Postgraduate Course: Informed Change in Practice (Project) (PAMA11091)
Course Outline
| School | Deanery of Clinical Sciences |
College | College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | Students will undertake a 40-credit course as a project that identifies a real-world problem and solution. It is structured to allow reflection and reproduction of their methods for future work when required.
This is delivered as a 40-credit course. The final project will be one of four types:
Evidence-based review,
A structured review with reproducible and transparent methods to provide recommendations to attend to a specific, real-world problem identified and justified as such by the student
Clinical resource,
A resource or tool, designed and produced for specific use in the real-world, with clear justification and its development delivered by transparent methods
Proposal for change,
A case for change to the current state, including analysis of the current situation, identified problem, and the anticipated impact of status quo versus the proposed change or other options
Audit
A completed measure of a phenomenon against a target standard: an analysis that includes identified areas for improvement and a proposed set of recommendations (implementation and re-audit only if feasible)
Students will have access to programme staff and a training hub they can use to develop their own learning plan to achieve their project outcomes.
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| Course description |
1. Academic Description
This course spans two semesters (2 and 3), organised into four blocks with specific submission requirements and opportunities to interact with programme staff. Students will select a project area and complete their projects through coursework, culminating in a final workbook submission. Project options include an evidence-based review, a clinical resource, a proposal for change, or an audit. Each block is guided by specific objectives and key questions that students will use to reflect on their own project. While these questions apply universally to all project types, students will respond individually based on their unique experiences, critical analysis, and actions. The subject matter should pertain to pain management in their field of clinical practice. However, the course has been designed generically so that students from other programmes can undertake it and focus on their own are of clinical practice.
2. Outline Content
This project represents the synthesis of knowledge and comprehension gained throughout their taught courses on the MSc Clinical Management of Pain programme. To accomplish this, students are required to analyse published evidence, guidance, and best practices to provide a rationale for their decisions and chosen methodologies. The course structure allows for reflection and adaptability of methods for future endeavours.
3. Student Learning Experience
This project demands a high level of commitment and dedication from the candidate, providing a valuable exercise in applying their learning to practical or tangible problems. Students will be advised to collaborate closely with supervising tutors on the programme. Ongoing support will be available to students through scheduled drop-in sessions, allowing them to integrate received feedback and enhance their work.
The course is based on experiential learning with the focus placed on the process rather than the outcome. Students are asked to reflect on their experiences individually and with the group, and with the support of their peers and programme team develop solutions to these real-world problems.
The project report is constructed during the course rather than as a write-up at the end, programme staff will encourage the group to engage in critical thinking and testing of ideas to help develop their strength and usefulness. Students will be asked to develop their method of tackling problems so they can go on to complete more projects beyond their time at the University.
Students will be expected to undertake and complete a 20-credit SLICC in semester 1 prior to the 40-credit course where students identify the skills and resources, they will require to complete the project in semesters 2 & 3 (40-credits). Students will have access to programme staff and a training hub they can use to develop their own learning plan to achieve their project outcomes.
Please see appendix at the end of the document to review responses to comments made at November BoS.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
400
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 12,
Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 1.5,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
378 )
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| Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) |
378
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Reflection (10%)
The student will submit an 800-word reflection on their progress over the course as a whole. They should review their journals and discussions in each block to reflect on experiential learning, identify personal development and, using the reflective toolkit, consider what went well and what could have gone better, and how will they use these skills in the future. Previous journal entries can be included as an appendix. This assessment is intended to:
Consolidate learning and development over the year
Identify the merits and challenges of working with others
Review the role of learning by doing: what is experiential learning like, when would this process be used again?
Poster (20%)
The student will present a visual summary (a poster) of the project as a whole. This is an opportunity to clearly set out to the project rationale, description, management and final outcome to an audience and communicate the results and, importantly, where they can be impactful, i.e., their value. This assessment will allow the student to demonstrate they have developed skills in:
Presentation
Communication
Arguing value and relevance
Question and Answer (Q&A)
Final Report (70%)
The student will submit their written summary of the project, constructed during the twenty- weeks rather than written at the end via the workbook. The report is a means of helping decision-making about resources use. It should set out the rationale for the project, the description of the processes involved, how challenges were managed, and how the results could be used and with whom. This should allow prospective readers to assess the credibility and value of the results, and to establish their confidence in use. This assessment will give the student an opportunity to demonstrate that their work is credible through being:
Reproducible
Transparent
Rigorous
Valuable
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| Feedback |
Recognising the crucial role of continuous support and guidance, the course incorporates a variety of feedback opportunities throughout its duration. These include formative feedback on reflective elements, bi-weekly drop-in sessions with team members, and personalised one-to-one meetings, supplemented by ad hoc meetings and reflective journal feedback.
Students will be given feedback throughout the year as they develop their work and produce their final report. Active engagement between staff and students throughout the course will provide formative feedback ahead of the final submission.
The final submission, therefore will be marked but no feedback given.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Design, conduct and evaluate a project, providing a critically informed rationale for actions taken and demonstrate and understanding of any ethical consideration.
- Construct a comprehensive review of relevant literature and other scholarly evidence, demonstrating that it has been used to critically consider and inform both the project design and the participants professional knowledge, understanding, values and practice.
- Apply analytical and critical thinking skills when navigating complexities, overcoming obstacles, and adjusting methodologies or strategies when necessary.
- Communicate the project conducted, both process and outcome, to a wider educational audience.
- Exercise leadership and initiative to make an identifiable contribution to change and the professional development of yourself and others.
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Reading List
Writing a project/dissertation
Biggam J. Succeeding with Your Master¿s Dissertation a Step-by-Step Handbook / John Biggam. Third edition. Open University Press, McGraw-Hill Education; 2015.
