SAQA

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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED QUALIFICATION:

Master of Medicine in Dermatology

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
110305	Master of Medicine in Dermatology
ORIGINATOR
University of KwaZulu-Natal
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
-			HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework
QUALIFICATION TYPE	FIELD		SUBFIELD
Master's Degree	Field 09 - Health Sciences and Social Services		Curative Health
ABET BAND	MINIMUM CREDITS	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	QUAL CLASS
Undefined	180	Not Applicable	NQF Level 09	Regular-Provider-ELOAC
REGISTRATION STATUS		SAQA DECISION NUMBER	REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered-data under construction		EXCO 0324/24	2024-07-01	2027-06-30
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30		2031-06-30

Registered-data under construction

The qualification content is currently being updated for the qualifications with the status “Registered-data under construction” or showing “DETAILS UNDER CONSTRUCTION” to ensure compliance with SAQA’S Policy and Criteria for the registration of qualifications and part-qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (As amended, 2022). These qualifications are re-registered until 30 June 2027 and can legitimately be offered by the institutions to which they are registered.

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION

Purpose:
The purpose of the qualification is to prepare the learner for practice as a medical specialist. This qualification will allow the learner to apply for registration as a medical specialist, primarily with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), but also with the health regulatory agencies of other countries, who may place additional requirements on the learner. The target learners are medical practitioners with a basic medical qualification and at least three years of post-qualification experience. The learner will wish to complete this qualification to be registered as a specialist. This qualification will benefit the learner in that they will be eligible for registration and practice as a medical specialist.

The academic and professional pathway is via an undergraduate medical degree and registration as a medical practitioner with the HPCSA, followed by this master's-level qualification which qualifies the learner to register and practice as a specialist. After achievement, the learner will have the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to practice as a specialist in the field of dermatology and will be responsible for exercising this knowledge and skill in the capacity of a medical specialist.

A qualified learner will be able to:

Practise as a medical specialist in the field of dermatology,

Understand and conduct research in the biomedical field,

Embark on an academic career as a medical academic.

In addition, the following learner attributes will be integrated into the learning process: knowledge literacy, ability to solve complex problems in the medical domain, respect for ethics and professionalism in practice, management of information and knowledge production via research, professional communication in the context of medical practice and research, management of learning and accountability.

Rationale:
The healthcare systems of all countries, including South Africa, require medical specialists in specific disciplines to apply a standard of care above that which the generalist practitioner can offer. Such specialists will provide patient care personally but are also responsible for raising the level of knowledge in their discipline amongst generalists, as well as being able to subspecialise further or to take responsibility for the teaching and training of undergraduate and postgraduate students in the healthcare disciplines, and for the generation of knowledge via published experience and research. There is no similar qualification already registered on the SANQF.

The practice of a healthcare profession benefits society directly by promoting, maintaining and restoring health, and benefits the economy by contributing to the maintenance of a healthy workforce. The medical specialist has a critical role to play in the provision of healthcare. South Africa is under-supplied with medical specialists when compared with international norms. Medical specialisation may therefore be seen as a scarce skill and is remunerated as such in the public service. The qualification was developed in concert with all other South African universities offering specialist training, the HPCSA, the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, the Medical Association of South Africa, the national and provincial departments of health, and with reference to international organisations responsible for the training of medical specialists in other countries.

The typical learner for the qualification is a medical practitioner with at least a bachelor's degree in medicine registered with the Health Professions Council, has at least three years of post-qualification experience, and wishes to train and practice as a medical specialist. Most qualifying learners will embark on specialist medical practice in the public or private sectors in South Africa, in the medical workforce of neighbouring and foreign countries, while some will enter academia as medical academics, undertake a full- or part-time research career, embark on medical administration in the public, private and corporate sectors or into the commercial sector, utilising their specialist medical knowledge in the context of the pharmaceutical industry or in areas of innovation in other industries, or join not-for-profit philanthropic organisations as providers of healthcare, advocates for healthcare or project managers.

The HPCSA, the professional body governing the health professions, cooperates with the relevant QC with respect to the qualification and quality assurance and conducts five-yearly on-site visits to evaluate the programme leading to qualification. Successful learners are immediately registrable with the HPCSA as medical specialists. They are, in principle, eligible for registration with the health regulatory bodies of other countries, though they may be subject to additional requirements.

The qualification is linked to a single profession: that of a medical specialist. The learning/work pathway is via an undergraduate medical degree followed by prescribed experience (in South Africa, internship and community service), which then articulate vertically with the Master of Medicine qualification. The successful learner is then eligible for admission to the specialist register of the HPCSA. In the South African public health sector, this permits the learner to progress from medical officer to specialist rank. Successful learners may also enter subspecialist training with subsequent admission to the subspecialist register of the HPCSA. This qualification, therefore, has important implications for career progression and mobility within the work environment.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
The institution has Approved Guidelines for the Recognition of Prior Learning (2024), which are applicable in respect of equivalent qualifications for admission into the qualification. RPL for access and exemption will not apply to this qualification, given its narrow focus. All learners must complete the prescribed modules or comparable modules at another institution via credit accumulation and transfer.

