Master of Medicine in Anaesthesiology

Purpose

The Master of Medicine in Anaesthesiology qualification provides learners with the knowledge, skills and attitudes. This qualification provides opportunities for the training and development of registrars in Anaesthesiology. The applied competence and skills derived from their training in Anaesthesiology is sufficient to allow them to be accredited specialists with registration recognition with the HPCSA. The qualification aims to provide learners with the foundation for continued personal and intellectual growth, gainful economic activity and for contributing to society at large through advanced patient care, innovation, scholarship and leadership in the field of Anaesthesiology.

Rationale

The Master of Medicine in Anaesthesiology qualification responds to diverse regional and national human resources, skills and knowledge need in healthcare provision, in particular for rural areas and the public sector which is in line with the social accountability focus of the Health Sciences. The training will produce holders of a Master's Qualification of Medicine in Anaesthesiology which will be greatly needed for the implementation of the NHI to ensure equitable health care for all. The qualification contributes to enhancing the employability of healthcare professionals and alleviating shortages of expertise in the field of Anaesthesiology. The qualification will teach, train and equip doctors to acquire competences in the field of Anaesthesiology.

The training will enable trainees to acquire expertise in performing peri-operative Anaesthesia and Critical Care as required by the College of Medicine South Africa and the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). After completion of studies, the Anaesthesiologists will find employment in the health sector as Specialist Anaesthesiologists and Critical Care Health providers. After that, the Anaesthesiologists can pursue a sub-speciality in Critical Care.

After three years of study, the learner may choose to exit with the Fellowship. Such a learner may register the Fellowship against his or her name but cannot be registered as a Specialist in Anaesthetics with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA); the HPCSA requires that training is four years to gain such specialist registration. Such a learner may, however, be able to register in another country. On completion of the qualification:

• Qualifying learners, i.e. with four years of study and the FCA (SA) Fellowship from the CMSA may register with the HPCSA as a Specialist in anaesthesiology.
• Learners will have opportunities for the training and development of registrars in Anaesthesiology.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The institution conducts RPL in terms of the policy and guidelines of the institution to recognise other forms of formal, informal and non-formal learning and experience. The policy as it relates to the Master of Medicine in Anaesthesiology is as follows:

• A learner who is already in possession of a qualification of the SA Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA) and wishes to register for the Master of Medicine qualification in the same field at this institution for the first time, must be registered for the qualification for not less than two years and occupy or have occupied a Registrar's post on the Joint establishment for the same period. The dissertation must be completed within two years of registration unless the School Board grants an extension.
• Senate may on the recommendation of the Head of Department and Dean of School of Medicine recognise up to one-year of previous Postgraduate or other experience. Such time the learner must be in the Registrar's post when interpreting these rules. Senate will not recognise previous experience that may be recognised for registration purposes by the HPCSA.
• If a learner has completed the required period of practical training in a registrar's post, the School of Medicine may grant a learner who has not written the final Assessment at the end of the prescribed period of six months extension (not more than twice) on the written recommendation of the Head of Department. Such a learner should vacate the registrar's post and may write the Assessment in any other post in any Department, within or outside this institution.
• No learner will pass the final Master of Medicine Assessment unless the learner completes the research component of the examination.

To obtain the Master of Medicine qualification such a learner shall

• Pass the research Master of Medicine Assessment.
• Meet the requirement of registration and registrarship of the specific qualification.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, NQF Level 8.

And

• Registration with Health Professions Council of South Africa.

And

• Be appointed to a Registrar's post recognised by the HPCSA.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory module at Level 9 totalling 720 Credits.

Compulsory Modules

• General Physiology, 20 Credits.
• Pharmacology, 20 Credits.
• Applied Medical Physics and Statistics, 20 Credits.
• Anaesthesiology, 480 Credits.
• Dissertation, 180 Credits.

• Demonstrate competency in clinical skills at the specialist level.
• Show expertise in research and the ability to evaluate, and implement research findings in the practice of the branch of specialisation.
• Show ethical, compassionate and skilled ability to conduct all aspects of specialist practice, both concerning the care of individuals and of populations.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the principles and practice of Anaesthetics and train others in the speciality.
• Acquire and demonstrate self-direction and independence in the learning to become a lifelong learner, and will recognise personal education needs, utilise appropriate learning situations and evaluate own progress.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes

• Use problem-solving techniques to arrive at a diagnosis for a patient.
• Communicate efficiently and effectively with the patient and other health care workers as a team.
• Show sustained competence in psychomotor skills necessary for the practice of Anaesthetics.
• Demonstrate competency and responsibility in the use of instruments and equipment necessary for this practice.
• Conduct all research with due regard for the moral, legal and ethical accountability and requirements of the profession.
• Practice Evidence-Based Medicine by critically evaluating published literature in the field and applies it in practice.
• Guide junior learners who are studying or working in the same branch of specialisation.
• Show respect for patients and colleagues that encompasses, without prejudice, diversity of background and opportunity, language, culture and way of life.
• Where applicable, refers patients to practitioners who are more appropriately qualified than the learner is, to treat certain conditions.
• Demonstrate an awareness, through actions or in writing, of the moral, legal and ethical responsibilities involved in individual patient care and the provision of care to populations.
• Consider both the impact of health care on the environment as well as on health.
• Strive to improve patient care, to reduce inequalities in health care delivery, to optimise the use of health care resources in our society and uses his or her professional capabilities to contribute to the community as well as to individual patient welfare by the practice of Anaesthetics.
• Teach, through clinical practice at the specialist level, the application of knowledge from the basic to the advanced level to other professionals.
• Communicate this knowledge by teaching undergraduates and supervising interns and more junior colleagues in the speciality.
• Use appropriate strategies for learning that will prepare the learner for continued professional development throughout life, both as a specialist doctor and as a responsible citizen.
• Acknowledge responsibility for continuing professional development (CPD) to keep up to date with new developments and to maintain accreditation and meet statutory CPD requirements.
• Identify personal limitations and develops the capacity of self-audit and participates in the peer review process, showing a willingness to seek help when necessary.

Integrated Assessment

Assessment is in the form of

Physics

• Formative tests.
• The option of CMSA Part 1 Physics Anaesthesiology examination.

Pharmacology

• Monthly tests.
• The option of CMSA Part 1 Pharmacology examination.

Physiology

• Monthly tests.
• The option of CMSA Part 1 Physiology examination.

Anaesthesiology

• Weekly Tutorials (group or individual).
• Multi-disciplinary meetings.
• Clinical department presentations.
• Work-based assessments for the recording of observed competences in procedural and reporting techniques by the use of Logbooks. The assessment of the learners is on the level of training and competencies with a prescribed number of outcomes for various procedures at different levels of training.
• Monitored rotations organised in core modalities throughout the four-year training period.
• Junior registrars: (YR 1&2) Trainees require additional support and direct supervision.

Senior registrars (YR3&4) Trainee requires very little or no senior supervision and can practice independently

• Mock examinations before final examinations.
• (Monitored Attendance 80%).
• EXIT examination: Part 2 CMSA Anaesthesiology examination (FCA):

The final Assessment will consist of a written, oral, practical and clinical parts conducted by the College of Medicine South Africa (CMSA) (as stipulated by the HPCSA 2011) as the National Exit Examination. The practical and clinical part of the Assessment may take any format as determined by the CMSA.