Clinical Neuroscience Practice

The module provides a foundation to understand the organisation and function of the human nervous system, emphasising that pathologies tend to affect specific locations and can therefore produce predictable clinical effects. The module will focus on common neurological disorders and common psychiatric disorders, detailing their underlying pathophysiology, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. The module will also emphasise that experience of neurological illness comes about through the combination of neuropathology with the individual patient’s beliefs, personality and social milieu and their cognitive, affective and behavioural responses to symptoms and impairments. The module will also explore the relationship between race and ethnicity and neuroscientific knowledge and health disparities for individuals with common neurological and psychiatric disorders.

This module will equip students with a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of modern healthcare provision as it applies to neurological and related fields. Teaching content will cover, through a range of methods including lectures, workshops, Q&A sessions and tutorials, three core elements:

1. The commissioning, structure, staffing and monitoring of neuroscience clinical care (including the use of service user feedback)
2. The relevant quality and safety standards and guidelines and how these are produced, including the underlying evidence base
3. The wider context including integration of specialist, community and social care, social determinants of neurological health and the prevention of neurological disease.

This module will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the principles and practice of clinical psychology within neuroscience settings. Teaching content will cover, through a range of methods including lectures, workshops, group work, and ‘meet the practitioner’ sessions, three primary topics:

1. Psychological aspects of major neurological conditions, including in the domains of cognition, emotion and behaviour
2. The clinical assessment of cognitive function
3. Clinical neuropsychological rehabilitation and interventions.

A key emphasis will be how the discipline contributes to improving patient care and service delivery for the diverse communities we work within. Assessment will be via a group presentation relevant to the role of the psychologist in the clinical neurosciences, and an essay that addresses the integration of theory and practice in clinical neuropsychology. Students completing the module will have a sound critical appreciation of the relevant theoretical models and principles that underpin clinical neuropsychology, alongside an appreciation of their practical implementation, which will be excellent preparation for undertaking clinical work in multidisciplinary neuroscience settings as well as applied research in this domain.

This module will teach you how to critically appraise research literature relevant to your field of study, covering the principles of critical appraisal, techniques and models for critiquing papers, as well as reviewing relevant research designs and analysis methods and appraisal of key papers in the relevant specialist field, including educational research.

When you have successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• Identify the research paradigms and theoretical foundations underlying published research papers
• Critically evaluate the design, methods, analyses and conclusions of published papers
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of contrasting approaches to research questions adopted in published papers
• Critically assess the contributions made by published papers they have evaluated to the current state of knowledge in their specialist field
• Make recommendations for further research resulting from an analysis of published work which they have evaluated.

This module will enable you to develop skills in understanding, critically interpreting and extracting data. You will be taught appropriate qualitative and quantitative data analysis methodologies, and how to communicate and present results appropriately in plain English. You will learn about both quantitative and qualitative data. Topics covered include graphs and descriptive statistics, confidence intervals, tests, regression, and the practical collection of qualitative data using interviews and focus groups.

This module will give you the skills to:

• Critically analyse and apply a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches to data analysis, and select the most relevant approach for a given research question scenario
• Plan and implement practical analyses of both qualitative and quantitative datasets using a range of techniques, and using computer packages where appropriate
• Critically interpret the results of qualitative and quantitative data analysis, with reference to underlying methodology, study design, method of data collection, rigour and validity
• Synthesise theories of research designs with the relevant data analysis
• Identify, evaluate and select appropriate methods for presenting the results of qualitative and quantitative data analysis.

This module will introduce you to a range of research approaches and methods. You will learn how to:

• Critically evaluate the characteristics of high quality, ethical research
• Set realistic and appropriate aims, objectives and research questions for research projects
• Identify different types of study design, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and select appropriate designs in practice
• Critically evaluate the importance of a range of study design issues including those related to evaluating and ensuring rigour in research
• Systematically review the published research evidence for a specific research question.

This module covers the knowledge, attributes and skills required to succeed as a professional researcher as defined in the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF), which is endorsed by organisations including Research Councils UK.

The module addresses the key RDF domains:

• personal effectiveness;
• research governance and organisation;
• engagement, influence and impact.

