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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Master of Medicine in Neurology 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
81320  Master of Medicine in Neurology 
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
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  Level 8 and above  NQF Level 09  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered  EXCO 0733/25  2024-06-30  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

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 replaces: 
Qual ID Qualification Title Pre-2009 NQF Level NQF Level Min Credits Replacement Status
16318  Master of Medicine: Neurology  Level 8 and above  NQF Level 09  128  Complete 

This qualification is replaced by: 
Qual ID Qualification Title Pre-2009 NQF Level NQF Level Min Credits Replacement Status
111078  Master of Medicine in Neurology  Not Applicable  NQF Level 09  180  Complete 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
The purpose of the Master of Medicine in Neurology is to supply South Africa with a sufficient number of well-trained, competent neurologists to attend to the neurological care of the community. Some of these neurologists will contribute to academic needs such as training health professionals and conducting research. This qualification provides graduates with knowledge, skills and applied competence in Neurology sufficient to allow registration with Health Professions Council of SA as a specialist Neurologist. It aims to provide graduates with the foundation for continued personal and intellectual growth, gainful economic activity and for contributing to society at large through advanced patient care, innovation, scholarship and leadership in the Neurology. field.

This qualification forms part of the credentialing process for medical practitioners as specialists in neurology. The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) stipulates training requirements, including a minimum period of experiential learning. It is usual for the examination to be taken and passed before the completion of the required period of supervised learning specified by the HPCSA.

On completion of the qualification, graduates will:
  • 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
  • Understand professional behaviour, ethical behaviour, and medical ethics, and practise medicine professionally and ethically
  • 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
  • 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
  • Manage their work, career and practice effectively, manage a care team effectively, understand 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 (
  • Respond to the needs of their patients and the communities they serve, and promote their interests
  • 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

    This qualification aims to meet the needs for formal examination certification, as well as to set standards nationally for such a qualification (the country's 8 medical schools may offer equivalent qualifications).

    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 Quality Council 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
    The minimum entry requirement is:
  • Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, NQF Level 8.
    And
  • Have held such qualification for at least two years prior to registration,
  • Satisfy the requirements of the HPCSA to enter specialist training,
  • Appointed to a specialist training "(registrar" post)" by the Provincial Department of Health. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

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

    Compulsory Modules, NQF Level 9, 360 Credits:
  • Research Methodology, 14 Credits.
  • Research Project, 90 Credits.
  • Neurology Clinical and Professional Practice 1, 64 Credits.
  • Neurology Clinical and Professional Practice 2, 64 Credits.
  • Neurology Clinical and Professional Practice 3, 64 Credits.
  • Neurology 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.
    2. Understand professional behaviour, ethical behaviour and medical ethics and practise medicine professionally and ethically
    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.
    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.
    5. Manage their work, career and practice effectively, manage a care team effectively, understand 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.
    6. Respond to the needs of their patients and the communities they serve and promote their interests.
    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. 

    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.
  • Manages generic problems that are not specific to the discipline but are commonly encountered effectively.
  • Assess the patient accurately and comprehensively.
  • Manage the patient effectively.
  • Apply surgical and procedural skills effectively.
  • Recognise the limits of their expertise and consult appropriately.
  • Utilise finite healthcare resources appropriately.
  • Apply experience in practice in contexts other than the training institution.

    Associated assessment criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
  • Behave professionally.
  • Practise 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 elicit and synthesise relevant information from patients, families, and other health professionals.
  • Communicate efficiently with patients, families, and communities.
  • Communicate effectively with other health professionals during clinical care.
  • Communicate efficiently with organisations and institutions.
  • Keep effective records.
    Communicate in an appropriately professional manner

    Associated assessment criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4
  • Readily incorporate 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.
  • Manage a team effectively.
  • Promote the success of health care and health education in the context in which they work.
  • Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the healthcare system.
  • Manage career and practice effectively.

    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 exploit these to improve both individual patient care as well as to promote health more generally.
  • Recognise vulnerable or marginalised populations, adapt clinical management to their needs, and work to improve their condition.
  • Speak knowledgeably in support of efforts to promote health in whichever context the opportunity arises.
  • Apply the ethical and professional principles inherent in health advocacy, including altruism, social justice, autonomy, integrity, and idealism.

    Associated assessment criteria for Exit Level Outcome 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.
  • Apply the appropriate research principles.
  • Support and conducts research.
  • Facilitate the learning of others.

    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 examination 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, semester 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:
    Semesteri 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 academic, professional and research progress. 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
    Logbook entries assess how much exposure students have to different modalities and procedures as they progress through specialist training. Cases are marked as observed, supervised and unsupervised. The logbook is also used to assess the student's competency levels throughout the training program, as they are expected to report cases and perform procedures unsupervised at the end of the training program. Logbooks monitor student progress through the program, allowing for additional exposure where there is unsatisfactory performance.

    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 examination for the Fellowship of the College of Neurologists 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: neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, statistics, immunology, neurochemistry, epidemiology

    Format of assessment:
  • Written assessment in multiple-choice format over two papers of 3 hours each

    Part 2 of the Fellowship Examinations:
  • Scope of assessment: knowledge in neurology and its application to patient assessment and management.

    Format of assessment:
  • Written assessment: two 3-hour papers consisting of one multiple-choice and a second requiring short answers.
  • A third paper requiring interpretation of electroencephalography, nerve conduction, and electromyography studies, and radiological imaging interpretation over 3 hours.
  • Clinical assessment: three patients were assessed using clinical, history, and examination techniques, and patient evaluation and management were assessed.
  • Twelve video or case study assessments are done, each video/case study lasting 5 minutes. 
    		•

    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.

    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 (UK) 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 qualifications 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: 5 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 comparing 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 
    This qualification allows possibilities for vertical articulation. Horizontal and diagonal articulation are not possible given the qualification's highly specialised nature.

    Vertical articulation:
  • Doctor of Philosophy, NQF Level 10.
  • Doctor of Medicine, NQF Level 10. 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2006; 2009; 2012; 2015. 

    NOTES 
    N/A 

    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.
     
    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.