Master of Medicine in Psychiatry

Purpose

This qualification is a four-year focusing specifically in Psychiatry. The qualification is per the guidelines of the HPCSA and the College of Medicine of South Africa. The purpose of the qualification is to train learners to be able to provide psychiatry care at the specialist level. The learners will contribute meaningfully to the care of mental care users in both the public and private sector who will be able to generate new knowledge in the field to help with its advancement.

This qualification contributes to the drive to revitalise clinical research in a developing country like South Africa to enhance health care at all levels by identifying the causes of problems, facilitating diagnosis, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of care, and promoting good policy-making.

Rationale

The clinical research and training force is ageing and has also been steadily declining in numbers since the early 1990s. The combined burden of clinical teaching and training, health service, and research thus fall on a shrinking and ageing pool of academics in health science faculties. This qualification improves the capacity to increase the production of properly trained health care workers and to train and inspire a new generation of clinical researchers and institutions teachers.

A higher level of responsiveness to diverse regional and national human resources, skills, and knowledge needs in healthcare provision, in particular for rural areas and the public sector, which is in line with the social accountability focus of the Faculty of Health Sciences. Holders of this qualification are needed for the implementation of the NHI to ensure equitable health care for all. Based on the syllabus of the Colleges of Medicine in South Africa (CMSA), it contributes towards the special medical qualification and to the scientific and intellectual capacity of our country and beyond. The successful learner meets the specific needs of the medical profession, academia, the public sector, as well as the private sector.

This qualification provides opportunities for future training and development of registrars in Psychiatry in the medical schools in South Africa. The applied competence and skills derived from their training in Psychiatry 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 patient care, innovation, scholarship, and leadership in the field of Psychiatry.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

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

And

• Registration with HPCSA as a medical practitioner Independent Practice.

And

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

This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 9 totalling 648 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, 648 Credits

• Dissertation (Psychiatry), 108 Credits.
• Applied Neuroanatomy, 20 Credits.
• Applied Neurophysiology, 20 Credits.
• Neurology relevant to Psychiatry, 108 Credits.
• Psychiatry (Major)), 372 Credits.
• Psychology relevant to Psychiatry, 20 Credits.

Exit Level Outcomes

• Diagnose, through oral communication, physical examination, laboratory investigations, interpretation of appropriate special investigations.
• Formulate and prosecute management options for divergent problems in Psychiatry and Clinical Medicine.
• Advice on and implement prophylactic measures to prevent disease relevant to Psychiatry.
• Interpret scientific literature relevant to his/her field and through reflection, adapt new developments in the field of Psychiatry into his/her clinical practice.
• Conceptualise, plan and implement and interpret research relevant to the practice of Psychiatry.

The following Associated Assessment Criteria will assess the Exit Level Outcomes in an integrated manner

• Use problem-solving techniques, which draw on her or his multi-faceted knowledge, to arrive at a diagnosis for a patient.
• Communicate efficiently and effectively with the patient and other health care workers as a team.
• Show competence 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 relevant to Psychiatry.
• Guide junior learners who are studying or working in the same branch of specialisation: Psychiatry.
• Show respect for patients and colleagues that encompasses, without prejudice, diversity of background and opportunity, language, culture and way of life.
• Refer patients to practitioners who are more appropriately qualified than he or she is to treat a certain condition.
• 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 the impact of the environment 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 Psychiatry.
• Teach, through clinical practice at the specialist level relevant to Psychiatry, 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: Psychiatry.
• Use appropriate strategies for learning that prepare him or her for continued professional development throughout life, both as a specialist doctor and as a responsible social accountable 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

The qualification utilises an integrated assessment approach throughout training to ensure achievement of all Exit Level Outcomes, including:

• Continuous assessment by specialist clinicians,
• The composition of a log-books,
• Portfolios.

Summative assessment in the form of

• Written papers (number and time allocation depending on the nature of the module),
• Oral examinations,
• Practical assessments.

Assessments ensure integration of all learning requirements to ensure that the learner exits with specialised knowledge over the field of Psychiatry.

The research component of the qualification forms an integral part of the qualification. The study of the problem within the research focus of the division happens in more detail. Learners must produce a mini-dissertation and a publishable ready article for assessment by internal and external examiners as per the institution's rules.