This course details the regulatory and clinical guidance which is required to ensure the use of clinical tests are evidence-based.
Summary
This short course details the regulatory and clinical guidance which is required to ensure the use of tests are evidence-based. Prognostic and clinical decision making theory are explored in consideration of current and future clinical applications for stratified medicine.
The course provides students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of methods used to assess scientific validity of clinical tests and to evaluate the evidence base and regulatory requirements that must be met for a new clinical decision making tool to be used in clinical practice.
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This course provides students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of methods used to assess scientific validity of clinical tests and to evaluate the evidence base and regulatory requirements that must be met for a new clinical decision making tool to be used in clinical practice.
This course aims to:
Provide an advanced understanding of the methods used to assess utility and accuracy of clinical decision-making tools
Develop a detailed knowledge of the current international reporting standards for diagnostic accuracy studies
Discuss the use of stratified medicine approaches in clinical decision making
Evaluate the global regulatory framework for development of new tools and the potential barriers to uptake in clinical practice.
Linked programmes
MSc Personalised Medicine,
PgCertPD Professional Development
Assessment
Written assignment (Coursework) [50%]
Coursework 1 (50%): Students are required to submit a written piece of assessment (2000 words) on a specific area within Clinical Decision making & diagnostic theory. They should source and critically analysis literature within this area.
Class Test (Written) [50%]
Coursework 2 (50%): Students will have to complete two online tests, with a selection of MCQs and short response questions, equally weighted.
Attendance
This course is delivered fully online for 12 weeks in Semester 2, starting 27 January 2025, with no on campus attendance requirements.
* Please note, dates and timetabling may be subject to change.
Entry requirements
Students will be considered for entry to the course on an individual basis.
The basic entry requirements are outlined below:
Applicants must:
(a) have gained
a second class honours degree or better with significant bioscience (or biostatistics) such as nursing, biomedical sciences, biology, pharmacy from a university of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, or from a recognised national awarding body, or from an institution of another country which has been recognised as being of an equivalent standard; or an equivalent standard (normally 50%) in a Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate, Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma or an approved alternative qualification;
and
(b) provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English (GCSE grade C or equivalent).
In exceptional circumstances, as an alternative to (a) (i) or (a) (ii) and/or (b), where an individual has substantial and significant experiential learning, a portfolio of written evidence demonstrating the meeting of graduate qualities (including subject-specific outcomes, as determined by the Course Committee) may be considered as an alternative entrance route. Evidence used to demonstrate graduate qualities may not be used for exemption against modules within the programme.
English Language Requirements
Applicants whose first language is not English must meet the minimum English entrance requirements of the University and will need to provide recent evidence of this (certified within the last two years).
Most of our courses require a minimum English level of IELTS 6.0 or equivalent, with no band score under 5.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement.
As part of your course induction, you will be provided with details of the organisation and management of the course, including attendance and assessment requirements - usually in the form of a timetable. For full-time courses, the precise timetable for each semester is not confirmed until close to the start date and may be subject to some change in the early weeks as all courses settle into their planned patterns. For part-time courses which require attendance on particular days and times, an expectation of the days and periods of attendance will be included in the letter of offer. A course handbook is also made available.
Courses comprise modules for which the notional effort involved is indicated by its credit rating. Each credit point represents 10 hours of student effort. Undergraduate courses typically contain 10, 20, or 40 credit modules (more usually 20) and postgraduate courses typically 15 or 30 credit modules.
The normal study load expectation for an undergraduate full-time course of study in the standard academic year is 120 credit points. This amounts to around 36-42 hours of expected teaching and learning per week, inclusive of attendance requirements for lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical work, fieldwork or other scheduled classes, private study, and assessment. Teaching and learning activities will be in-person and/or online depending on the nature of the course. Part-time study load is the same as full-time pro-rata, with each credit point representing 10 hours of student effort.
Postgraduate Master’s courses typically comprise 180 credits, taken in three semesters when studied full-time. A Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) comprises 60 credits and can usually be completed on a part-time basis in one year. A 120-credit Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) can usually be completed on a part-time basis in two years.
Class contact times vary by course and type of module. Typically, for a module predominantly delivered through lectures you can expect at least 3 contact hours per week (lectures/seminars/tutorials). Laboratory classes often require a greater intensity of attendance in blocks. Some modules may combine lecture and laboratory. The precise model will depend on the course you apply for and may be subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. Prospective students will be consulted about any significant changes.
Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.
Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification, the assessment timetable and the assessment brief. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.
Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised. The module pass mark for undergraduate courses is 40%. The module pass mark for postgraduate courses is 50%.
