SAQA All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE: 

Postgraduate Diploma: Telemedicine 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
78449  Postgraduate Diploma: Telemedicine 
ORIGINATOR
University of KwaZulu-Natal 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Postgraduate Diploma  Field 09 - Health Sciences and Social Services  Promotive Health and Developmental Services 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  640  Level 7  NQF Level 08  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Passed the End Date -
Status was "Reregistered" 		 SAQA 10105/14  2015-07-01  2016-10-20 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2017-10-20   2020-10-20  

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 is replaced by: 
Qual ID Qualification Title Pre-2009 NQF Level NQF Level Min Credits Replacement Status
101023  Postgraduate Diploma in eHealth  Not Applicable  NQF Level 08  120  Complete 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:

This qualification provides graduates with knowledge, skills and applied competence in Telemedicine. It aims to provide graduates with the foundations for continued personal and intel1ectual growth, gainful economic activity and for contributing to society at large through the application of computer techniques and telemedicine to disease diagnosis and patient care, innovation, scholarship and leadership in the field of telemedicine. 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
  • Completion and award of the Bachelor of Science (Honours) or professional Bachelors degree or admitted to status thereof.
  • Adequate language and communication skills.
  • Adequate numeracy skills.
  • Basic computer skills and data handling. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    N 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    512 Credits at NQF Level 7.
    128 Credits at NQF Level 8. 

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    An advanced postgraduate diplomat in Telemedicine is able to understand, set up and operate telemedicine equipment for the practice of telemedicine and medical tele-education. She/He is able to advise on and implement such systems. She/He will be conversant with world and local implementation of telemedicine and developing technology, applications, ethical issues and security. She/he is able to interpret scientific literature relevant to his/her field and through reflection adapt new developments in the field.

    Learning outcome:

    The achievement of this qualification means that the learner can:
  • Demonstrate academic literacy.
  • Use the medium of instruction effectively to convey ideas and insights intelligibly and to achieve own communication purposes.
  • Communicate effectively with colleagues.
  • Understands global issues and trends in telemedicine.
  • Develop, implement and manage a telemedicine project.
  • Use the national telemedicine network.
  • Demonstrate appropriate presentation techniques.
  • Use telemedicine technology for educational purposes.
  • Use sound educational principles.
  • Understands communication systems for telemedicine.
  • Implement appropriate security measures.
  • Use store and forward techniques.
  • Perform appropriate biostatistical tests. 
    		•

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes:

    Evidence generated through assessment tasks shows that the learner:
  • Interact with texts (oral and written) through critical listening/reading skills.
  • Produce texts which integrate information from different sources.
  • Participate effectively in seminar and group discussion and in group projects.
  • Work independently and establish a new telemedicine link.
  • Can conduct telemedicine sessions.
  • Can conduct medical tele-education.
  • Use different communication protocols.
  • Implement and conduct store and forward telemedicine.
  • Can statistically evaluate and analyse medical data.

    Integrated assessment:

    The University of Natal is currently reforming its assessment strategies to include the assessment of applied competence for each qualification. In the meantime, a combination traditional written and oral examination, oral examination of practical skills and clinical interpretation of clinical cases and a research project, serve to assess the integration of all/most of the learning outcomes for each module of the qualification. 
    		•

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    Vertical articulation is from a Bachelor in Science (Honours) or equivalent to a Master of Medical Science in Telemedicine.

    Horizontal articulation may be done by an exit through the Advanced Post Graduate Certificate and Advanced Postgraduate Diploma's into the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Informatics.

    The University of Natal Medical School is the only Medical School in the region. Regional co-operation has been investigated through the Health Science Education and Training Board of the Eastern Seaboard Association of Tertiary Institutions. 

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    The ETQA system for HE is not yet fully developed. Until such time as it is, procedures described under 10 above suffice. 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    Until the HEQC establishes a registration system for assessors in the HET Band, the University of Natal assumes that, on the basis of its rigorous selection criteria for the appointment of academic staff (who also have opportunities for staff development in assessment), staff are competent to assess students on the modules they teach. This assessment is quality assured via a university system of internal moderation and external examination. External examiners are appointed for their teaching and disciplinary expertise and subject to the approval of Faculty Boards. The University of Natal ruling is that 66% of all assessments at exit level, i.e. leading to a qualification are externally examined. 

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2009; 2012; 2015. 

    NOTES 
    Demonstration that this qualification complies with the requirements of regulation 8 and/or 9:

    All programmes and qualifications at the University of Natal are internally approved on the basis of our Programmes Handbook (1999). These guidelines ensure that all our qualifications are designed using the outcomes-based method, based on a uniform credit system, include the SAQA critical outcomes. These are achieved via learning programmes with rules of combination which cater for an emphasis on flexibility and breadth, and/or coherence and specialisation, depending on the purpose of the qualification. 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    When qualifications are replaced, some of their learning programmes are moved to being recorded against the replacement qualifications. If a learning programme appears to be missing from here, please check the replacement.
     
    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. University of KwaZulu-Natal 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.