Concious Sedation MSc

Syllabus

The curriculum includes;

Section 1: Evidence based sedation practice

The aim of this section is to enable the student to critically evaluate current research in the field of pain and anxiety control and to develop skills in scientific writing.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this section students will be able to:-

  • Select and critically evaluate the literature appropriate to their research study
  • Interpret current issues in relation to the principles of scientific research
  • Describe the process of scientific writing

Section 2: Research methodology

The aim of this section is to provide the student with the knowledge, understanding and practical application of the processes involved in designing and running a research study.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this section students will be able to:

  • Describe how to design a research study
  • Critically evaluate different research designs
  • Describe the principles of writing a research study protocol
  • Describe the process of applying for ethical approval

Section 3: Statistical methods in research

The aim of this section is to enable the student to apply appropriate statistical analysis within clinical research and to interpret and present the data scientifically.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the section the student will be able to:

  • Describe a range of statistical methods appropriate for clinical trials
  • Undertake statistical analysis of research data
  • Interpret statistical data appropriately
  • Present clinical research data in a scientific and critical form
  • Discuss the results of their research in a critical manner

Section 4: Research project

The aim of this section is to provide the student with the opportunity to undertake a research study.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the section the student will be able to:

  • Design a research study
  • Write a research study protocol
  • Undertake the process required to gain ethical approval
  • Critically evaluate the study
  • Be aware of the limitations of the study
  • Prepare a manuscript of the work ready for publication

Teaching and learning

Knowledge based objectives are met by a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, group discussion and a research study.
Skill based objectives relating to research, data analysis and the interpretation of research work are addressed by the course on medical statistics, lectures and by the experience of carrying out a research project.

The student will prepare and process their own research project and progress diary thus enhancing the skills of documentation and presentation.
Attitude based objectives are addressed by encouraging an attitude of constructive self-criticism during seminars, workshops and supervisor meetings. Although work for the research study is supervised, the student is encouraged to decide on the appropriate methodology and take responsibility for implementation of the work seeking guidance when appropriate.

Lectures

Most of the formal teaching is by means of lectures. The purpose of the lectures is to provide the student with the relevant information relating to the core subject material. Students will be encouraged to read around the subject prior to the formal teaching in order to provide a more in depth appreciation of the subject and to allow for group discussion during the teaching session. Reading lists of key papers and texts will be provided to support the lecture programme.

Research study

The research project consists of two components:

  • A critical literature review
  • A clinically based research project.

You will be allocated a supervisor who will oversee both items of work. The literature review would normally lead into the research project and would be expected to comprise 15-25 pages of double spaced type (Approximately 5,000 words). The literature review is submitted for scrutiny by an internal examiner at the end of the first academic year.

The research project is written-up as a paper for submission to a research journal. The manuscript and literature review are soft bound together and the completed work scrutinised by the external examiner and a nominated internal examiner (project only).
A progress diary of the research study must be accurately documented throughout the period of study and submitted with the final research manuscript.

Assessment

The Masters in Conscious Sedation in Dentistry is awarded after satisfactory assessment as follows:

Literature review: A literature review relating to the research study will be submitted at the end of the first year of study and will be assessed by the internal examiners. The length of the review will be 6000-7000 words and it should be presented as a bound document. The Literature Review will comprise of 20% of the overall mark for the programme.

Manuscript: The research study will be presented as a manuscript prepared for publication at the end of the second year and will be assessed by both internal and external examiners. The manuscript should be approximately 3000 words and presented according to the authors instructions for a specific scientific journal. The manuscript will comprise of 50% of the overall mark for the programme.

Oral presentation: An oral presentation of the research study will be given to the internal and external examiners. The presentation will be 20 minutes, with up to a further 20 minutes for questions. The oral presentation will comprise 30% of the overall mark for the programme.

Progress diary: The progress diary will be reviewed by the student’s supervisor on a monthly basis to ensure satisfactory progress is being made with the research project and feedback provided to the student.

The course handbook issued at registration will contain further details and examples.

Attendance

The programme is part -time over a two year period. There are four study days in the first year covering Research Governance, Research Ethics, Study Design, Qualitative and Quantitative Research and Statistics. Self directed study during this first year will comprise carrying out and writing a literature review, designing a research study, applying for ethical approval and starting the research work. In the second year there will be two study days focusing on advances in conscious sedation and scientific writing. The majority of the second year will be spent completing the research study and writing up.

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