Medical Education

The programme will: offer learners a part-time, blended online distance learning programme, which has been designed with the needs of emergent leaders in medical and health professions education in mind. In developing the online programme, we have benefitted from the support and expertise across the Faculty and institution made possible by the university's investment in blended learning. The residential workshops in Leeds provide added value to the online learning and also provide valuable networking opportunities for participants. The programme offers a high level of support for academic and research skills development, which is specifically tailored to practice-based adult professional learners. This not only enables you to fulfil your potential in relation to the MSc, but can also encourage progression to doctoral study and deepen professional collaboration and networking. Academic leadership of the programme is informed by the wider strategy, values and standards of the University of Leeds, which enables us to provide you with an inspirational experience of leadership in medical and health professions education. Participants will be encouraged to emulate this research-led teaching in and for practice in their own educational context. A key aspect of this experience is the influence that excellence in clinical education research and teaching exerts on public policy and practice, which the course team models throughout the programme for both students and the healthcare stakeholders supporting and benefitting from their studies. The university's values of community, inclusiveness, integrity, sustainability and professionalism are, within our programme, also underpinned by and in dialogue with the values espoused by healthcare professionals. Patient safety, public protection and trust are revisited throughout the programme, where they provide a touchstone for debates about learning, teaching and assessment in practice. The capacity to develop and demonstrate this synergy between academic theory and professional practice is drawn partly from the wider university infrastructure, partly from the rich diversity of experience and collaborative approach which characterises the Programme Management Team and partly from the knowledge transfer and networking which results from the emphasis on interactive, experiential learning from participants. A distinctive aspect of this programme is the explicit attention given to comparative studies of health systems and their models of leadership and medical education. As you move through the programme, the emphasis shifts from their individual practice as medical educators to a concern with the broader context and their wider roles as change agents, leaders and advocates for learning and teaching. To support this, there is a critical engagement with evidence-based teaching and learning, and support in developing both the capacity to critique policy and research and to design and conduct small-scale empirical research on issues and topics relevant to their medical education workplace. A further distinctive feature of the programme is the inter-professional and interdisciplinary nature of the course and programme teams, which draws on expertise from a range of clinical professions and academic disciplines across the social and healthcare sciences and diverse teaching experience in clinical and non-clinical workplaces and tertiary institutions.

Course structure

These are typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.

Modules Year 1

Compulsory modules

• Practical Skills for Medical Educators 30 credits
• Teaching, Learning and Assessment in Medical Education 45 credits

Year 2

Compulsory modules

• Managing and Leading in Medical Education 30 credits
• Researching Clinical Education 30 credits

Year 3

Compulsory modules

• Research Dissertation 60 credits

For more information on typical modules, read Medical Education MSc in the course catalogue

Learning and teaching

In Year 1, students complete two M Level modules, a blended module during the residential workshop in Leeds (15 credits) and an online distance learning module (45 credits); in Year 2 they complete a further two M-Level online distance learning modules (30 credits each) and attend a residential workshop in Leeds and in Year 3 they complete one 60 credit M Level module. Students take the modules sequentially. The two residential workshops in Leeds; one in the first and one in the second year of study will enable some joint teaching between the face:face and online cohorts, provide students with the opportunity to observe medical and/or healthcare education in the region and enable time and cost efficient networking with staff in the wider School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine and Health. The programme is designed for professional learners who will be studying part-time and therefore adopts a 3-year structure to accommodate the demands this will make upon them.

The programme is designed around an Interactive Workbook for each module, which will be available via the Minerva. The Workbook will be divided into sections, and these sections will be released sequentially. The rationale for this is three-fold: first, to build student engagement through a variety of regular contacts and interactions of varying intensity; second, to enable students to build threshold concepts and foundational knowledge in a logical and systematic way which does not overwhelm them or their tutors; finally, to enable students a degree of flexibility in how they pace their workload within the course framework.

Of the five modules, two (MEDS5111M and MEDS5114M) include residential study visits to Leeds with opportunities for face to face learning and teaching and three (MEDS5112M, MEDS5113M and MEDS5115M) are delivered entirely on-line. Within MEDS5112M and MEDS5113M there are a number of scheduled tutor-led webinars (synchronous) which provide an opportunity to discuss pre-recorded lectures, which will be available via the Minerva. These will also provide an opportunity to discuss and de-brief after directed peer-led learning activities. During MEDS5115M scheduled contact is with the research supervisor, using Skype, File Exchange and e-mail, as students are completing their dissertations. There will be the opportunity for all students to attend 2 synchronous webinars at which they can report progress and discuss any issues arising as they carry out and complete their research.

Assessment

Year 1

Candidates are required to submit for assessment:

• 1 x 3,000 , word Teaching Case Study MEDS5111M
• Successfully carry out a formatively assessed peer and tutor observed microteaching MEDS51111M
• Complete a Structured Portfolio – reviewed by tutors at intervals throughout MEDS5111M and MEDS5112M
• 2 x 2,500 word Essays MEDS5112M
• 1 x 2,000 word Comparative critique of two methods of assessment MEDS5112M
• 1 x 2,000 word Reflective Narrative (based on the Structured Portfolio) MEDS5112M

Year 2

Candidates are required to submit for assessment:

• 1 x 1,000 word Action Plan based on the curriculum design group task MEDS5113M
• 1 x 2,000 word Project Report on Leadership Scenarios MEDS5113M
• 1 x 3,000 word Essay MEDS5113M
• 1 x 6,000 word Research Protocol, to include a literature search and review and, as an appendix, a draft application for ethical approval MEDS5114M

Year 3

Candidates are required to submit for assessment:

• 1 Research Dissertation (of approximately 12,000 words) for MEDS5115M