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COLLEGE OF MEDICINEAND VETERINARY MEDICINE

Postgraduate Offer-holders

In this issueRebecca Daly Student, Primary Care Ophthalmology“Focus on the practical.”

Sarah Henderson Programme Director, Clinical Management of Pain“It is truly international - we have students from nearly every continent.”

Non-native English speakers’ support

Academic tips

Student blogs

June 2015

Online Distance Learners’ eZine

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COLLEGE OF MEDICINEAND VETERINARY MEDICINE

WelcomeHello, Congratulations on your offer! We are excited that you will start studying with us soon and although you will be studying online, we’ve managed to slip in a few sections on what Edinburgh and the University campus are like just so you get a picture (perhaps you may decide to pay a visit to this beautiful city or to come for your graduation)!

Read about Rebecca’s online learning experience with the Primary Care Ophthalmology programme on page 4 – she talks you through how she manages to study while working (no rose-tinted glasses here), and shares some tips for finding the best way to study online!

We’ve also featured our students who blog about their experience in the last pages of this e-zine – Kiki recently blogged about one of the most controversial and stimulating conversations she’s ever experienced during her studies and Chiara posted a few pictures from observing the solar eclipse, which was a big thing here in Scotland!

In addition, Sarah Henderson shares some insider info about the online distance programme that she runs, and describes her expectations from students – check out pages 6 and 7.

You will get to meet our students and Programme Directors in two more issues before starting your studies, so watch out for your emails!

See you soon, The Postgraduate Team

Photo

In this issue

Welcome ......................................................................2

Latest research news ....................................................3

News from around the University .................................4

Student perspective

Interview with Rebecca Daly, Student of Primary Care Ophthalmology .............................................................5

Take a shot at online learning with MOOCs .................6

Academic matters

Interview with Sarah Henderson, Programme Director, Clinical Management of Pain. .......................................7

Helping your academic development ..........................8

Social

Featured: Our Student Bloggers ..................................9

Discover the University community ..............................9

Edinburgh City ..............................................................10

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COLLEGE OF MEDICINEAND VETERINARY MEDICINE

Research News

Autism genes and intelligence link found

Genes linked with a greater risk of developing autism may also be associated with higher intelligence, a study suggests. Researchers have found new evidence linking genetic factors associated with autism to better cognitive ability in people who do not have the condition.

Read more

Dwarfism gene found

A gene linked to a type of dwarfism has been identified, in a development that will help to provide better diagnoses for those families affected. Scientists have found that errors in a particular gene can cause profound growth defects that begin before birth.

Read more

Bacteria study helps gauge infection risk

Bacteria may be able to jump between species with greater ease than was previously thought, a study suggests. Researchers have found that a single genetic mutation in a strain of bacteria that infects humans enables it to also infect rabbits.

Read more

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COLLEGE OF MEDICINEAND VETERINARY MEDICINE

News from Around the University

Developing your academic English

English Language Teaching Centre offers self-study learning materials on writing assignments, good grammar, preparing for exams, and recommended English learning websites. Native speakers of English may also find the resources helpful, particularly if you are returning to studying, as they break down and explain some of the conventions of academic writing in general.

Official University of Edinburgh Student News Channels

Although you are not based in Edinburgh, you can be part of what’s going on at Edinburgh all the time! Join here!

Over 300 creative events took place during the Innovative Learning Week 2015

From TEDx and community architecture projects, to science ceilidhs and underwater archaeology - staff, students, alumni and members of the public all took the plunge! ILW is a chance for students, staff and alumni to develop skills, meet new people and celebrate innovation in our academic community.Read more

Effort to establish gender studies department makes gains

The effort to establish a gender studies department within the University of Edinburgh reached a key milestone last week with the opening of a new full-time position for a Gender Studies academic, informs The Student Newspaper. While the position would carry additional teaching responsibilities, its primary remit is to make a leading contribution to the development of a rigorous but accessible and relevant introductory course on Gender studies open to first year students across the University.Read more

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COLLEGE OF MEDICINEAND VETERINARY MEDICINE

Student Perspective“The most satisfying aspect of the course is the application to my day-to-day work.”

Rebecca shares her tips on how to study online and also tells us how she manages to study alongside working full time.

Rebecca Daly, Primary Care Ophthalmology.

My name is Rebecca Daly. I current ly live in Edinburgh and have for the past 10 years. I work in East Lothian for an independent optometry group. I am originally Irish and I achieved my optometry degree in Dublin. My most recent study before undertaking the MSc was a diploma in ocular therapeutics through Glasgow Caledonian University which I completed in 2013. I am now studying for a part time MSc in Primary Care Ophthalmology.