Research to Publication BMJ Resource. https://rtop.bmj.com/
Mauffrey Cyril editor., Scarlat MM editor., eds. Medical Writing and Research Methodology for the Orthopaedic Surgeon Edited by Cyril Mauffrey, Marius M. Scarlat. 1st ed. 2018. Springer International Publishing; 2018. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-69350-7
Developing a research/dissertation/project question/idea
White C, ed. How to Formulate Effective Research Questions. SAGE Publications Ltd; 2018.
Lucker JR, ed. Developing Research Questions¿: Skills for Success. SAGE Publications Ltd; 2018.
Walshaw M. Planning Your Post Graduate Research / Margaret Walshaw. Macmillan Education; 2015.
Planning a project/dissertation
Axelrod BN. Dissertation Solutions a Concise Guide to Planning, Implementing, and Surviving the Dissertation Process / Bradley N. Axelrod and James Windell. (Windell J, ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Pub., Inc.; 2012.
Literature Searching
Academic Support Librarians. LibGuide: Literature Searching Resources. University of Edinburgh
Institute for Academic Development (IAD). Literature review. https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development/study-hub/learning-resources/literature-review
How to read a paper/Literature appraisal
Greenhalgh T. How to Read a Paper the Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine and Healthcare / Trisha Greenhalgh. Sixth edition. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated; 2019.
Yudkin B. Critical Reading¿: Making Sense of Research Papers in Life Sciences and Medicine / Ben Yudkin. Routledge; 2006.
Rennie D editor., Meade M editor., Guyatt G editor., Cook D editor. Users¿ Guides to the Medical Literature¿: A Manual for Evidence-Based Clinical Practice . (Rennie D editor., Meade M editor., Guyatt G editor., Cook D editor., eds.). McGraw Hill Education Medical; 2015.
Critical thinking
Drybrough AG. Conceptualisations of Critical Thinking in Academic Writing at a Master¿s Level. The University of Edinburgh; 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/36206
Johnson AP (Andrew P. Academic Writing¿: Process and Product / Andrew P. Johnson. Rowman & Littlefield; 2016.
Referencing
Williams K. Referencing & Understanding Plagiarism Kate Williams and Mary Davis. Second edition. (Davis M, ed.). Macmillian Education, Palgrave; 2017.
Academic Support Librarians. Referencing and Reference Management. University of Edinburgh https://edinburgh-uk.libguides.com/c.php?g=670762&p=4762650
Institute for Academic Development (IAD). Referencing and citations. https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development/study-hub/learning-resources/referencing-and-citations
Poster presentation
Rowe Nicholas author. Academic & Scientific Poster Presentation A Modern Comprehensive Guide / by Nicholas Rowe. 1st ed. 2017. Springer International Publishing; 2017. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-61280-5
Research methodologies
Neale J, ed. Research Methods for Health and Social Care Edited by Joanne Neale. Palgrave Macmillan; 2009.
CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH METHODS IN PHARMACY AND HEALTH SERVICES. ELSEVIER ACADEMIC PRESS; 2022.
Sidani S. Health Intervention Research¿: Understanding Research Design & Methods / Souraya Sidani. SAGE Publications Ltd; 2015.
Green J. Qualitative Methods for Health Research Judith Green and Nicki Thorogood. Third edition. (Thorogood N, ed.). SAGE; 2014.
Green J. Qualitative Methods for Health Research / by Judith Green and Nicki Thorogood. 4th edition. (Thorogood N, ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.; 2018.
Evidence-based medicine
Evidence-Based Medicine. BMJ Pub. Group; 1995.
BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. BMJ Publishing Group; 2018.
Straus SE. Evidence-Based Medicine¿: How to Practice and Teach EBM / Sharon E. Straus [... et al.]¿; with Contributions by Reena Pattani, Areti Angeliki Veroniki. Fifth edition. (Glasziou P, Richardson WS (Warren S, Haynes RB, Pattani R, Veroniki AA, eds.). Elsevier; 2019.
Basic/medical statistics
Petrie A. Medical Statistics at a Glance / Aviva Petrie, Caroline Sabin. Fourth edition. (Sabin C, ed.). Wiley Blackwell; 2020.
Campbell MJ. Statistics at Square One / Michael J. Campbell. Twelfth edition. Wiley-Blackwell; 2021. doi:10.1002/9781119402350
Campbell MJ. Statistics at Square Two¿: Understanding Modern Statistical Applications in Medicine / Michael J. Campbell, Emeritus Professor of Medical Statistics, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, Richard M. Jacques, Senior Lecturer in Medical Statistics, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. Third edition. (Jacques RM, ed.). John Wiley & Sons; 2023. doi:10.1002/9781119401407
Lang TA (Thomas A. How to Report Statistics in Medicine Annotated Guidelines for Authors, Editors, and Reviewers / Thomas A. Lang, Michelle Secic. Second edition. (Secic M, ed.). American College of Physicians; 2006.
HK Ramakrishna author. Medical Statistics For Beginners / by Ramakrishna HK. 1st ed. 2017. Springer Singapore; 2017. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-1923-4
Riffenburgh RH (Robert H). Statistics in Medicine R.H. Riffenburgh. 3rd ed. Elsevier/Academic Press; 2012.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Ownership
Time management
Planning
People Management
Problem-solving
Identifying issues
Reflection (on skill gaps)
Communication
Shared learning
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| Keywords | action learning,experiential,problem-solving |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Paul Knight
Tel:
Email: paul.knight@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Ewelina Skala
Tel: (0131 5)37 1000
Email: eskala2@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
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