Entry Requirements:

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, NQF level 8
Or recognised equivalent degree
And
Have held such qualification for at least two years prior to registration, satisfy the require-ments of the HPCSA to enter specialist training, are appointed to a specialist training "(regis-trar" post)" by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Health or, in the case of foreign-qualified doctors who do not hold full South African registration, are given limited registration for training purposes by the HPCSA and may only be employed in unpaid specialist training posts designated as supernumerary.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

QUALIFICATION RULES

This qualification comprises six compulsory modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 9, totalling 360 Credits.

Compulsory, 360 Credits.

Research Methodology, 14 Credits.

Research Project, 90 Credits.

Dermatology Clinical and Professional Practice 1, 64 Credits.

Dermatology Clinical and Professional Practice 2, 64 Credits.

Dermatology Clinical and Professional Practice 3, 64 Credits.

Dermatology Clinical and Professional Practice 4, 64 Credits.

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

1. Possess the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for specialist practice in the discipline, recognise the limits of their expertise and seek assistance when required, utilise finite healthcare resources appropriately and understand practice in contexts other than the training institution (Professional competence).
2. Understand professional behaviour, ethical behaviour and medical ethics and practise medicine professionally and ethically (Professionalism).
3. Establish effective and ethical therapeutic relationships with patients, families and communities; communicate efficiently and appropriately with patients, families, communities, health professionals and external organisations and institutions; and keep adequate records (Communication).
4. Incorporate the knowledge, skills and perspectives of other health professionals into the management of patients to improve outcomes and demonstrate appropriate interpersonal skills and personal behaviour in their interactions with seniors, juniors, peers and colleagues from other disciplines and professions (Partnership).
5. Manage their work, career and practice effectively, manage a care team effectively, under-stand the strengths and weaknesses of the health care system and factor this into their practice, and promote the success of health care and health education in the context in which they work (Management and leadership).
6. Respond to the needs of their patients and the communities they serve, and promote their interests (Advocacy).
7. Maintain and enhance professional competence through a commitment to lifelong learning, practice medicine in a spirit of enquiry, contribute to a general improvement in practice within a particular context, understand the research process, initiate and conduct a research project, and facilitate the learning of others (Scholarship).

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Associated assessment criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:

Practice to the standard appropriate to an entry-level specialist.

Demonstrate the competencies required of an effective specialist in the South African context, and the specific competencies required of the discipline.

Manage generic problems which are not specific to the discipline but are commonly encountered, effectively.

Associated assessment criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:

Practice medicine with an understanding of professional behaviour, ethical behaviour and medical ethics.

Associated assessment criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:

Establish effective and ethical therapeutic relationships with patients and families and, where appropriate, communities.

Accurately elicits and synthesises relevant information from patients, families and other health professionals.

Communicates efficiently with patients, families and communities and with other health professionals in the course of clinical care.

Associated assessment criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:

Readily incorporates the knowledge, skills and perspectives of colleagues and members of other health professions into the management of patients to improve outcomes.

Work effectively with seniors, peers and juniors within the immediate working environment.

Demonstrate appropriate interpersonal skills and personal behaviour in their interactions with colleagues.

Associated assessment criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5:

Manage their work effectively.

Promote the success of health care and health education in the context in which they work.

Explains the strengths and weaknesses of the healthcare system.

Associated assessment criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6:

Identify the health needs of the community they serve.

Acknowledge the contribution of institutional partners in the health of our communities, and exploits these to improve both individual patient care as well as to promote health more generally.

Recognise vulnerable or marginalised populations, adapts clinical management to their needs, and works to improve their condition.

Associated assessment criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7:

Maintain and enhance professional competence through a commitment to lifelong learning.

Contribute to a general improvement in practice within a particular context.

INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT
The assessment strategy is comprehensive and integrated. Knowledge and its application are assessed via formal written examination, OSCE and oral examination. Practical skills and procedures are assessed via live clinical examinations during clinical rotations, portfolios, logbooks, and formal sign-off of work-based assessments. Behavioural and attitudinal aspects are assessed along with general competence in clinical supervisor reports, semesterised comprehensive evaluations and portfolios.

Knowledge of research methodology is assessed by the evaluation of a research protocol developed by the learner. Research competence is assessed by submission of a Master's-level dissertation formally examined by external or internal and external examiners.

Unless otherwise indicated, all assessments are integrated and do not focus exclusively on a single learning outcome.

