MCh From University College Cork

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Higher Degree Set-up Research degree MD / MCh
S A Naqvi Consultant Gen Vascular
Surgeon Department of Surgery, Mid Western
Regional Hospital, Limerick
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Motivation Interaction Self analysis Manage
your Time Medical Informatics What Is
Research? What is Scientific Study? Writing the
thesis Research Publication MCh / MD Aims
objectives
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(No Transcript)
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What is the force behind an action?

• Motivation
• Fear/apprehension/jealousy
• Greed/excessive desire
• Love/affinity
• Interaction
• People at Work
• Neighbors Community
• Family Friends

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Self Analysis

• Analyzing Your Strengths, Weaknesses, ( born
  with)
• Opportunities and Threats (acquired)
• Strengths
• What are your advantages?
• What do you do well?
• What do other people see as your strengths?
• Weaknesses
• What could you improve?
• What do you do badly?
• What should you avoid?

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Self Analysis Cont

• Opportunities
• Where are the good opportunities facing you?
• What are the interesting trends you are aware
  of?
• Threats
• What obstacles do you face?
• What is your competition doing?
• Changing environment?
• Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems?

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Use your Time Effectively

• Costing Your Time
• Working out your priorities
• Activity Logs
• Action Plans
• Prioritized To Do Lists
• Personal Goal Setting

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Medical Informatics

• The sciences concerned with
• gathering,
• manipulating,
• storing,
• retrieving
• and classifying
• recorded medical information

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MCh / MD
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What Is Research?

• Research, is essentially, an inquiry, a
  questioning for finding out what is going on.
• As such research is human inquiry into the world
  around us, or each of us.
• When I meet someone I sometimes will want to
  inquire as to their well-being, their activities,
  where they are going and what they are doing.
• This is research existing in everyday life.

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A dictionary definition of Research

• A careful search or inquiry endeavour to
  discover new facts etc. by Scientific Study of a
  subject, course or critical investigation.
• Oxford Dictionary (1973)

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What Is Scientific Research?

• This fits almost completely with the every day
  inquiry of person to person. Where this may not
  fit is in the use of the word scientific.
• Many of us would not describe out daily inquiries
  as scientific.
• In fact the prefixing of scientific opens a
  hotbed of debate with regard to research. What
  does it mean to be scientific?

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Scientific Study

• Of investigations etc,
• according to rules laid down in science for
  testing soundness of conclusions, systematic,
  accurate of, used, or engaged in, especially,
  natural science.
• Oxford Dictionary (1973)

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What Is Scientific Study?

• Traditionally scientific study has related to the
  approach of investigation undertaken and
  established since the time of Newton.
• Not that this is when this started or was
  discovered merely that this last 400 years has
  seen the stamping of this particular marker on
  our development, progress and life structure.

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Scientific Study

• Before 16th Century the scientific framework in
  Europe rested on two authorities Aristotle and
  the Church
• Capra, (1988, p53).
• Sir Francis Bacon sought to promote a new
  philosophy based on Aristotlean concepts. However
  it is with John Locke that the birth of
  mechanistic inquiry began.
• This was later taken up and developed by Sir
  Isaac Newton. Newtonian mechanics has held its
  position in the modern world, rightly so in
  respect of its validation and application.
• one of the greatest of the ancient Athenian
  philosophers pupil of Plato teacher of
  Alexander the Great (384-322 BC)

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Scientific Study Cont

• The development, moulding and honing of this
  scientific study has been going on for over four
  hundred years.
• Western culture has the basis of its value system
  deeply rooted in this time, formulated in their
  essential outlines in the sixteenth and
  seventeenth centuries
• Capra, (1988 p53)
• In place of scientific I offer rigorous and
  therefore define research as the rigorous study
  to endeavour to discover, through a careful
  search or inquiry.

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MCh / MD Most insist on supervisor Choose
with care Sufficiently knowledgeable to give
good advice Time enough to devote whole
attention to regular consultations
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Writing the thesis

• Candidate should
• Subject
• Interest
• Already performed work
• Experience of writing
• Principles of research

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Writing the thesis Cont

• Which University? -
• Request necessary regulations
• Read them carefully
• Any doubt consult an official for clarification

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Writing the thesis Cont

• To be successful
• self-discipline
• Hard thinking
• Enthusiasm

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Writing the thesis Cont

• Sufficient time
• Depending on degree
• If gt 5 years thesis not completed
• ? abandon

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Writing the thesis Cont

• An educational tool
• Result of one individuals work
• A formal statement as an hypothesis
• Approach to the topic

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Writing the thesis Cont

• All the data obtained
• Extended argumentative discussion
• Scholarly dissertation

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Writing the thesis Cont

• It does not however!!
• Lengthy to be erudite
• Most are too long make tedious reading
• Size quality

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Writing the thesis Cont

• I presume
• Preliminary work
• Definitive project written
• Ethical approval

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6 Stages for Preparation of a thesis

• 1. Early Planning
• 2. Definitive Planning
• 3. Preliminary Writing
• 4. Handling of the data
• 5. Writing
• 6. Revision, Rewriting, Binding, Submission

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Stage 1 Early Planning

• Right at the beginning
• 2 page precise of work
• May be submitted with the application
• As the thesis is a study in depth
• Title
• Well defined well confined

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Stage 1 Early Planning Cont

• Title must be clear
• Why you selected
• Be selective,
• reflective
• perceptive
• Research, Read, Record, Reference
• Good writing / reading
• Variety general approach

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Stage 1 Early Planning Cont

• Use the resources available
• Enlist medical librarian
• Use your judgement
• Statistician advise

