Fully funded Master’s degree for health professionals

Fully funded Master’s degree for health professionals

13 May 2010

Health professionals in England have the opportunity to advance their careers with a fully funded postgraduate degree at the joint Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences run by Kingston University and St George’s, University of London.

The specialist faculty is providing ten studentships on its full-time Masters in Research Clinical Practice (MRes CP) course.

The Faculty’s MRes CP programme is suitable for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. It combines practical and academic study to prepare professionals for leadership and management in clinical research. Throughout the course students gain the appropriate knowledge of contemporary professional research practices, and develop skills that enable them to generate research questions, test data collection approaches and interpret results within a scientific framework.

Course director Dr Cheryl Whiting said: “We’re committed to equipping healthcare professionals with all the skills they need to participate fully as a clinical researcher in the academic community - whether through engagement in research, debate and discussion, by adopting evidence-based approach to practice, presenting at clinical meetings and conferences, or by publishing their work in clinical journals.”

Funding covers salary costs and fees for NHS staff seconded to the course for one year of full-time study. Nurses, midwives and allied health professionals based in England with at least one year of clinical experience and an honours degree in a health or social care-related subject are eligible to apply.

The next course starts in October 2010. Applications must be received before 7 June 2010, and further information is available online at http://www.sgul.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught-courses/mres-in-clinical-practice

MRes CP student and occupational therapist David Baker of the Royal Free Hospital, said: “The course is very interactive and has a really student centered philosophy. I’ve become involved in a range of research-focused activities, and the inter-professional nature of the programme is a huge benefit as it shows how each of our existing knowledge and skill sets can be applied within clinical research.”

The fully-funded places follow a £1.7 million grant awarded to the Faculty by the National Institute for Health Research and the Chief Nursing Officer for England, as part of a national drive to boost clinical academic career pathways in the NHS. The grant, awarded in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Council and Higher Education Funding Council for England, is for three years, and the next cohort will be the second to undertake the one-year course.