MSc Clinical Neuropsychiatry

Dr Hugh Rickards, Programme Lead, discusses the full-time MSc in Clinical Neuropsychiatry at University of Birmingham.

Duration: 03:05mins

Speakers

S1 Dr Hugh Rickards, Programme Lead, MSc in Clinical Neuropsychiatry

Transcript

Who is this programme aimed at?

S1 The MSc is really aimed at two groups of people. Firstly it’s for professional clinicians who are working in the field and it really is a course to help them enhance their skills in this area. And then secondly it’s aimed at graduates, whether they’re psychology graduates, neuroscience graduates or other graduates, who really want to get into the clinical field and are looking for a way to enhance their skills so they can get onto a clinical training course like a medical degree as a graduate entry or a D-Clin in psychology.

What modules are offered within the programme?

S1 Predominantly we have modules which are disorder based, for instance we have a module on Tourette’s Syndrome and neuro-developmental disorders, a module on brain injury, a module on epilepsy, so it’s really focused on the types of illnesses that we deal with. At the beginning of the course we also have a course called ‘Brain and Mind’ which is a sort of open top bus tour of the brain if you like, it takes you through basic pathology, anatomy, pharmacology, also ethics, philosophy and law as it relates to brain science.

What are the benefits of this programme?

S1 The sorts of benefits that people get from this course are firstly they get to enhance their practice, everyday practice, they learn how to critically interpret the literature in the area of neuropsychiatry so they can take that back to their clinics or working spaces and benefit the patients. Secondly, especially for graduates, they get to learn about the area for the first time and this is a way that they can enhance their skills and also their CV which will help them to get onto other higher professional training courses.

What facilities are available to me?

S1 The MSc course in neuropsychiatry is backed up by the Medical School and Birmingham University so that students on the course have a full access, for instance, to the other facilities of the university, particularly library facilities.

What are my options once I graduate?

S1 Graduates on the MSc programme can often go on to do a variety of different things. For instance, we have graduates who are already doctors or nurses who are working in the field and they go on effectively to become good leaders, researchers and clinical practitioners in the area. There are graduates who come from overseas who come to Birmingham to do the clinical neuropsychiatry course and then go back to their country of origin and set up neuropsychiatry services there, based on their knowledge and experience. Other graduates from the course go on to apply for things like graduate entry medicine or doctorates in clinical psychology on the back of the MSc course.

End of recording