Primary Care FAQs

The majority of the content of the programme is delivered online, or via e-learning, to allow you to engage in flexible study alongside your clinical practice. E-learning allows you to study when you choose as well as providing a permanent access to the learning resources, and may be complemented by the following:

• Face-to-face practical workshops – used for teaching clinical and group skills.
• Learning in practice- several study units are experiential and are designed to allow you to complete them through your normal practice-based roles and activities.
• Campus-based- some options are taught on the Bath campus.
• Blended- some units will use a blend of these methods.

Course units run consecutively and are usually delivered over 3 or 6 months.

Problem based learning is used commonly, delivered through online activities, which focus discussions around specific learning outcomes. Content includes recorded lectures, narrated presentations, core texts, published research papers, websites and video and audio media. Study guides help direct the learning as do the online facilitators who support discussions and problem solving.

Online learning is delivered using our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called Moodle.

All our students will be registered on Primary Care Moodle Induction, the online induction unit, which will introduce you to the workings of your course and to Moodle, the Virtual Learning Environment.

Primary Care Online, is your "virtual campus", where you have access to the University Library and librarians, online resources (e.g. video and audio presentations, journals), where you can meet and contact your colleagues and tutors (through discussion boards, online activities, chat facilities, etc.).

The various study units (e.g. Evidence Based Practice in Primary Care etc.) contain the subject specific resources, your virtual seminars, where subject experts will be available to advise you during the scheduled online discussions, and where you can debate and discuss topical issues with your colleagues, guided by the online activities throughout the unit.

The Primary Care Team will be on hand to support you throughout your studies.

We recommend that you spend on average 8-10 hours per week studying.

This is a part-time programme. There are no full-time options for this course, as it is designed to fit around the working lives of qualified health professionals.

The postgraduate programme in Primary Care is a modular programme. The University calls modules ‘Units of Study’. Each unit has a unit specification, which describes the content, learning outcomes, teaching methods and assessment. Unit specifications can be accessed via the Programme & Unit Catalogue.

Online units take either three months (6 credit unit) or six months (12 credit unit) to complete. Other units may be delivered over different time periods. See individual option descriptions.

You will gain credits from successful completion of a unit. On this programme units are worth either 6, 12 or 24 credits. Credit is valuable for CPD purposes in its own right or aggregated towards an award.

Normally, assessment takes place at the end of each unit. A range of assessment techniques are used including oral and poster presentations, reflective journals, practice-based projects, critical reviews, clinical skills exams, short answer questions, case histories and essays. We place strong emphasis on developing presentation and communication skills including critical academic writing, which, in many units, is part of the assessed work.

The MSc requires successful completion of a dissertation.

• 30 credits for the Postgraduate Certificate
• 60 credits for the Postgraduate Diploma
• 90 credits for the MSc in Primary Care

The award programmes consists of a number of core units and a choice from a portfolio of optional units.

View the programme page for information about the structure

All Units are studied on a part-time basis and they may vary in terms of the total time allocated to them, but the majority will be studied over a 3 or 6-month period. Within that period generally you decide when to put in the time, exceptions being fixed dates for clinical workshops etc. The maximum time you have for completing an award is proposed as 4, 6 and 8 years for the Certificate, Diploma and Masters respectively.

Clearly your e-portfolio and clinical training must be a priority. However many units are designed to positively help with many aspects of your GP training.

Fees will vary depending upon the host department or external provider and, for instance, whether there is a substantial practical or field component. Please see further information about the tuition fees for 2012/13. Individual CPD costs can be found on the unit schedule for 2012/13.

The School of Primary Care provides full fee funding for GP Registrars and Faculty staff who wish to take modules part-time on the University of Bath MSc Primary Care. Trainees are expected to fund 50% of the fee, but will have that reimbursed in full on successful completion of each module. Trainees should apply for study leave through the study leave system to their patch administrators and then register with the University. Further information is available on the School of Primary Care website

You can study any of the relevant units and can gain credit. You can use this credit towards the University’s Professional Development Scheme (PDS), which includes the opportunity to study for a Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma or MSc in Professional Development. The PDS provides a wider variety of option choices, but also allows a focus upon Primary Care.

It is both and a lot more. You can choose any unit from the unit portfolio to suit your CPD needs. If you wish you can decide to enrol on the award later whenever you are ready. The awards include an MSc Primary Care, but also a Postgraduate Certificate and Diploma. For further information, please see the our Continuing Professional Development portfolio.

