Learning Outcomes:
Knowledge & understanding: The MSC student will:demonstrate their specialised and detailed knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes in legal medicine and specific medico-legal aspects as well as a specialised knowledge of clinical risk management and clinical governance. Demonstrate their ability to use critical analytical skills and apply the same to a specific clinical risk management case resolution and analysis of medico-legal issues vital to the practice of medicine and ultimately therefore, leading to an improvement in the quality of patient care. Applying knowledge & understanding. The MSC student will: Demonstrate his/her ability to use research skills and coherently research and resolve a complex clinical and medico-legal problem at clinical and corporate level using oral and written formats in the completion of the MSc assessment. Apply his/her knowledge, understanding, research, analytical and problem solving abilities within new and unfamiliar areas of study, professional and multidisciplinary activity across the disciplines of Medicine, Clinical risk management, corporate governance, law and ethics. Access, collate, evaluate and apply his/her knowledge and understanding of advanced legal publications, medico-legal research, legislation and legal judgments with a view to understanding the policy ramifications of the same and their application to clinical practice in a way that seeks to underpin and understand a clinical risk management problem, resolve it and offer an opportunity to improve the delivery of patient care. Apply multi-disciplinary individual and group skills in the constructing of potential policy documents by way of application of new and learnt medico-legal and clinical risk management knowledge obtained in the Graduate Diploma. Making judgments: The MSc stdent will:Make critical evaluations of medico-legal and risk management literature, opinions, medical policy and research, legislation and case law. Have the ability to integrate multi-disciplinary knowledge combined with complex concepts and scenarios in a medical setting for the purposes of resolving complex medico-ethical and legal problems at professional and social levels. Evaluate information and professional scenarios to formulate complex judgments and policy in a medical working environment with regard to the short term and longer term ramifications of such policies to ensure sustained and workable medical policies are put into place. Communications and working skills: The MSc student will: Form and communicate his/her knowledge, skills, attitudes and experience. Cogently listen, interpret, discuss and debate, vocally and in writing and research issue/s in relation to governance in healthcare, clinical risk management and medico-legal issues. Communicate effectively in writing, oral and visual presentation to be able to present ideas at all levels of a medical enterprise from lower staff to corporate management. Using knowledge pertaining to data protection and freedom of information apply skills that improve medical records, thus ensuring efficient medico-legal practice and patient communication. Also ensure effective communication skills in the medical workplace in general, as between the doctor and patient and in other settings such as the courtroom when involved with or as an expert medical witness. Use information technology and electronic sources of information in work, practice and presentation. Learn to think in terms of `integrated governance' and practical solutions to problems in healthcare with may lead to harm to patients, by working with supervisor/s who are in the professional fields of law, medicine and governance. Learning skills: The MSc student will:Develop ability to engage in in-depth research, read and interpret learning styles relevant to interpretation of law and policy by way of learning self-critically and self-directed learning. Develop skills of working and learning individually and with professionals in the fields of specialization that the MSc deals with. Use computers, information technology and electronic sources of information in study, research, and presentation. Plan, design, investigate, carry out clinical audit, root cause analysis, case reports and policy documents to achieve a research end. Communicate effectively in writing, orally and visually in a wide range of situations at all levels of a medical setting. Plan and prioritise study; Use time effectively; Demonstrate a proactive approach to learning by way of critical analysis and thinking and self-directed learning. Interpret and discuss research and policy. Present medical, legal and/or medico-ethical/legal hypotheses and mount systematic and logical arguments for and against them. Be in a position to offer solutions for effective change and reform in the their chosen subject-matter area with an emphasis on practicality and applicability of solution.
Indicative Module Content:
a specialist area in the field of clinical risk, patient safety or a medico-legal aspect of medical / healthcare practice