Postgraduate - Course2309 - Master of Clinical Embryology

This course is offered by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology through the Education Program in Reproduction and Development. It provides candidates with the essential postgraduate knowledge and practical skills necessary to contribute competently to the human infertility clinical services. Theoretical and practical skills are presented in the broader context of the regulations and the ethical considerations which apply to human IVF, both nationally and internationally, along with the quality control procedures required to ensure maximum success for IVF patients. The guidelines, protocols and regulations that steer and control human infertility services are also presented.

Lectures are delivered by experts from all disciplines in, and related to, the IVF field. The Master of Clinical Embryology is a laboratory-based training course, with no patient contact. Mouse and ovine IVF are used as models for practical work. Mid-year, students are given the opportunity to visit an Australian or New Zealand IVF clinic, or a clinic may be selected from overseas. Off-campus students will follow similar timelines and assessments as the on-campus students, except that practical experience will largely be acquired in the student's workplace, with occasional on-campus workshops.

On completion of the course, students will be able to:

• understand and describe human gamete biology, embryology and developmental biology from a cellular, genetic and molecular perspective
• apply critically their knowledge of clinical embryology to research, understand and discuss new developments in human infertility treatments
• critically examine and evaluate new infertility treatments, and accurately and effectively communicate this knowledge orally and in writing
• interpret and classify from a theoretical understanding and practical field experience, the operations and management of IVF clinics and the regluations under which they operate, including the isses of genetic manipulation and stem cell therapies
• understand and effectively articulate the arguments for and against the social, moral and ethical implications of IVF technologies, as they apply nationally and internationally to humans and develop a clear individual position on these issues
• understand and appropriately use statistical methods to analyse human infertility research data and prepare and deliver a presentation to peers on methods, findings and conclusions of one such analysis
• demonstrate an understanding of and competence in techniques used in the preparation of male and female gametes for IVF and ICSI and subsequent embryo culture, and the cryopreservation of gametes and embryos from all stages of culture
• have demonstrated a capacity to take a leadership role in laboratory skills activities and to collaborate effectively with peers and laboratory staff
• conduct competently the quality assurance procedures that are essential to the reliable operation of an IVF clinic
• trouble-shoot a wide range of potential problems in an embryology laboratory
• develop skills required to biopsy embryos in order to apply genetic and molecular diagnositc tests
• outline the techniques used in and discuss the uses of karyotyping and fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) and demonstrate ability to asses the developmental competence of an embryo prior to its transfer in clinical IVF.

Credit applications from off-campus students for recognition of prior learning (RPL) will be considered for practical experience in an IVF clinic.

Assessment

Assessment is via a range of methods, encompassing tests for practical competence (hand skills, laboratory book documentation, ability to complete small projects, quizzes), and theoretical knowledge (2500 and 3000-word essays, written examinations, critical reviews, data presentation, including statistical interpretation in abstracts and posters) and a minor research project.

The course consists of eight compulsory sequential units four to six weeks long, comprising theoretical and practical work.

Semester 1

• MCE5100 Introduction to mammalian embryology
• MCE5101 Infertility and treatment strategies
• MCE5103 IVF processes: Embryo production and cryopreservation techniques (theory)
• MCE5112 IVF processes: Embryo production and cryopreservation techniques (practical)

Semester 2

• MCE5200 Total quality management in assisted reproductive technologies
• MCE5201 Minor research project and ICSI
• MCE5212 Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and embryo gene expression
• MCE5213 Regulation and ethics in assisted reproductive technologies

Students who complete 48 credit points after completing all semester one units and one six-credit-point unit in the second semester and who do not wish to, or are unable to, continue with the master's program will be offered the opportunity to exit with a Graduate Diploma of Clinical Embryology.

Master of Clinical Embryology