It will help you further develop the critical responses and skills necessary to plan and execute projects successfully and in a timely manner, as a first step to seeing yourself as a researcher helping to advance your area of study.

This module will give you the skills to:

• appraise the framework for research governance and legislation affecting research;
• examine the need for ethical and other approval before commencing research;
• communicate effectively with supervisors, research participants, research team members and those giving permission for research;
• critically evaluate the implications of their work to health and safety and intellectual property legislation;
• communicate effectively by reflecting on the different perspectives in the research.

This module will introduce you to the underlying principles and structure of statistical thinking, along with the latest methods for analysing data collected using quantitative study designs. It will help you develop the skills to critically appraise the statistical methods used in research papers, interpret the results, and evaluate the conclusions. It will give you confidence in interpreting and discussing methods and statistics in biomedical, healthcare, and clinical literature, and when utilising statistics and statistical methods in your own research.

When you have successfully completed of the module, you will be able to:

• Critically appraise the statistical methods used in research papers
• Analyse and interpret the results of the statistical analyses presented in research papers
• Critically appraise the inferences made based on the statistical analyses presented in research papers
• Choose and critique modern-day statistical techniques in order to analyse quantitative data when undertaking research projects at the postgraduate level
• Propose and synthesise suitable inferences based on the results of the statistical analysis of your own research data.

The development of new medicines generally begins with breakthroughs in basic science, leading to target identification and lead development, then pre-clinical and clinical trials before translation to patients (clinical efficacy) and eventually into practice (implementation). Biomedical scientists work at any stage along this translational “bench-to-bedside” process. The first half of this module will illustrate the translational research arc by focusing specifically on malaria, covering the natural history of malaria, the life cycle of the malaria parasite, followed by an overview of the discovery and development of early antimalarials, clinical studies and resistance reversal strategies.

In the second half of the module, students will be introduced to great variety of translational research projects carried out by researchers at City St George’s.

The data generated from randomised controlled clinical trials are considered to be the most robust in an era of evidence-based research. Understanding the principles underpinning clinical trials and the complexities involved in set-up and management enables a broad appreciation of the validity and reliability of the trial results and how trials are conducted in real world settings.

This 15-credit module will introduce students to these important principles and concepts. Teaching sessions will be delivered by lecture with accompanying practical sessions, quizzes and online courses to consolidate knowledge.

Early lectures will introduce clinical trial related concepts and theories along with fundamental knowledge, while subsequent lectures, presented by experts in the field (internal and external to SGUL), will focus on specific aspects of trial conduct. Students will be encouraged to read and understand the research literature through assigned pre-lecture reading each week and via seminar style Q&A sessions at the end of each lecture.

Importantly, an online research ethics course and good clinical practice (GCP) course will form part of the ICA with a certificate awarded on successful completion. This is a key requirement for those working within clinical trials. Students will complete practical sessions based on the topic of the preceding lecture. Work from the practical sessions will be documented in a practical session notebook, which will count towards the ICA. The final part of the ICA will involve a written assignment (in the form of a mini protocol) where students will be asked to design a clinical trial to answer a specific research question. This will test the students’ fundamental knowledge and critical assessment of trial design, implementation, ethics, analysis and reporting.

The final sessions of the module will draw together the key themes explored with a presentation on landmark trials from experts in the field.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a health care system as consisting of: ‘All organizations, people and actions whose primary intent is to promote, restore or maintain health. This includes efforts to influence determinants of health as well as more direct health-improving activities’ (WHO:2007). This is a necessarily simplified definition, but it does point to the complexity of Health System objectives, functions, and infrastructure. This module will focus on addressing the following series of questions and challenges that directly relate to the comparative analysis of health policy and health systems.

This module will cover the structure and variations in the human genomics, including fundamental principles of genetics and genomics. Students undertaking this module will review the architecture of the human genome and the functional units embedded in it. Students will also cover aspects of gene regulation and chromatin structure and consider the importance of the epigenome in these processes. In addition, this module will cover DNA sequence variation and structural variation; how this sort of variation is normal but that sometimes it can be associated with disease. Classic chromosomal abnormalities will be described and the mechanisms that lead to them explained. Students will learn about monogenic and multifactorial genetic disorders and how gene mapping and sequencing can be used to identify causal and contributory variants. In essence, this module covers what the genome is, what abnormalities can arise and how they arise, as well as how they can be detected.

