Medical Science (Clinical Audit)

Course Structure and Content
The PG Certificate requires successful completion of four, 15 credit modules. The modules are:
Governance and Assurance in Healthcare
Clinical Audit
Managing Change and Quality Improvement
Realising the Potential of Clinical Audit
Course Content
Induction Session (including Study Skills and an Introduction to the University e-learning system)
Module One: Governance and Assurance in Healthcare
This module will enable participants to critically consider the governance requirements and regulatory frameworks which apply to healthcare organisations and within this the role and value of clinical audit as a source of assurance. The key focus will be on governance and healthcare in the NHS, although the module will draw on developments in other sectors and countries as these have influenced the requirements placed on healthcare organisations in the United Kingdom.
Core topics include:
Understanding the NHS: Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships
What is Governance and Why Does It Matter?
Governance, Risk, & Assurance within the NHS
Assuring the Quality of Care: The Pivotal Role of Clinical Audit
Module Two: Clinical Audit
This module considers what constitutes robust clinical audit (at both strategy, programme and project level) and explores the value of clinical audit at all levels of an organisation - locating this within the wider quality framework for an organisation or team. The module also provides an opportunity for students to critically review the key stages within the clinical audit cycle, develop their skills in planning and undertaking audits and identify the key challenges involved in managing clinical audit projects and programmes.
Module Three: Managing Change and Quality Improvement
All healthcare organisations are dependent on their staff, so how do you get the best from them? This module explores the core concepts associated with change so as to enable students to effectively manage the behavioural and organisational issues associated with audit and quality improvement programmes. The aim is for students to (i) develop strategies and actions and (ii) be able to apply a range of different tools and techniques which together enable them to contribute to the successful delivery of sustainable change across professional, functional and hierarchical boundaries.
Module Four: Realising the Potential of Clinical Audit
This module requires students to bring together the knowledge and skills from earlier in their programme of study and to purposefully apply these in a well researched, extended project. Students will be required to critically examine a self-chosen empirical issue or, preferably, a specific work-related problem and develop a related action plan.