MSc Molecular Medicine

Medicine is quickly adopting molecular diagnostic technologies, vaccines and therapies that are the results of recent advances in molecular medicine and they are dramatically improving the way that human diseases can be treated.The clinical applications module gives you the chance to observe how the latest advances in molecular medicine have been translated into clinical practice in the UK NHS. You will have the opportunity to work with research active clinicians in the University Teaching Hospital.MSc Molecular Medicine prepares medically qualified students for careers as clinician scientists and as such is excellent preparation for a future PhD or MD in the UK or elsewhere. The clinical observership is not an accredited clinical training course.In addition to the taught course in molecular medicine, you will undertake two components specific to the clinical area you are studying.In this module, you are expected to carry out independent bibliogaphical research on the scientific background to the clinical work you will do during the observership and to write a review of the scientific articles that you have read. The review should be written as professionally as possible, as if it were intended for publication as a short review article or as the background section of a grant application.The module starts in December and is led by a supervisor/clinical co-supervisor. You’ll first receive guidance from your supervisor on the topics to cover in the review, and then work on your own for several weeks. You’ll carry out bibliographic searches, read criticially the scientific literature identified and prepare a draft of the review before submitting the final version.The aim of the module is to acquire skills in presenting the background, evidence and some early clinical observations succinctly and comprehensibly, and to respond to questions from the audience. You should also be able to pose appropriate questions to other student speakers.The observership runs from the end of March to early August. Total 300 hours or 3 days per week equivalent.You’ll spend time with relevant clinical and laboratory teams at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. In advance of the start of the observership, the student and supervisor meet to decide the precise focus of the observership and a personal development plan. During the observership you will compile a portfolio of clinical cases seen, discussed and reflected on and use these to inform a dissertation that discusses how advances in molecular medicine are translating into changes in clinical practice in the specific clinical area.During the observership you’ll put together a portfolio as evidence of your clinical experience. This will include three elements:This project pulls together the molecular biology and clinical practice in the discipline. You will agree a project question with your supervisor. The main output is a dissertation. You may be invited to attend a viva voce examination. The dissertation will draw on the clinical experience during the observership as recorded in the portfolio and can build on, but not include, the literature review.