Health Research

This progamme is designed to be taken by Academic Clinical Fellows alongside work commitments, the Health Research programme exists in order to enable students to:

• develop skills of research, design and data analysis in both qualitative and quantitative research
• critically evaluate health research
• identify, critically appraise and incorporate the results of medical and social science research into the day-to-day decision-making of clinical, scientific and administrative practice
• apply the principles of evidence-based practice in health care settings
• plan how to implement the findings of research to improve health care
• use theories and principles underpinning clinical research to inform their own research practice.

The programme is delivered through the Department for Continuing Education, with the expertise in curriculum design and teaching drawn from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, and the Oxford University Clinical Academic Graduate School.

The Postgraduate Certificate is normally completed between 1-2 years. It consists of three assessed taught modules and includes thorough introductions to the principles of evidence-based practice in health, and to study design and research methods.

The two compulsory modules are:

• The Practice of Evidence-Based Health Care
• Introduction to Study Design and Research Methods

The third module may be chosen from the following list:

• Clinical Trial Management
• Ethics for Biosciences
• Mixed Methods in Health Research
• Knowledge into Action
• Evidence-based Diagnosis and Screening
• Introduction to Statistics for Health Care Research
• Systematic Reviews
• Randomized Controlled Trials
• Qualitative Research Methods
• The Structure of Clinical Trials and Experimental Therapeutics
• How to do Research on Therapeutic Interventions: Protocol preparation
• Biological Therapeutics
• Pharmacodynamics, Biomarkers and Personalised Therapy
• Adverse drug reactions, drug interactions and Pharmacovigilance
• Drug development, Pharmacokinetics and Imaging

Assessment methods

To complete the Postgraduate Certificate students must:

• Attend and complete the 2 compulsory modules and 1 option module.

Students will also be expected to complete three written assignments, usually of no more than 4000 words, one on each of the chosen modules above.

With the exception of the online modules, the EBHC modules are based on an eight week study cycle. Week One is a preparatory week where you may be required to undertake some pre-reading and to familiarise yourself with the Virtual Learning Environment. During Week Two you are required to attend the face to face teaching week in Oxford. This is followed by an additional six weeks where you are expected to participate in online activities and submit your assignment

Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications), as a minimum, in an appropriate discipline, or have an equivalent professional qualification in a profession allied to medicine with  post-qualification experience, or have successfully completed the final year of the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery or Bachelor of Dental Surgery or equivalent.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA we seek is 3.6 out of 4.0.

If you hold non-UK qualifications and wish to check how your qualifications match these requirements, you can contact the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC).

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

• Official transcript(s)
• CV/résumé
• Personal statement:One page
• Written work:Two essays of 2,000 words each
• References/letters of recommendation:Three overall, generally academic

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Higher level