MSc in Surgical Science and Practice

The taught component of the course comprises six modules, spaced over the year and each a week long, with teaching taking place in person in Oxford. A research project carried out over the course of a year completes the masters. It is usually a work-based project and is supported by an Oxford supervisor.

The modular nature of the course allows you to fit study around your work and the majority of students have full- or part-time clinical roles.

Run in collaboration with Oxford's Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, the MSc is designed for trainees and consultants in surgical disciplines as well as practitioners of other clinical disciplines interested in better understanding the systems within which they practice and increasing their effectiveness working in those systems. It particularly appeals to those who wish to develop a further dimension to their role, such as a leadership position, academic, teaching or research role, as well as those taking their career in new directions.

Course objectives

The aim of the course is to give you a strong foundation in the most important non-clinical skills you will need to be effective and to lead others in providing safe, high quality, high reliability care. It will prepare you for life as an independent specialist, building skills and knowledge which are not fully represented or are omitted from graduate training curricula. Alumni of the course have used the MSc as a platform to:

• Lead larger teams and take on greater organisational responsibility
• Carry out significant quality improvement initiatives and introduce innovations in practice
• Conduct and publish research including non-clinical healthcare research
• Take on new leadership and academic roles, either alongside continuing clinical responsibilities or as a new direction in their career
• Develop new educational programmes and training methods

You can read about how some recent graduates have applied what they learned in the student profiles section of the department's website.

Healthcare professionals work as part of multi-disciplinary teams in complex organisations. Thus the syllabus covers leadership, teamwork, management skills, quality improvement and patient safety, development and implementation of new technologies and procedures, principles of medical education and how to appraise evidence to answer clinical questions. Students completing the course will have developed the skills and knowledge to:

• Understand the principles of leading a team and how to foster a culture of effective teamwork
• Understand the dynamics at play within healthcare organisations and healthcare systems, and how to increase your influence
• Apply the principles of human factors and ergonomics to understanding error in healthcare and designing practices that maximise safety and reliability
• Analyse and improve clinical care pathways and settings of care using quality improvement science and systems analysis methods
• Develop further as a mentor and educator, including setting up and running courses, designing curricula and evaluating educational provision
• Critically appraise clinical evidence and assess its validity and relevance to your practice
• Understand basic business and financial aspects of the health care industry, and their relevance for understanding how to navigate your own organisation
• Understand how to develop and implement innovations in healthcare including creating business plans and business cases for your own area of practice

A more detailed description of the course curriculum can be found on the department's website.

Course structure

The MSc in Surgical Science and Practice is organised around six compulsory week-long modules, plus a work-based research project written up as a dissertation. The programme is normally completed in two or three years, but up to four years can be taken. Students are full members of the University of Oxford and are matriculated as members of an Oxford college.

Modules

An important and perhaps unique feature of the course is that the modules can be studied in any order and, as each module runs once a year, you can individualise your pattern of study by choosing which modules to attend in each year of your enrolment.

Taught by experts in their field, the modules in this course can also be taken as individual stand-alone courses:

• Becoming a Clinical Educator
• Human Factors, Teamwork and Communication
• Leadership and Management in Health Care
• Quality Improvement Science and Systems Analysis
• Healthcare Innovation and technology
• Practice of Evidence-Based Health Care

Learning and teaching

Each module comprises a period of preparatory study of around 4 weeks), a week of intensive in-person teaching, followed by a period for assignment work of around 6 weeks.
In the four weeks running up to each taught week you should expect to dedicate 4-6 hours per week to preparatory reading and activities, accessed via the course’s dedicated virtual learning environment (VLE) which also provides support and resources between modules.

The taught week is full-time for five days and involves seminar-style teaching, group work, class discussions, guest lectures and interaction with tutors and lecturers. The taught weeks include practical activities to develop skills including at facilities elsewhere in the University, such as surgical simulators and operating theatres on the University's hospital sites. Optional evening social activities are organised by students.

Students on the Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement attend some of the MSc modules, in particular the Quality Improvement and Human Factors modules. PGCert students have a range of backgrounds including nurses, allied healthcare professionals and managers as well as doctors. This mix reflects the healthcare workplace and enriches classroom discussions.

In the six weeks following each taught week you should expect to dedicate 10-15 hours per week to researching and writing your module assignment. This is an opportunity to explore areas of particular interest in more depth, and to apply what you have learned your work setting.

Course duration

The modular nature of the course and the ability to take modules in any order allows you to individualise your pattern of study, including the intensity of study, so long as the course is completed in a maximum of 4 years. Some examples of patterns of study:

A. Years 1 and 2: 3 taught modules in each year. Year 3: supervised research project and dissertation. Total duration: 3 years.
B. Year 1: 4 taught modules. Year 2: 2 taught modules. Year 3: supervised research project and dissertation. Total duration: 3 years.
C. Year 1: 5 taught modules. Year 2: 1 taught module and supervised research project and dissertation. Total duration: 2 years.
D. Years 1, 2 and 3: 2 taught modules in each year. Year 4: supervised research project and dissertation. Total duration: 4 years.

Attendance

This course is part-time. You will be required to attend a week of face-to-face teaching in Oxford for each module.

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences and/or the Department for Continuing Education and this role will usually be performed by the Course Director.

It is sometimes possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences and/or Department for Continuing Education.

The University expects there to be contact between supervisor and student at least once per month.

Assessment

To complete the MSc in Surgical Science and Practice, you will need to:

• attend the six compulsory modules - five in Oxford, one online (Practice of Evidence-Based Health Care is taught online);
• undertake and pass an assessed written assignment for each module; and
• after attending all six modules, complete and pass an assessed dissertation on a topic founded on a work-based research project that will build on the material studied in the taught modules.

The written assignments help you develop and demonstrate your growing knowledge and understanding of the subject areas covered, and will provide you with the opportunity to develop your critical appraisal and written presentation skills.  The assignments are an opportunity to apply what you have learned to your own work setting or practice, helping you translate classroom learning to your own context.

You will need to be able to write a good standard of academic English to pass the assignments. For those that require a refresher, the Department of Continuing Education offers a 10 week, online course to refresh and improve your reading, note-making and essay-writing skills.

You will be given written feedback on each of the assignments you submit, intended to help you continue to develop your critical appraisal and academic writing skills.

Graduate destinations

Most students commencing this part-time programme are already in full-time employment. The MSc aims to prepare you for your future working life and to equip you for:

• managing surgical/healthcare units and leading surgical/healthcare team
• leading initiatives, such as quality improvement or a new pathway/ procedure
• undertaking surgical and clinical research
• embarking upon an academic career pathway
• becoming a clinical educator.

Past students have also gone on to study for the part-time DPhil in Evidence Based Health Care .

College preference

The following colleges accept students on the MSc in Surgical Science and Practice: