Master of Medicine in Nuclear Medicine

Purpose

The primary purpose of this Professional Master's qualification in Nuclear Medicine is to

• Provide skills and knowledge of Nuclear Medicine necessary to equip graduates for professional service in the context of the health needs of the population.
• Produce graduates who are socially accountable.
• Produce Nuclear Medicine specialists who are safe and competent in working with radioactive substances.
• Provide graduates with specialised knowledge and competence in Nuclear Medicine and practice in specialist clinical disciplines to enable registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as a Nuclear Medicine specialist.
• Prepare graduates to contribute to the development and dissemination of knowledge through research at an advanced level by fostering scholarship, intellectual independence, equipping them with skills and knowledge relevant to the practice of research and professional communication related to Nuclear Medicine.
• Produce competent graduates for admission to Doctoral qualifications related to Nuclear Medicine.
• Prepare the graduate for a life of self-directed continuing learning, reflective practice and professional development.

Rationale

There is a national and local need for Nuclear Medicine graduates who meet the requirements for admission to the specialist register of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), and who will contribute to the health and wellbeing of our population.

Such graduates are required to possess a high level of competence and specialised skill in this discipline, as well as generic competencies in a range of defined domains such as communication and leadership skills. An understanding of scientific enquiry, scholarship and research is important to the future of academic medicine.

This qualification is positioned to meet these needs and to be able to increase the number of graduates in the discipline of Nuclear Medicine who can provide this service competently. These learners, once qualified, will provide service in both the private and state sector to provide this needed service in both diagnostic and therapeutic medicine. There is currently a small number of qualified Nuclear Medicine Physicians in the country and this has resulted in the lack of access to many in the population who would benefit from this.

This qualification would contribute to the development of the discipline and the availability of access to all in the country. Nuclear Medicine allows for early detection and treatment of diseases which would become potentially chronic and incurable and result in excess cost to the health sector thus this adequate availability of the discipline would provide valuable contribution to society and the country's health economy.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The Recognition of Prior Learning, Credit Accumulation and Transfer and Assessment will have considered when admitting learners through RPL. A learner who has graduated from another tertiary institution or who has in any other manner attained a level of competence which, in the opinion of the Senate, is adequate for the purpose of Postgraduate studies or research, may be admitted as a learner of the University.

The RPL policy states that RPL may serve the following purposes within the institution

• To allow mature-age learners (applicants who are at least 23 years old) without a Senior Certificate, access to the qualification, by accrediting learning obtained through experience.
• To allow learners without a (relevant) primary Degree access to Postgraduate qualifications.
• To recognise prior learning by the award of credits for modules, for non-degree purposes or towards a qualification.

A portfolio providing documentary evidence in support of the specific RPL application must be provided. A committee of disciplinary experts will assess the level of competence of prospective applicants before seeking the approval of the College Academic Affairs Board and the Senate for each applicant.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) Degree.
• Registration with Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as a medical practitioner in the category: Independent Practice.
• At least three years' clinical experience following graduation, which may include internship and community service.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory elective modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 9 totalling 720 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 9, 720 Credits

• Nuclear Medicine Clinical and Professional Practice 1, 262 Credits.
• Nuclear Medicine Clinical and Professional Practice 2, 262 Credits.
• Research Methodology, 16 Credits.
• Research Project, 180 Credits.

1. Show clinical competence in diagnosis and management of disorders appropriate to the discipline of Nuclear Medicine.
2. Demonstrate competence in procedures involving the use of unsealed radioactive sources in therapy and diagnosis.
3. Ensure maintenance of high ethical standards in practice and research in the field of Nuclear Medicine.
4. Benchmark clinical practice against international standards, using available evidence.
5. Demonstrate academic literacy within the field of Nuclear Medicine in terms of critical thinking, the ability to access appropriate learning resources, formulate a research proposal, conduct the research and communicate the findings to the academic community.

The following Associated Assessment Criteria will be applied in an integrated manner across the Exit Level Outcomes.

• Assess clinical competence through evidence provided in the Logbook and portfolio assessment as well as the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA) examination.
• Achieve knowledge literacy, as well as competence in methods and procedure, is assessed through formative tasks and development of a proposal and completion of a research project.
• Demonstrate competence in these generic attributes is assessed through the CMSA Examination, logbook and portfolio.

Integrated Assessment

The Nuclear Medicine Clinical and Professional Practice Modules 1 and 2 are developed on a framework of work-integrated learning. There is an emphasis on experiential learning and on self-directed learning, which are supported by a qualification of formal and informal learning opportunities.

Service-learning is supported by

• Project work, in the form of formal case and topic presentations, to explore the scientific foundations of practice, find the most recent evidence on which to base practice, identify researchable problems and develop facility in academic and professional discourse.
• Journal clubs, to expose learners to the critical reading of developments in scientific literature.
• Staff meetings, to allow for the discussion of service-related problems, allowing learners to participate in service planning and development.
• Nuclear Medicine and related seminars to expose learners to experts in the field.
• Tutorials, to provide a framework for self-directed learning.

Formative Assessment is conducted to determine the learner's performance as a service- provider in the clinical workplace and occur through:

• Assessment of class preparation and participation.
• Individual and group written assignment.
• Individual and group oral presentation.
• Work placed based assessments.

Learners are subject to regular performance monitoring which is recorded within the portfolio of learning prescribed for these programmes by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Learners identified as being at risk of poor academic progression as well as those identified with issues relating to professional behaviour are appropriately counselled, supported and monitored thereafter. Additional one-on-one tutorials may be arranged with the learner to identify areas of academic weakness and address these. Additional academic support arranged with the school of laboratory and medical sciences, the medical physicists, interdepartmental collaborations as well as the medical school as necessary. The development of generic competencies such as communication skills, collaboration, professionalism and ethics, scholarly activity, health advocacy, leadership and management are monitored in a process of continuous formative assessment, oral interviews to assess if the learner is ready for the final summative assessment which determines qualification as a Nuclear Medicine specialist. A professional portfolio contains evidence of all formative assessments.

Summative Assessment of the Nuclear Medicine Clinical Professional Practice modules 1 and 2 is managed by the College of Medicine of South Africa.

The Research Methodology module is designed to direct the learner through the development of his/her own research proposal. In order to satisfy the requirements for the Research Methodology module, the learner is required to have produced a satisfactory research protocol (proposal) ready for submission to the institution Biomedical Research Ethics Committee. Learners produce various drafts that lead to the final proposal which is represents the summative assessment in the module. The research proposal then evolves into the Research Project module in which the learner is expected to function autonomously with the supervision of academic staff designed to support the learner. At the conclusion of the Research Project, the achievement of Exit Level Outcomes is assessed by examiners who are experts in the discipline or by the presentation of a publication in a peer-reviewed journal. At least one examiner is external to the institution.