Please note: students taking this module should have some experience of studying genetics as part of their undergraduate degree. Students are encouraged to complete the free online course Future of Genetics in Medicine before starting the module. The deadline for choosing this module is prior to the Clinical Neuroscience Practice MSc application deadline. If you are interested in taking this module, please contact us in advance to discuss via MscClinNeuroPrac@sgul.ac.uk

The health research spectrum ranges from controlled environments such as laboratory experiments, to interventional and observational population settings. Clinical trials are somewhere in the middle of this wide range of approaches in terms of the extent of control that researchers can exert through carefully planned design and concerted efforts for data collection accuracy.

Observational studies aim at understanding “real world" information collected without researchers’ attempts to alter it or interfere. This module is aiming at structuring a series of challenges that these setting present to researchers and at demonstrating the principles, approaches and solutions commonly applied to overcome them.

Population-based policies and changes in clinical practice rely on both descriptive and inferential data analyses. Inferential studies seek to produce reproducible results or estimates that can be generalized to large populations. Understanding patterns in population health and the interconnected pathways between disease, demographics, lifestyle, socioeconomic factors, environmental exposures, and interventions is crucial for designing efficient, evidence-based public health policies.

This module will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of public health, epidemiology, study designs, measures of association between diseases and potential risk factors, and the statistical methods used to quantify their magnitude and significance. Students will be guided through all phases of the research development lifecycle, from the initial research question and the importance of pilot and feasibility studies to complex observational epidemiological settings, such as cross-sectional, cohort, case-control, and longitudinal studies.

The associated statistical concepts and techniques will include not only simple hypothesis testing but also basic elements of statistical modelling, addressing bias and confounding in observational studies, and methods to minimize them. An introduction to the Bayesian framework for statistical inference may also be included, depending on the students’ level of attainment in statistics.

The R programming language will be used as a tool for exploring, understanding, and analysing population data. Emphasis will be placed on understanding when and why specific statistical techniques are applicable or tailored to certain epidemiological designs and measures, the necessary assumptions for their validity, and how to apply them effectively.

This module explores the contribution of genomics to neurological disorders. Students will receive refresher sessions focussed on neuroanatomy and the development of the neurological system followed by an introduction to the key diagnostic tools used in neurology. They will learn about the major neurological disorder categories which have a high genetic contribution. The module will explore the value of the multidisciplinary team in phenotyping, interpretation of results, management and family communication.

Please note: students taking this module should have some experience of studying genetics as part of their undergraduate degree. Students are encouraged to complete the free online course Future of Genetics in Medicine before starting the module. It is encouraged (but not compulsory) to also take the Fundamentals of Human Genetics and Genomics module. The deadline for choosing this module is prior to the Clinical Neuroscience Practice MSc application deadline. If you are interested in taking this module, please contact us in advance to discuss via MscClinNeuroPrac@sgul.ac.uk

In this module you will look at the last decades of swift developments in neuroscience, cognitive science and neuro-technologies from an ethical perspective, and examine some of the most interesting challenges brought forward by modern medicine. Since its conception in 2002, neuroethics as a discipline aimed to address ethical and social challenges raised by the recent boom in neuro- and cognitive science and reflect on the impact of neurotechnologies on patients and the society at large. Brain imaging in clinical practice and research raise issues of privacy, confidentiality and communication of incidental findings.

‘Pictures of the brain’ seem to ‘fire up’ not only neurons of research participants but also viewers’ imagination, and facilitate research on the neural correlates of various cognitive functions, sometimes changing our understanding of what it means to have a ‘free will,’ ‘be responsible’ or even ‘be dead’. But how clinical and non-clinical applications of neurotechnologies impact our autonomy, agency and are the benefits of scientific research and access to those technologies justly distributed? Should we engage in cosmetic pharmacology, pharmacological mood brightening or cognitive enhancement? During the module students will engage with those problems, and gain ethical reasoning tools, concepts and perspectives necessary to address those current questions. 

The ultimate goal of personalised, or precision, medicine is to create healthcare strategies that are tailored to each individual patient. This will be achieved by integrating molecular information with traditional clinical and pathological signs of disease. Advances in genomic technologies have provided new perspectives across medicine, particularly in screening, diagnosis, disease classification and treatment. This module explores how this research is being translated into clinical practice to make personalised medicine a reality.