How does this programme fit with your job?

This programme was advertised as 10 hours per week, however I have found that this is not enough time for me. I usually manage about 2 hours of MSc work 3-4 nights a week after work and then do about 4 hours each day at the weekend, this is just about enough to keep up to date. I have recently reduced my work hours by a day a month in order to give myself a bit of catch-up study time. Usually I have no opportunity to do any course work during my day as I work to booked appointments with no time in-between. Occasionally if there is a cancellation I will log onto the website and catch up on a discussion board but this happens less than once a week I would say.

Why have you chosen to study at the University of Edinburgh?

I am aware that the University of Edinburgh has an excellent academic reputation and this was certainly a factor in my choice to study there. Also the particular course that I am studying is only available through Edinburgh, though other universities do offer

MSc courses for optometrists. The third reason is that I received partial funding through NHS Education for Scotland which made the course more affordable. My reason for studying at all is that I wanted a challenge as it is too easy to stagnate in a full-time job that is relatively unchanging.

How do you find fitting in your study with other commitments?

I struggled a lot at the start of the year, but I think that it is getting easier. I had not appreciated how much of the work would need to be submitted on a continuous basis, not just catching up at the weekends, and also the range of the topics covered is broader than I had anticipated so in some areas I found even the most basic concepts very tough. However, I have enjoyed the course so far and am willing to put other commitments on hold until the holidays. Tell me one tip that helped you stay dedicated to your studies and made your way of studying more efficient.

I think my answer to both of these is to focus on the practical. What I mean is that for me the most satisfying aspect of the course is the application to my day-to-day work so any time I lose some commitment I just think back to some technique that I have learned from interaction with colleagues and tutors and how this has impacted my practice. This has also made my study more efficient as I am consolidating my learning by using my new skills on a daily basis and so cementing the learning – or at least that’s the theory!

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COLLEGE OF MEDICINEAND VETERINARY MEDICINE

Take a shot at online learning with MOOCs

Due to being widely available and freely accessible, Massive Online Open Courses have recently gained large popularity throughout the world.

MOOCs are open-licensed short courses that anyone can take and are usually delivered to large cohorts of learners. Imagine taking a course in philosophy or football!

To date, more than 1 million people have signed up to University of Edinburgh courses across a broad range of subject areas. There are some really interesting courses out there - you can learn about the life and work of Andy Warhol, the discovery of the Higgs Boson, how technology is used in astronomy or even clinical psychology of children!

Although MOOCs do not have formal university credits assigned to them, Statements of Accomplishment will be available to any learner who completes a course. They typically require 1-2 hours of study each week for around 5 weeks and are self-directed, meaning you follow the course materials, complete the readings and assessments, and get help from a large community of fellow learners through online forums.

Sounds fun? Sign up for one!

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COLLEGE OF MEDICINEAND VETERINARY MEDICINE

Academic Matters

“One of the key features of the Clinical Management of Pain programme is that it is truly international - we have students from nearly every continent - and from a very broad range of healthcare professions.”

Sarah Henderson reveals what it takes to do well in Clinical Management of Pain and gives us a snapshot into life as the leader of an online distance learning programme.

Sarah Henderson, Programme Director, Clinical Management of Pain.

Tell me a little about yourself.

My initial training in psychology was at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. Following

the completion of my PhD focussing on the barriers to effective pain assessment at Queen Margaret University in 2005, I began my post at the University of Edinburgh. I have research interests in educational development, technologies for learning, the translation of education into clinical practice and pain management in under-resourced nations.

Outside my academic job, I work on the stage in musical theatre, and have previously worked in television, film and commercials and have taught ballet, tap and jazz to both children and adults. I also sing in a 1940s jazz trio and choreograph for local musical theatre companies. When not treading the boards, I can be found enjoying the outdoors, road cycling and travelling (often all three together!).

What is your average day like?

Probably the best words to describe an ‘average’ day is “varied”. It can be anything from overseeing the development of new programme courses, supervising students’ projects, and liaising with external course tutors to managing my own research projects, collaborating with international partners on new developments

and helping to plan strategy for the development of online distance learning across the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. Various times of the year are more focussed on certain areas - for example during the academic year - from September to May - is very busy teaching and managing students; however, over the summer months, the focus shifts to my own research projects and development for future years.

What is unique about the Clinical Management of Pain programme?