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Stage 1 Early Planning Cont

• Recorded within the recognised structure
• Precise details for the lay out,
• Structure depends on work reported
• Review successful theses

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Possible analytical outline

• 1. Title page
• 3. Abstract (50words)
• 4. Summary (4-600)
• 5. Survey of recent published work
• 6. Method Material
• 7. Patients studied
• 8. Results
• 9. Discussion
• 10. Conclusion
• 11. References
• 12.Acknowledgements
• 13.Appendices

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Alternative Structure

• 1-4 as previously
• 5. General introduction
• 6. Experiment I
• a) MM
• b) Results
• c) Discussion Conclusion
• 7. Experiment II
• a) MM
• b) Results
• c) Discussion Conclusions
• 8. General discussion
• 9. 10-13 as before

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Stage 1 Early Planning

• Each section on separate sheets
• Allows notes ideas
• Keep a box file / computer file / backup
• Scraps of paper, eg.

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Stage 2 Definitive Planning

• Couple of hours of quiet
• Empty everything onto a table
• Sort out what you have acquired
• Decide whether thesis is possible or
• even likely within the time available
• By now obvious which aspects most demanding in
  time effort

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Stage 3 Preliminary Writing

• Start writing
• Definite gaps on awaited results
• Cultivate some literary values
• Good English

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Stage 4 Handling the Data

• As each set of experiments is completed,
• tables should be constructed
• Pointers to any new work to support original
  hypothesis or to substantiate likely conclusions
• Thesis that proves everything explains nothing
  is hardly meritorious
• Critical analysis in interpretation is mandatory

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Stage 5 Writing

• As soon as work is completed
• Wise to take a few weeks leave
• To write assemble the whole thesis in one
  session
• Assures
• continuity of thought
• unity of composition
• flow readability

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MCh / MD Aims objectives

• Introduce student to the science of information
  management
• Students will learn how to find, manage and
  appraise
• The students will develop their computer skills
• The students will learn about the complexity and
  uncertainty

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MCh / MD Aims objectives Cont

• Make able to demonstrate how medical information
  is created, interpreted, stored and used.
• Be able to demonstrate proficiency in the use of
  software applications e.g. M.S.
• Proficient in the use of Internet and on-line
  database

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MCh / MD Aims objectives Cont

• Be able to appraise search findings
• To understand how to use information to make
  decisions
• Be aware of how telematics and the science of
  information
• Be able to demonstrate an awareness of the
  uncertainties

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MCh / MD Aims objectives Cont

• To introduce the concepts of health informatics.
• How to find answers to clinical problems and to
  support research
• To learn how information is
• created,
• interpreted,
• processed,
• stored and
• used in medicine.

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MCh / MD Aims objectives Cont

• Basic and advanced computer skills
• How to manage your files
• How to find and save information from Internet
• How to appraise your literature search findings.
• How the results of research can be implemented in
  clinical practice.
• Medical informatics concepts

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Prerequisites for MCh / MD

• Launch a computer application
• Save work to hard, floppy and network drives
• Print from a file using both a toolbar shortcut
  and a print menu
• Copy files from one drive to another
• Use standard word processing and spread sheet
  applications
• Use e-mail effectively, including sending
  attachments and graphics
• To access and navigate the world wide web using a
  web browser

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MCh/MD NUI Galway Module

• lectures
• Module 1 Medical Informatics Knowledge
• Module 2 Medical Decision Making and Probability
• Module 3 Framing Questions, Finding Answers

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MCh University College Cork Module

• A candidate who has obtained the degrees of MB,
  BCh, BAO from the National University of Ireland,
  
• or a non-NUI graduate involved in research in a
  recognised UCC teaching hospital, shall be
  eligible to obtain the Degree of MCh under the
  following conditions
• A period of not less than five years shall have
  elapsed from the time the candidate obtained the
  degrees of MB, BCh, BAO,
• not less than four years of which shall have been
  spent in the practice of Surgery and surgical
  science at a level approved by the faculty.
• The candidate must pass a preliminary clinical
  examination in general Surgery. Exemption from
  this examination may be granted if the faculty
  considers that the candidate holds a suitable
  senior surgical qualification acquired by
  examination.

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MCh University College Cork Module Cont

• 4. The candidate must present a thesis, the work
  for which has been carried out over a period of
  not less than one year in the Department of
  Surgery in the University under the direction of
  the Professor of Surgery.
• The faculty may approve of the work being carried
  out elsewhere.
• 5. Permission to enter for the MCh Degree must
  be obtained from the Interfaculty Graduate
  Studies Board, prior to the commencement of
  research. A summary of the proposed work, not
  exceeding 200 words, must accompany the
  application form.
• 6. The thesis may be examined either in summer or
  in winter. Three copies must be presented to the
  Registrar and Vice-President for Academic Affairs
  not later than two months prior to the proposed
  date of examination.

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The NUI (UCD)/ Trinity College

• Higher Degrees In Surgery
• The University offers MCh and MD degrees by
  research.
• Regulations for MCh and MD

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NUI Institution Dublin, Cork, Galway

• Master of Dental Public Health (MDPH) C
• Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) C
• Master of Medical Science (MMedSc) D C G
• Master of Obstetrics (MAO) D C G
• Master of Public Health (MPH) D
• Master of Science (MSc) D C R
• Master of Surgery (MCh) D C G
• Doctor of Medicine (MD) D C G
• Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) D C G

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Motivation Interaction Self analysis Manage
your Time Medical Informatics What Is
Research? What is Scientific Study? Writing the
thesis Research Publication MCh / MD Aims
objectives
50
ThanksGood luck for your MD/MCh