year MSc dissertation serves as an opportunity to develop the foundation of an academic career in surgery.
How You Will Be Taught
The programme is delivered entirely online, offering diverse learning styles, including problem-based learning through case-based discussion and systematic modules dealing with the traditional disciplines of applied anatomy, pathology and physiology, which in later years underpin critical care and the principles and practice of surgery. All students are tutored throughout the programme and have access to bulletin boards and discussion forums.
The programme follows the syllabus of the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme and is based on the generic elements taken from the nine syllabi submitted to PMETB by the nine surgical specialities, together with relevant elements from the GMC publication Good Medical Practice.
The ESSQ learning environment, eeSURG, has been developed by the University of Edinburgh’s award-winning learning technology team. It hosts a wide variety of educational material and supports a range of study styles.
In the years leading to the Masters, the programme is primarily taught using a series of virtual cases where students are encouraged to follow individual pathways and make their own decisions about the patient’s diagnosis and treatment. This offers a safe parallel world to the real hospital where mistakes can be costly. The subject areas covered by the cases are then discussed in greater depth with tutors.
Year 1: Postgraduate Certificate in Surgical Sciences
Candidates who complete successfully 3×20 credit core courses (60 credit points) of compulsory coursework within the first 12 months are eligible for the award of the Postgraduate Certificate.
Assessment is by in-course participation (20%) and an end-of-year examination (80%).
Year 2: Postgraduate Diploma in Surgical Sciences
Candidates who successfully complete 120 (6×10) credit points of coursework within the first 24 months are eligible for the award of the Postgraduate Diploma.
Semester 1:
* Preoperative assessment
* Principles of postoperative and critical care
* Principles of surgical management
Semester 2:
* Surgical and communication skills
* Academic activity
* Specialist surgery
Assessment is by in-course participation (20%) and an end-of-year examination (80%).
Year 3: MSc in Surgical Sciences
The Masters in Surgical Science is aimed at trainees who wish to differentiate themselves or signal an interest in academic surgery. This will involve an additional 60 credit points.
Candidates who successfully complete 180 credit points of coursework within 36 months are eligible for the award of the Master of Science. This requires successful completion of the compulsory courses in Year 1 and 2. A dissertation is to be undertaken in the third year and will involve the planning, execution and development of a significant body of clinical or laboratory research. The project for the dissertation would require prior approval but is likely to involve a critical analysis of a surgical topic using an evidence based medicine approach.