Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Research, Education and Leadership

This one-year course is open to all specialties and includes modules on clinical research, clinical education and clinical leadership. It is designed for Specialty Registrars or equivalent, GPs, dentists and newly appointed consultants.

The course is taught part-time and is designed to be flexible and accessible to working healthcare professionals contributing towards research and professional development through reinforcement of Good Clinical Practice (GCP).

Who is the course designed for?

The Postgraduate Certificate is part of the Clinical Medicine Programme, a suite of part-time courses designed to enhance the specialist skills of senior healthcare professionals in training and broaden their understanding in healthcare education, research, leadership and management.

The programme has been developed by Cambridge University Health Partners, the academic health sciences centre, in conjunction with the School of Clinical Medicine and the Institute of Continuing Education, University of Cambridge.

It is expected that further subspecialties will be available in future and will form a broad panel of routes for training in subspecialty clinical medicine.

Aims of the programme

• Provide professionally relevant teaching and learning informed by research in an integrated clinical and teaching environment.
• Create an international cohort of consultants, GPs and dentists able to pursue and develop their roles in a rapidly-changing and challenging environment of clinical medicine
• Develop the confidence within this cohort to lead service improvement for safe and high quality patient care, with the required knowledge, skills and capability to have a positive personal impact on the work of others in their clinical team and wider service
• Develop clinicians with an understanding of teaching, professional development and assessment in the field of clinical medicine
• Develop clinicians with an understanding of research methodologies and ethical considerations relevant to clinical medicine
• Encourage participants to develop as reflective practitioners with the emotional intelligence, resilience and astuteness required to be effective clinical leaders
• Encourage a commitment to intellectual challenge and evidence-based clinical practice informed by the latest conceptual and theoretical knowledge of medical education, research methods, ethics and clinical leadership and governance.

Assessment

Students are assessed formatively throughout the course using a variety of techniques and interrelated strategies including evidence of regular reflection. Demonstration of active participation in the programme will be required. There may also be a requirement for the students to take part in peer review of other students.

Applicants are normally expected to a hold a 2.1 degree or higher from a UK university or an equivalent from an overseas university. There is provision to accept applicants who do not satisfy the standard academic criterion. Such applicants must produce evidence of relevant and equivalent experience and their suitability for the course. Applications are invited from healthcare staff including doctors, dentists, nurses and allied health professionals.