SAQA

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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED QUALIFICATION:

Master of Global Surgery

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
122195	Master of Global Surgery
ORIGINATOR
Stellenbosch University
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education			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		EXCO 0922/24	2024-03-07	2027-03-07
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-03-07		2031-03-07

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.

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification.

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION

Purpose:
The purpose of this qualification is to train researchers at an advanced level in the field of global surgery. This research can then be used to improve safe, timely and affordable surgical care worldwide. The qualification will develop learners' knowledge in research methodology, scientific techniques, data analysis and interpretation, and the critical evaluation of research literature and results in their field.

South Africa is ideally situated to provide researchers with an opportunity to gather and focus on research in and for Africa, as a lack of surgical access is largely a problem in low- and middle-income countries, and the majority of research is needed in these settings. As an international leader in global surgery research, the institution can support learners worldwide in expanding the research focus in this field, through this qualification.

Global surgery is an essential component of global health, given that a large proportion of diseases globally can be cured through surgical care. Both global health and global surgery, work towards increasing equitable access to health, but global surgery focuses specifically on aspects of care that can be improved through surgical provision. Possible research focus areas in global surgery include the burden of surgical disease in different regions, surgical workforce, surgical information systems, barriers to accessing surgical care, decentralisation of surgical services, health in surgical care, and community and patient empowerment. Addressing these focus areas will contribute to alleviating the burden of surgical disease and enhancing equitable and timely access to safe surgical services.

The knowledge and skills developed through this qualification will help foster the critical and creative thinking of an inquiring mind and the problem-solving and innovative approaches of a dynamic professional at the cutting edge of global surgery research.

By joining a research group and undertaking a supervised research project, learners will be part of a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment, as required by an engaged citizen. The independent research project will also foster responsibility and informed and considered decision-making, in keeping with the graduate attributes of a well-rounded individual.

Upon completion of the qualification, qualifying learners will be able to:

Illustrate an appropriate professional attitude and understand their professional obligations during the performance of research.

Illustrate appropriate personal and interpersonal professional behaviours during research.

Define a research topic dealing with a significant issue relevant to global surgery. This may include but is not limited to, topics like access to care, surgical workforce, catastrophic health expenditure, and surgical outcomes.

Apply the principles of research design and applied statistics to the field of global surgery.

Rationale:
Global surgery is the academic pursuit of improving safe, timely, and affordable surgical care for all, worldwide. Since 2015, with the publication of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, interest in global surgery has skyrocketed with a 10-fold increase in peer-reviewed publications over the last decade. During the same period, more than 20 global surgery university entities in the United States (US), Canada, and the United Kingdom (UK) have been established. In a 2018 survey, 76% of US surgical residents said they would incorporate global surgery into their careers and were specifically looking for a training qualification that would allow them to gain formal global surgery experience. Because lack of surgical access is largely a problem in low-middle-income countries, the majority of needed research is in these lower-resourced settings.

The Centre for Global Surgery is in a position to give learners from around the world a transformative research-based learning experience, whereby learners will not only be focussing on a field of a multi-disciplinary nature but will also be able to interact with a differentiated context of students consisting not only doctors but others within the clinical field as well as student from across the globe.

At the same time, African and South African surgical doctors and nurses planning to specialise in surgical disciplines, may have an interest in understanding surgical care within the larger health system by conducting formal research in global surgery. In addition, the acquisition of research skills will better prepare them for the required research dissertations of university postgraduate training or to critically analyse surgical publications. A recent poll of these cadres demonstrated that a formal Master of Global Surgery would also be appealing to many.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

RPL for access:

Learners who do not meet the minimum entrance requirements or the required qualification that is at the same NQF level as the qualification required for admission may be considered for admission through RPL.

To be considered for admission in the qualification based on RPL, applicants should provide evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates that they have acquired the relevant knowledge, skills, and competencies through formal, non-formal and/or informal learning to cope with the qualification expectations.

RPL for exemption of modules:

Learners may apply for RPL to be exempted from modules that form part of the qualification. For a learner to be exempted from a module, the learner needs to provide sufficient evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates that competency was achieved for the learning outcomes that are equivalent to the learning outcomes of the module.

RPL for credit:

Learners may also apply for RPL for credit for or towards the qualification, in which they must provide evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates prior learning through formal, non-formal and/or informal learning to obtain credits towards the qualification.

Credit shall be appropriate to the context in which it is awarded and accepted.

Entry Requirements:
The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is:

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, NQF Level 8.
Or

Bachelor of Nursing degree, NQF Level 8.
Or

Postgraduate Diploma in Perioperative Nursing, NQF Level 8.
Or

Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Medicine, NQF Level 8.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

QUALIFICATION RULES

This qualification consists of the following compulsory module at National Qualifications Framework Level 9 totalling 180 Credits.

Compulsory Module, NQF Level 9, 180 Credits.

Global Surgery Thesis, 180 Credits.

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

Exit Level Outcomes
1. Illustrate an appropriate professional attitude and understand professional obligations during the performance of research.
2. Define a research topic dealing with a significant issue relevant to global surgery, this may include, but is not limited to, topics like access to care, surgical workforce, catastrophic health expenditure, and surgical outcomes.
3. Apply the principles of research design and applied statistics to the field of global surgery.
4. Successfully identify a research topic within global surgery, related to the student's disciplinary background, that is worthy of further research.
5. Motivate why the ethical conduct of research, specifically within the global surgery field should be valued.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 1.

Successfully manage the research process.

Make independent progress in implementing the research project.

Clearly and comprehensively report on research findings in writing, including successfully following the research conventions.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 2.

Review and summarise the literature on the topic dealing with a significant issue relevant to global surgery.

Frame a clear research question(s) and aims relevant to the field of global surgery.

Apply appropriate methods to conduct the enquiry.

Interpret the results and discuss the results in relation to the aims and the context of previous literature.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 3.

Engage with and critique current research or practices in global surgery research.

Understand the barriers and enablers to timely, quality surgical care in a specific context.

Understand the health system strengthening approach to improving surgical services.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 4.

Design an appropriate and viable research plan, including the identification of the most appropriate techniques of reasoning, methodology and argumentation to reach a plausible conclusion with respect to the particular question.

Find, select, organise, and critically analyse the identified issue in global surgery.

Evaluate a variety of relevant information sources in global surgery, depending on the focus of the research topic, and determine the relative authority of relevant information sources.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 5.

Illustrate an appropriate professional attitude and an understanding of own professional obligations during the performance of research.

Illustrate appropriate personal and interpersonal professional behaviours during research.

Apply questioning attitudes and approaches to analyse and carry out self-drive and motivation.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY

Country: Canada
Name of the Institution: University of British Columbia
Qualification title: Masters of Global Surgical Care
Duration: Two years
Credits: 30

Entry requirements:

Hold a health-care-related degree such as Doctor of Medicine (MD)
Or

Nursing (BSN) Midwifery (BMW)
And
have been involved or specifically plan to be involved in surgical care programs.

Purpose:
This online two-year, 30-credit specialized program is designed to prepare surgical care professionals from many disciplines to address surgical challenges and contribute to finding solutions in low-resource settings globally.

The qualification provides a strong foundation for present and future global surgical care professionals by developing knowledge and skills in the interpretation and use of published experience and research, balanced with applied learning in low-resource settings. Students will spend four to eight weeks in an underserved location globally, producing practical "on-the-ground" skills. The location of the placement is determined by the student in consultation with a program advisor.

A blended model of practicum-based learning and online teaching methods facilitates the participation of candidates from across Canada and around the world.

Course structure:
Modules:

Care in International Health.

Global Disability: A Surgical Care Mandate.

Surgical Care in Humanitarian Disaster Response.

Program Planning and Evaluation in Surgical Care Low Resource Settings.

Clinical Research Methods for Surgical Procedures with Global Surgical Comparisons.

Surgical Care in Canada's Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities with Global. Comparisons.

Directed Study in Global Surgical Care.

Global Surgical Care Field Practicum.

Similarities:

The University of British Columbia (UBC) and the South African (SA) qualifications both accept learners who have qualified as medical doctors as well as registered nurses who have a Bachelor of Nursing degree.

Both qualifications share similar aims such as, the UBC qualification aims to provide a strong foundation for present and future global surgical care professionals by developing knowledge and skills in the interpretation and use of published experience and research, balanced with applied learning in low-resource settings.

Similarly, the knowledge and skills developed through the SA qualification will help foster the critical and creative thinking of an inquiring mind and the problem-solving and innovative approaches of a dynamic professional at the cutting edge of global surgery research.

Differences:

The UBC qualification carries 30 credits, whereas the SA qualification carries 180 credits.

The UBC qualification's blended model of practicum-based learning and online teaching methods facilitates the participation of candidates from across Canada and around the world.

The SA qualification focuses on research; hence its purpose is to train researchers at an advanced level in the field of global surgery.

Country: United Kingdom
Institution name: Kings College London
Qualification title: MSc in Global Health
Duration: One year
Credits: 180

Entry requirements:
A minimum 2:1 undergraduate Bachelor's (honours) degree

Purpose:
The Global Health MSc takes an innovative approach to teaching by providing an interdisciplinary foundation in health and social sciences. This applied approach will enable the learner to reflect on theoretical and ethical debates and assess their relevance to the realities of fieldwork using case studies. Learners will have the opportunity to learn from experts in the field and share their knowledge and experiences of working in healthcare, development, and humanitarian settings.

Course structure:
Modules:

Global Burden of Disease.

Health Systems & Policy.

International Development and Health.

Research Methodology in Global Health.

Global Health Dissertation compares with Global Surgery Thesis.

Similarities:

The Kings College London (KCL) and the South African (SA) qualifications are both offered over one year with 180 credit offerings.

Both qualifications share similarities with the research module, such as Global Health Dissertation, comparable to Global Surgery Thesis.

Both qualifications accept learners who have completed a bachelor's honours degree in the related field.

Both qualifications share a similar purpose, the SA qualification aims to enable learners to be part of a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment, as required by an engaged citizen. The independent research project also fosters responsibility and informed and considered decision-making, in keeping with the graduate attributes of a well-rounded individual.

Similarly, the KCL qualification takes an innovative approach to teaching by providing an interdisciplinary foundation in health and social sciences. This applied approach will enable the learner to reflect on theoretical and ethical debates and assess their relevance to the realities of fieldwork using case studies.

Differences:

The KCL qualification is modular based and only has minor research components, whereas the SA qualification is research-based.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

Horizontal Articulation:

Master of Medicine in Anaesthesiology, NQF Level 9.

Master of Medicine in Emergency Medicine, NQF Level 9.

Master of Medicine in Public Health Medicine, NQF Level 9.

Master of Medicine in Emergency Surgery, NQF Level 9.

Master of Medicine in Surgery, NQF Level 9.

Master of Medicine, NQF Level 9.

Vertical Articulation:

Doctor of Philosophy in Anaesthesiology, NQF Level 10.

Doctor of Nursing, NQF Level 10.

Doctor of Medicine: Research, NQF Level 10.

Diagonal Articulation
There is no diagonal articulation for this qualification.

MODERATION OPTIONS

N/A

NOTES

N/A

LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION:

NONE

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.

1.	Stellenbosch University