Formative Assessments:
Semesterised comprehensive evaluation
These competencies are assessed on a 6-monthly basis by a discipline-based assessment panel, which consists of the academic head of discipline and other staff members in the discipline. The learner is assessed in terms of all the exit-level outcomes, including their progress in the academic, professional and research domains. Although this assessment is essentially formative, the rules for the programme allow the School Examinations Board to place students with a poor record on probation, impose probationary conditions and recommend subsequent academic exclusion where these conditions are not met or performance remains unsatisfactory.

Logbooks, clinical supervisor reports and portfolios
Logbooks, biannual practice assessments on theory and practice,

Oral and clinical assessments
These are used to assess holistic competence, including knowledge, practical skills, behaviours and contextualisation of health in the local community.

Summative Assessment:
Knowledge, understanding and clinical skills are assessed through the national summative examinations for the Fellowship of the College of Dermatologists of South Africa, administered by the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa on behalf of the University and prescribed by the Health Professions Council of South Africa. These examinations are:

Part 1 of the Fellowship Examinations

Scope of assessment: Physiology, pathology, anatomy relevant to dermatology

Format of assessment: three written papers

Part 2 of the Fellowship Examinations

Scope of assessment: Clinical dermatology and dermatopathology

Format of assessment: Written paper, virtual assessment of clinical material: two long multisystem clinical cases, six short dermatology clinical cases, six dermatology histopathology slides.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY

South Africa is unique in that a formal university-run master's qualification is required to register as a specialist. Only two other institutions offer a Master of Medicine: Singapore and Malaysia. Neither country requires this qualification for specialist registration: it is one path often recommended for learners with more academic aspirations. The standard path to specialist registration is via examinations offered by prestigious but non-official institutions such as the Royal Colleges of Medicine, Surgery and others, or their derivatives in Commonwealth countries such as the Royal Australasian College. This was formerly the requirement of South African specialist training as well, by the examinations of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA). Currently, the CMSA is the designated examining body for the HPCSA and conducts summative exit-level assessments on behalf of the universities, but the Master of Medicine qualification is required for specialist registration.
(Paragraph 2) The local qualification's professional component is regarded as equivalent to that of the international examination bodies. South Africa has strong historical ties, via its Commonwealth heritage, with the United Kingdom and Australia, and many of those holding a medicine qualification will practice as specialists in those countries in one context or another. Comparison of the Master of Medicine qualification with the equivalent professional qualifications of the United Kingdom and Australia is as follows:

All share common goals of producing highly qualified specialists but differ in structure, duration, and international recognition. All three programmes are academic and professional, but South Africa's MMed is university-administered, while UK and Australian programmes are run independently, often with university affiliations. Entry requirements for all include a medical degree, completed internship, and professional registration with the relevant professional council as a medical practitioner. Preparation for such registration in the UK is more structured in the UK than in South Africa, requiring completion of a formal foundation programme which replaces the South African internship. The Master of Medicine qualification integrates clinical competence and mandatory research, emphasising local health priorities with coursework, rotations, and a thesis. The UK and Australian programmes emphasise clinical competencies with research optional. South Africa uniquely awards academic credits (360 credits, NQF Level 9) and requires research and submission of the thesis, whereas UK and Australian training is competency-based. Assessment methods include clinical written and clinical assessments in all three systems, strongly emphasising continuous evaluations.

Training durations vary: 4 years in South Africa, 4-6 years in Australia, and 5-8 years in the UK, which divides its specialist training programmes into core and higher specialty phases, which may overlap with some specialist training undertaken by South African learners after completion of the Master of Medicine qualification. Graduates qualify for specialist registration through their respective regulatory bodies and gain varying levels of international recognition. UK and Australian qualifications often have stronger reciprocity agreements, while South African qualifications may require additional examinations in some countries. While the qualification matches the quality of UK and Australian programmes, international recognition also depends on factors such as immigration policies and reciprocal agreements.

Therefore, although South African qualification is essentially unique, its core purpose is the same as that of other countries, including those described above: namely, to produce competent medical specialists for deployment in their healthcare systems. When the professional aspects of the training programmes in South Africa and those utilised elsewhere, the training and standard of training is found to be equivalent.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

Horizontal Articulation:

Master of Medical Science, NQF Level 9.

Master of Medicine, NQF Level 9.

Master of Medicine in Family Medicine, NQF Level 9.

Vertical Articulation:

Doctor of Medicine, NQF Level 10.

Doctor of Philosophy in Internal Medicine, NQF Level 10.
Doctor of Philosophy: Emergency Medical Care, NQF Level 10.

Diagonal Articulation:
There is no diagonal articulation for this qualification.

MODERATION OPTIONS

N/A

CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS

N/A

NOTES

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LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION:

When qualifications are replaced, some (but not all) of their learning programmes are moved to the replacement qualifications. If a learning programme appears to be missing from here, please check the replaced qualification.

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PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

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