One of the key features of the Clinical Management of Pain programme is that it is truly international - we have students from nearly every continent - and from a very broad range of healthcare professions, which adds significantly to the richness of their educational experience. The programme is based on the curriculum from the International Association for the Study of Pain and contains courses applicable to all healthcare professionals, such as assessment and measurement, pharmacology, and neurophysiology as well as specialist courses in areas such as cancer pain, medical pain and neuropathic pain.

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COLLEGE OF MEDICINEAND VETERINARY MEDICINE

Helping your Academic Development

What do you hope your students will get out of the programme to help them in their future career path?

There are many and diverse prospects for employment depending on where students work, the area of the world where they live, and their previous experience. A degree in the Clinical Management of Pain demonstrates to employers that they have specialised, theoretical knowledge in pain management to supplement and support their on-going and developing clinical careers. Graduates will have gained skills which may, depending on background and strengths, have prepared them for employment in a wide variety of areas including research establishments, educational facilities, government or political organisations, charity and welfare organisations, and even within the pharmaceutical or production industry or clinical organisations.

What is your idea of an ideal student of your programme? How much time does your student need to dedicate to their studies?

For the most part, our students are graduates in medicine, dentistry, nursing, psychology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and other healthcare professions with a clinical interest in the management of pain. Equally, we consider applications from those with non-university professional qualifications such as RGN with appropriate clinical experience on individual basis. We find that students who are willing to learn with others, are keen to explore clinical areas outside their own profession, open to new ways of learning, and have an enthusiastic and genuine interest in education and learning do well on our programme. Additionally, it is important that students have time to dedicate to the programme as the programme can take up a considerable amount of time - up to 20 hours a week are reported by some of our students!

Academic Matters (continued)

EUSA’s Peer Proofreaders read 236 assignments this year

Our Peer Proofreaders read 236 assignments this year! That’s 594,102 words; more than Lord Of The Rings! Save this link to find out more about Peer Proofreading, which may help you get better marks in assignments.

Postgraduate dissertation tips

It’s never too early to start thinking about your dissertation. The Institute for Academic Development is here with courses, tips, and training to help you minimize stress and sail into your research with confidence. Get the tips now!

Online Pre-sessional Academic Language course The English Language Teaching Centre offers a free course for international Online Distance Learning students to help prepare for their studies. The course is opened to those who:

• accepted an unconditional offer of a place on an ODL Masters programme • achieved an IELTS (or equivalent) Writing score of no more than 0.5 above the minimum level required for your programme

The course is run for 5 weeks from August till September. If you are interested, apply for the tutored course by sending an email to ODL-English@ed.ac.uk. You can also access an Independent Study version of the course via Learn, and you don’t need an unconditional offer to get enrolled on this one.Click here to find out more about the course.

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COLLEGE OF MEDICINEAND VETERINARY MEDICINE

Social

Discover the University community through films, blogs and social media. Click on the icons below:

A community where we encourage offer-holders speak to each other online.

Keep up to date with the latest news from the Postgraduate Office.

We have our own channel and are adding student experience films all the time.

Take a sneak peak at postgraduate life through our students.

View our e-zines featuring interviews and key information for applicants.

Featured: Our student bloggers

Kiki Oluwarore

Online Distance Learning student - MSc Global Health

and Infectious Diseases

“…as expected, the contents of th

e journal stimulated

one of the most interesting, cont

roversial and engaging

discussions that I have experienc

ed so far in my ODL

course of study. I mean how do y

ou really explain and/or

confirm that infection with helmin

ths (worms!) could be a

preventive cure for your asthma

and other allergies???

– Yes! That was the topic discus

sion/debate.”

Read about Kiki’s experience of online learning here!

Chiara Herzog

MSc by Research Integrative Neuroscience

“Of course, becau

se we’re in Scot land, the sun was

most ly covered by clouds. However

– this allowed us

to glance at it for a few seconds e

ven without the

special glasses.”

Read about Chiara’s first-time experience of seeing

solar eclipse that at moments we could even observe

with bare eyes!

LinkedIn Group for Online Distance Learning students We have set up an Edinburgh University MedVets Online Learning group on LinkedIn so that all online distance learning students can meet

each other and exchange their tips, tricks and experience. Join the group by clicking on the link above or click here.

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The City of Edinburgh

We hope that all of our online distance learning students will at some point get a chance to visit Edinburgh - whether it’s during your studies or if you come for your graduation ceremony – here are some reasons why you should visit:

• Edinburgh was recently voted the 4th most beautiful city in the world • Spoiler: 53 Reasons Why Edinburgh Ruins You For Life!