Postgraduate Diploma in Health Professions Education and Leadership

Purpose

This qualification will enable the graduates to demonstrate skills in leadership, self-reflection and mentoring; apply management, pedagogical, project management and evaluation principles in the context of Health Professions Education (HPE); understand and apply the principles of instructional design within a HPE context; create, adapt, implement and evaluate learning materials and activities; design, implement and evaluate an education innovation research project.

Rationale

The rationale of this qualification is to develop suitably qualified leaders in Health Professions Education (HPE) to meet the increasing complexity of HPE in a fast and continuously changing educational landscape. This qualification responds to the increasing demand for individuals with specialised knowledge and leadership skills to best educate the 21st century health professionals and ensure the delivery of quality of health care in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This qualification is aimed at Health Professions Educators (HPE) and Practitioners who wish to further develop their leadership, management and pedagogical knowledge and skills in a global and inter-professional context. The qualification aims to catalyse the emergence of HPE leaders; introduce the graduates to a community of practice and build their capacity in educational research.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

This qualification may be achieved in part through the Recognition of Prior Learning. Individual learners will be assessed against the Exit Level Outcomes of the qualification on a case-by-case basis. Such procedures and the assessment of individual cases, are subject to moderation by independent-assessors.

Entry Requirements

The minimum requirements for admission into a Postgraduate Diploma is

• An approved undergraduate Degree in Health Sciences, Level 7.

This qualification comprises compulsory and elective modules at Level 8 totalling 120 Credits.

Compulsory Modules Level 8, 110 Credits

• Leadership and Mentoring in HPE, 20 Credits.
• Instructional Design, 20 Credits.
• Project Management and Evaluation, 20 Credits.
• Innovation Research Project, 50 Credits.

Elective Modules Level 8, 10 Credits

• Faculty Development for Health Professionals, 10 Credits.
• Scientific Peer Review, 10 Credits.

1. Demonstrate skills in leadership, self-reflection and mentoring.
2. Apply management, pedagogical, project management and evaluation principles in the context of HPE.
3. Understand and apply the principles of instructional design within a HPE context.
4. Create, adapt, implement and evaluate learning materials and activities.
5. Design, implement and evaluate an education innovation research project.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Understand self; reflect and relate theories of educational leadership and mentor according to personal experiences and practices.
• Analyse leadership issues and develop strategies in the context of educational organisations.
• Demonstrate practical leadership and mentoring skills and build effective team-oriented approaches to collaboration.
• Respond to and provide leadership and guidance in an increasingly complex landscape of health professions education.
• Demonstrate an understanding of group dynamics and principles of effective team work within an ethical and human framework.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the influence of organisational culture on project outcomes.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Demonstrate a conceptual understanding of appropriate management, pedagogical, project management and evaluation of concepts in the HPE context.
• Critically appraise the theoretical approaches underpinning management, pedagogical project management, and evaluate in HPE demonstrating evidence of best practice of the effectiveness of various approaches.
• Select and apply appropriate management, pedagogical, project management, and evaluation strategies to demonstrate evidence of best practice and effectiveness.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Demonstrate and apply pedagogical principles in the practice of teaching and learning.
• Select and apply appropriate strategies for teaching and facilitation of learning in different contexts, demonstrating evidence of best practice of the effectiveness of various approaches.
• Select and apply concepts and approaches to assess teaching and learning in the HPE context.
• Apply educational theories, models and principles to the design of a module or course.
• Apply the principles of alignment within the design of a module or course.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Demonstrate an understanding of educational theories that inform the design and development of learning materials and activities.
• Create appropriate learning materials and activities to enhance and support learning.
• Adapt learning materials and activities to meet diverse learning needs.
• Implement and evaluate the efficacy of the selected strategies in the development of learning materials and activities.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• Demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical and practical concepts of research design in HPE.
• Design and implement an education innovation research project.
• Select and apply appropriate methods to manage and evaluate an education intervention project.
• Demonstrate appropriate communication of findings related to an education innovation research project among peers.

Integrated Assessment

In the assessment strategy, competence must be demonstrated and will be assessed through a variety of options.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment methods include

• Written reflections.
• Written assignments.
• Video material and accompanying report/s.

Formative assessment is designed to ensure that

• It supports the teaching and learning process.
• Provides constructive feedback to the learner on his/her progress.
• It helps to make decisions on the readiness of learners.

Formative assessment is useful in terms of assessment of outcomes, as these are often difficult to assess during summative assessments. Gaps in terms of knowledge and abilities can be identified with individuals at this stage and appropriate action planned.

Summative Assessment

Summative assessment includes

• Leadership and Mentoring in HPE: a reflective portfolio of evidence.
• Instructional Design: A report with a completed module alignment template, with additional materials to support evidence of alignment of a chosen module.
• Project Management and Evaluation: a portfolio of evidence related to and education project.
• The Faculty Development for Health Professionals in HPE: Theme 1: Core Concepts of Faculty Development (FP).
• A report of the overarching Innovation Research Project (subject dependent).

Summative assessment is about making a judgement about achievement. Learner-readiness determines whether the learner will qualify for the respective examinations. It is required that the assignments (both written and video material) are submitted in order to fulfil the requirements of each module.

Summative assessment occurs at the end of each study cycle of learning; and is used to determine whether the learner is competent in the required knowledge and skills. Summative assessments will be conducted on a continuous basis throughout the learning experience. Summative assessments are moderated per module of learning, in order for all learners to be fairly assessed against the planned outcomes.