You may have a number of criteria that you use in choosing your options, clearly your individual interests, career ambitions and identified educational needs. However you may also decide to factor in delivery mode, unit fee, timing of unit availability and issues such as whether you take a unit contemporaneously with a practice or placement experience.

Yes. However if you are even just considering enrolling for an award in the future you would be advised to be aware of the required elements and recommended pathways for each award at an early stage. These can be found on the MSc Primary Care page.

See the MSc Primary Care page.

You will need to complete an online application form and provide evidence of your capability of studying at postgraduate level, including a statement from a referee. Please read further details of how to apply to study.

If you wish to apply for CPD study only at this stage, please read details of how to apply.

You can apply, and if accepted, register for an award at any time. However you must apply before, or when, you have achieved 18 credits.

No. You are only registered on the CPD module, Introduction to Learning and Teaching,, which has been designed to complement your clinical training in ST1. You can opt into taking the assessment which will gain you 6 credits which you can use towards the Primary Care programme.

Yes. By enrolling upon any unit for CPD, you automatically become a student with the University, entitled to benefit from the facilities of the University, including the library and sports facilities. This is NOT the same as registering upon a programme of study leading to an award, which you will need to do separately if you decide to take an award.

Yes. Check the MSc Primary Care page for updates.

Yes. Gaining credit from other courses is called accreditation of prior learning (APL). Applications for APL credit are normally considered on a case-by-case basis. If you have credit, for instance from another institution, that is considered equivalent to one of more of the Units on this programme you can be awarded credits for this prior learning. The general rule is that you cannot count the same credits towards two equivalent qualifications, for instance at two different Universities. The University rule is that you can be awarded up to 50% of the credits for an award through APL.

You need to complete the online application for the named programme and include your evidence for APL consideration.

Three types are under consideration at present:

• Successful completion of postgraduate modules from another University in topics relevant to Primary Care.
• Succesful completion of postgraduate-level cpd courses at the University of Bath.
• Successful completion of postgraduate and clinical certificates and diplomas from Bath or other organisations, for example in Medical Education and Family Planning.

Yes. Significant experience, as distinct from course credit, in relevant topics through practising as a GP, can be arecognised for credit and be counted towards an award. This is called AP(E)L Accreditation of Prior Learning.

Candidates who have several years of relevant professional practice experience may compile a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate that they have met the learning outcomes of a particular unit. Applications for APEL must be made against specific units and the portfolio must illustrate how the candidate has met the learning outcomes of that unit. The APL accreditation sub-committee will assess the portfolio and if successful, the candidate will be awarded credit in relation to that specific unit. Candidates may submit APEL requests in respect of no more than 50% of the credit value of the final award they seek. The marks awarded for the APEL portfolio(s) will be carried forward and used in the calculation for the award.

Candidates considering making an APEL application are advised to contact Tim Bilham, the Director of Studies to determine whether there is an a priori case for acceptance.

Not at all. Employers see taking courses for CPD in a positive light. Your CV is likely to contain records of CPD from a range of providers. This programme is designed to allow you to access as little or as much as you wish, from 6 credits to 90.

Demonstrating a commitment to keeping yourself up-to-date through CPD is seen as very positive. Having, or working towards, a postgraduate award may differentiate you from other applicants and demonstrate an area of specialist interest, or expertise, that might be valuable to an employer.

There are a number of useful qualifications available for GPs. They all have their own emphasis, relevance and mode of delivery. You need to decide which sort of qualification best suits your interests and career intentions. Also see answer to question above.

Most employers will know of the reputation of the University of Bath and its regular position in the top ten of UK universities. The MSc Primary Care is very new and it will take a little time for people to be aware of it. However we are promoting the programme extensively and fully expect it to be widely recognised in the next 12 months or so, well before our first student will graduate.

A highly consultative process involving GPSTRs, GP Educators and GPs advised on the structure and content of the programme, the CPD Units and their relevance to contemporary general practice. The participation of GPs and GPSTRs is built into future development as the programme evolves. Contributions have come from several regions in the UK.

Evidence-based Practice in Primary Care is designed to bring a critical approach to clinical evidence and evaluation of interventions. It will help you develop a set of tools in terms of framing research questions, search strategies and critical appraisal, which will be useful throughout your training. Pilot evaluation indicated its usefulness in preparing for the AKT.