Monash University: University Handbooks: Postgraduate Handbook 2001: Subjects indexed by faculty
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Master of Clinical Medicine


General information

The Master of Clinical Medicine is a flexible, multidisciplinary degree that equips its candidates to work competently and efficiently in today's rapidly changing health environment. It provides broad expertise in the areas of clinical administration, evaluation and subjects that will soundly enhance the pursuit of career aspirations, within (eg surgery, emergency medicine) or between already established disciplines (eg paediatrics and health promotion). This course adds a new career dimension to the clinical skills already possessed by its participants by either providing the opportunity for obtaining expertise in a chosen area of speciality, such as surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, emergency medicine, paediatrics, and internal medicine, or the opportunity for undertaking retraining to enable improved medical practice management and assessment, or the opportunity for broadening the knowledge already possessed in an interdisciplinary area of expertise.

Admission requirements

Applicants must be a medical practitioner registered by a Medical Board within the Commonwealth, or within their own country, with appropriate experience. Specific entry criteria for some subjects may also apply.

Recognition for prior learning

The Master of Clinical Medicine is a 72-credit-point masters degree. The maximum credit point exemption that can be obtained is 24 credit points.
Credit or exemption may be granted in this course for Fellows of the Australian College of Physicians, Surgeons, General Practice, and Obstetrics and Gynaecology and for the fellowship trainees who are currently undertaking ´Part 1 fellowship training' (24-credit-point exemption, ie the requirement to undertake the clinical components offered in the third semester of this course). Those with other relevant related diplomas will also be considered for credit or exemption in this course.
International students may also receive credit-point exemption for accredited clinical work carried out in their home country.

Course structure

The Master of Clinical Medicine is a 72-credit-point degree that involves a mixture of distance education and on-campus subjects. It can be undertaken full-time for one year, or part-time for two or four years.
The course consists of 40 teaching weeks in two 15-week semesters (semesters one and three) and one 10-week semester (semester two). The flexible curriculum allows a distinctive educational approach by facilitating students to choose subjects to construct a sequence of studies that is suitable to their own requirements.

Semester one (15 weeks)

For a student enrolled full-time, four compulsory six-credit-point subjects are to be completed by distance education in this semester. A student enrolled part-time can undertake two of these subjects during first semester for each of two years or all of four subjects in one year during semesters one and three.
The basis of clinical practice (four compulsory distance education subjects):

Semester two (10 weeks)

Four six-credit-point subjects chosen from those available are to be completed in this semester by a student enrolled full-time. A student enrolled part-time can complete either two on-campus subjects per year for each of two years or two on-campus subjects and two distance education subjects during semesters two and three of one year. Ordinarily, students are to choose available units from each of two or more study themes, thus creating new interdisciplinary areas of study (eg clinical nutrition and metabolic medicine; paediatric sleep medicine; metabolic medicine; paediatric infectious diseases; rural health and health promotion and information; cardiovascular medicine; etc).
Students undertaking surgery as a speciality will be required to complete all four units of the surgery subjects offered.

Special study (four subjects to be chosen)
CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
HEALTHY AGEING
METABOLIC MEDICINE
HEALTH PROMOTION AND INFORMATION
HEALTH INFORMATICS
OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY
METHODS IN OPERATIVE SURGERY
PAEDIATRIC MEDICINE
RURAL HEALTH SERVICES
RURAL HEALTH ISSUES
EMERGENCY MEDICINE
Semester three (15 weeks)

Two compulsory 12-credit-point clinical practice subjects in the chosen area of speciality (surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, emergency medicine, cardiovascular medicine, health informatics, rural health, clinical nutrition or appropriate interdisciplinary combinations) are to be completed on-campus during this semester by a student enrolled full-time. A student enrolled part-time can complete one subject per year on-campus for each of two years, or undertake both subjects during semester three.

Clinical practice (two subjects in chosen area of speciality)

These subjects may be completed concurrently with semester one or two of the course, or be credited as recognition of prior learning:

Assessment

Assessment methods used for each subject vary, but will include combinations of formal assignments, projects, literature evaluations, case studies and clinical participation.

Inquiries

Inquiries should be directed to Dr Karen Dawson, International Health and Development Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800.

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