Surgical Care Practice MSc

Core modules

• Introduction to the Surgical Care Practitioner Role

  The aim of this module is to develop registered nurses, operating department practitioners, allied health professionals and perioperative practitioners with the relevant knowledge and skills to take on the role of assisting the surgeon during an operation. This will be a structured and recognised programme based on the national curriculum developed by the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSEng) to ensure that Surgical Care Practitioners (SCP) are competent and safe practitioners. It’ll provide the underpinning knowledge at the appropriate level to which they are practising. The SCP would be expected to have the same level of knowledge, skills and expertise as that of a medical practitioner, and would be judged with regard to the legal aspects of expanded practice, this module will therefore equip you to practise at this level. The module is delivered over two semesters allowing the SCP sufficient practice hours to gain the relevant knowledge and skills required. It’s a theory/practice module in which you’ll learn both in the classroom and in the practice area. Learning and teaching methods in the classroom will include a variety of methods such as lectures, seminars, group work, scenarios, skills workshops, simulation, etc. Learning and teaching in clinical practice will be under the supervision of a Consultant Surgeon or senior surgeon within your own area of surgery.

• Clinical Consultation and Assessment Skills

  The General Medical Council (2013) Nursing and Midwifery Council (2015) Health & Care Professions Council (2016) require professionals to ensure that their knowledge and skills are up to date and that they regularly take part in activities that maintain and develop competence and performance. This module aims to help students achieve this by forming part of a structured programme to ensure competence and performance around advanced clinical consultation and assessment skills. The module will focus on the presentation of surgical conditions and the complications that may arise as the consequence of surgical complications.

• Surgical Care Practitioner Skills

  Build on the competencies gained whilst undertaking the ‘Introduction to the Surgical Care Practitioner Role’. It’ll facilitate your progress in meeting minimum requirements to practise as a Surgical Care Practitioner, by covering clinical development as recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSEng) (2014): ‘The Curriculum Framework for the Surgical Care Practitioner’. For the purpose of this module, the Surgical Care Practitioner will practise both in and out of the operating room and will undertake specified surgical interventions, either under direct, indirect or proximal supervision (RCSEng 2014). In addition, the Surgical Care Practitioner will have a role in the pre and post-operative stages of the patient journey and will undertake or request others to undertake diagnostic procedures, with the aim of arriving at a definitive diagnosis. There will be two major themes for this module. Firstly, the content will address the knowledge and skills required for the safe care of a patient who is undergoing a surgical intervention as well as the techniques/ procedures involved (incision making, etc) in a surgical procedure. The other theme is the issues related to role expansion and multi-skilling. Within this theme, you’ll explore clinical governance and risk management and the influence that role expansion has on this.

• Postgraduate research design

  Designed to give you the tools you need in order to identify and plan research to address a real world problem within your practice, or address a gap in the existing knowledge within your field. It’s designed for participants from across the Faculty which is reflected in the diverse content including: evaluating literature, designing research questions, systematic review procedures, qualitative and quantitative research methods and data analysis, issues of rigour and ethical considerations in research. We’ll provide a framework for you to propose and justify a research question and design appropriate to your professional practice.

• Major Project

  The major project is at the centre of the Masters award and allows you to demonstrate your creativity and apply the skills and concepts you have learned in the previous modules. It is the opportunity for you to carry out an in depth study in a specific area and to expand or redefine existing knowledge. In practical terms, you’ll be provided with a list of available research projects prior to the major project but will also have the opportunity to suggest your own projects. It is hoped that many of these projects will be carried out with either an industrial partner or a clinician. In the course of the project you may generate intellectual property, defined as an idea, invention or creation which can be protected by law from being copied by someone else