The class of Honours awarded in Bachelor’s degrees is usually determined by calculation of an aggregate mark based on performance across the modules at Levels 5 and 6, (which correspond to the second and third year of full-time attendance).
Level 6 modules contribute 70% of the aggregate mark and Level 5 contributes 30% to the calculation of the class of the award. Classification of integrated Master’s degrees with Honours include a Level 7 component. The calculation in this case is: 50% Level 7, 30% Level 6, 20% Level 5. At least half the Level 5 modules must be studied at the University for Level 5 to be included in the calculation of the class.
All other qualifications have an overall grade determined by results in modules from the final level of study.
In Masters degrees of more than 200 credit points the final 120 points usually determine the overall grading.
Figures from the academic year 2022-2023.
Academic profile
The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 60% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.
Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (19%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (22%) or Lecturers (57%).
We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic and learning support staff (85%) are recognised as fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advance HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.
The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.
Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.
Figures from the academic year 2022-2023.
Apply
Start dates
27 January 2025
Fees and funding
Prices
Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and EU Settlements Status Fees: £583.35
England, Scotland, Wales and the Islands Fees: £583.35
Information and advice about course fees and a guide to budgeting for your living costs, as well as sources for financial assistance including hardship funding, scholarships, prizes and awards, is available at - www.ulster.ac.uk/student/fees
Additional mandatory costs
It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.
Where a course has additional mandatory expenses (in addition to tuition fees) we make every effort to highlight them above. We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free Wi-Fi are also available on each of the campuses.
There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as a part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs, as well as tuition fees.
We prepare our prospectus and online information about our courses with care and every effort is made to ensure that the information is accurate. The printed version of the prospectus is, however, published at least a year before the courses begin. Information included in the prospectus may, therefore, change. This includes, but is not limited to changes to the terms, content, delivery, location, method of assessments or lengths of the courses described. Not all circumstances are foreseeable, but changes will normally be made for one of the following reasons:
to meet external, professional, or accredited body requirements;
to provide for exceptional circumstances due to reasons beyond our reasonable control;
to improve or enhance your experience, or to adopt changes recommended in student feedback, with the aim of improving the student experience and or student outcomes; and/or
to ensure appropriate academic standards are met, for example in response to external examiners feedback.
If there are insufficient enrolments to make a course viable, it may be necessary for the University to withdraw a course. If you have received an offer for a course that we subsequently have to close, we will contact you as soon as possible to discuss alternative courses. If you do not wish to study any alternative courses at the University, you may withdraw your application by informing us by email to admissions@ulster.ac.uk.
Please note that the University’s website is the most up-to-date source of information regarding courses, campuses and facilities and we strongly recommend that you always visit the website before making any commitments.
We will include a durable PDF when we send you an offer letter which will highlight any changes made to our prospectus or online information about our courses. You should read this carefully and ensure you fully understand what you are agreeing to before accepting a place on one of our courses.
The University will always try to deliver the course as described in the durable PDF you receive with your offer letter.
At any point after an offer has been made, students will be notified of any course changes in writing (usually by email) as soon as reasonably practicable and we will take all reasonable steps to minimise their impact where possible. The University will, where possible and reasonably practicable, seek the express consent of the student in regard to any changes concerning material or pre-contract information.
The University website will be updated to reflect the changed course information as soon as reasonably practicable.
If, after due consideration, you decide that you no longer want to study your course or to study at the University, because of the changes, you may withdraw your application or terminate your contract with the University. In order to do so, you should notify us in writing by emailing admissions@ulster.ac.uk (and update UCAS if applicable). We will, on request, recommend alternative courses that you could study with us, or suggest a suitable course at an alternative higher education provider.
Providing the University has complied with the requirements of all applicable consumer protection laws, the University does not accept responsibility for the consequences of any modification, relocation or cancellation of any course, or part of a course, offered by the University. The University will give due and proper consideration to the effects thereof on individual students and taken the steps necessary to minimise the impact of such effects on those affected.
The University is not liable for disruption to its provision of educational or other services caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control providing it takes all reasonable steps to minimise the resultant disruption to such services.
Ulster continues to develop and support sustainability initiatives with our staff, students, and external partners across various aspects of teaching, research, professional services operations, and governance.
At Ulster every person, course, research project, and professional service area on every campus either does or can contribute in some way towards the global sustainability and climate change agenda.
We are guided by both our University Strategy People, Place and Partnerships: Delivering Sustainable Futures for All and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Our work in this area is already being recognised globally. Most recently by the 2024 Times Higher Education Impact rating where we were recognised as Joint 5th Globally for Outreach Activities and Joint Top 20 Globally for Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnership for the Goals.
Visit our Sustainability at Ulster destination to learn more about how the University strategy and the activities of Ulster University support each of the Sustainable Development Goals.