Personalised medicine is not limited to pharmacogenetics (which examines the effect of genetic variation on drug targets, metabolism, efficacy and toxicity) but looks more broadly at how molecular profiling can influence health outcomes. Examples include molecular therapies used in oncology, advances in pre-natal screening and management of infection. We also consider ethical and social issues surrounding personalised medicine, including patient responses to genetic testing, the challenge of translating research results into clinical practice, genetic discrimination and regulation.

Examples are drawn from cancer, infection and other clinical specialties.

The module offers a unique opportunity to address global mental health through viewing transcultural psychiatry from a humanities perspective and to challenge the dominance of a western medicalised way of categorising mental disorders. To achieve this, students will be exposed to different ways of exploring mental health from humanities-based approaches. Through diverse readings, presentations, film/ documentaries, case scenarios, and seminar discussions, students will be encouraged to consider the relationship between mental health and humanities in global contexts. To this end, the module offers a conscientious approach to the material such as texts and resources that students will engage with and will have a special focus on storytelling and trauma. For example, publications or representations of speech/art from exiled writers and narratives from health activists will be studied and critically analysed to critically consider both positive and negative aspects of mental health during adversity and trauma. The students will reflect and consider areas of mental health that they see as needing (further)recognition in global health discourses, with a heavy focus on nuanced and marginalized voices, and the role of narrative for bringing mental health injustice and human rights abuses to light for various organizations. The role of narrative in promoting mental health particularly in societies facing conflict, oppression, and lack of mental health care resources will also be analysed.

Students will be asked to become ‘advocates’ for a particular cause that they will argue is of vital importance for those engaging in global mental health. They will be asked to develop a way of addressing this issue from a humanities perspective, thus enhancing co-created methodologies, and lived experiences into narrative-based theoretical frameworks.

There are two routes to meeting our entry criteria.

Psychology graduates

You should have or be expected to achieve, a minimum of a second class degree (2:2) in a psychology degree. All degrees must be awarded before 1 August on the year of entry.

Or

Healthcare professionals

You should have all of the following:

• Honours degree (2:2 or above) or primary medical degree (MBBS or equivalent). All degrees must be awarded before 1 August on the year of entry.
• Recognised health-related professional qualification and current professional registration.
• Minimum of 12 months' full-time clinical experience (or equivalent in part-time hours) in health or social care employment.

We accept equivalent qualifications gained in other countries.

Please see our Postgraduate International Equivalencies. For countries not on this list, we use UK ENIC to assess. Please see our International Student Support pages for more information.

If you have any questions, you can contact us at pgenquiries@sgul.ac.uk

This is a Group 1 course.

Full details can be found on our English Language requirements webpages.

You will be asked to outline your reasons for applying for the course in a brief personal statement on the application form.

You will also need to provide two satisfactory references. One of these should be a recent academic reference and the other should be either a second academic reference or a professional/employer reference. For those unable to provide an academic referee a second professional/employer reference will be permitted.

Go to the ‘Apply’ tab for more information.

Interviews

Psychology graduate applicants will be interviewed to assess their suitability for the programme. This will be conducted virtually by a member of the course team.

Applications from healthcare professionals will generally be considered without interview, but the course team might invite applicants to interview where needed to assess suitability.

Fitness to Practise checks

For clinical placements, students will need to be accepted as a Clinical Observer or Clinical Attachment by St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. This requires occupational health screening and might include DBS clearance depending on Trust policy for the specific role being undertaken.

When completing your application, you will be asked to provide contact details of two referees. Please ensure these details are accurate. As soon as you have submitted your application, your referees will be contacted by the university asking them to upload a reference to your online application.

One must be a recent academic reference. The other should be either a second academic reference or a professional/employer reference. They should cover your suitability for the course and your academic ability.

Your referees should know you well enough, in an official capacity, to write about you and your suitability for higher education. We do not accept references from family, friends, partners, ex-partners or yourself.

We will send reminder emails to your referees but it is your responsibility to ensure that contact details are correct and referees are available to submit a reference. References should be uploaded within two weeks of making your application.