Msc biomedical science (medical microbiology) blizard institute

Structure

The course is offered with both part-time and full-time study options.

To study this course as a part-time student you must be employed in a suitable laboratory within the NHS, PHE or the private sector and your employer will need to support your application, be able to give you time to study and provide a suitable project. The taught element of the course is provided one day a week and you will also be expected to undertake additional private study. In your first year of study you will attend on Tuesdays, and in your second year your day of attendance will be Thursdays.

Undertaking the course full-time is most appropriate for overseas students and, more generally, recent graduates in biomedical science who are not already working in hospitals, medical schools, public health institutions and similar institutions. Full-time students are attached to the Centre for Immunobiology within the Blizard Institute (please note this is not a clinical attachment).

Full-time students study for 12 months and will be expected to be able to attend teaching sessions at the University on Monday - Friday. In addition to the Tuesday and Thursday teaching shared with the part-time students, there are tutorials, research and clinical meetings on other days.

To enable the full-time students to participate fully in discussions about laboratory techniques and clinical cases with their part-time colleagues who are attending by day-release, additional tuition is provided in the formative studies module during the attachment to the Centre for Immunobiology. The additional tuition provides further hands-on practical experience using material designed to reflect the clinical samples and laboratory procedures in a routine hospital laboratory. The students are encouraged to complete the practical work as individuals to gain maximum experience, but discussion within the group and with the tutor is encouraged.

Additional theoretical tutorials are also used throughout the year to broaden the students' experience of clinical microbiology. These tutorials include case presentations to and by the students, workshops, discussion sessions, question-and-answer sessions, and oral presentations by the students. Full-time students receive additional assignments to be completed throughout the year to allow them to monitor their own progress. Full-time students are also encouraged to attend the regular clinical journal club at Barts Health NHS Trust and research meetings within the Centre.

Modules offered on this course are:

• Introduction to clinical microbiology (30 credits)
• Molecular biology, pathogenesis and immunology (15 credits)
• Antimicrobials in the laboratory and clinical practice (15 credits)
• Prevention and control of communicable disease in the hospital and community (15 credits)
• Clinical microbiology and infection (15 credits)
• Laboratory management (15 credits)
• Professional and research skills (15 credits)
• Project (60 credits)