Oncology for the Pharmaceutical Industry - MSc/PGDip/PGCert

Our part time, online course covers all aspects of delivering care to patients, including treatment modalities, biological, psychosocial and ethical perspectives. Developed and delivered with well-established cancer institutes and oncological and palliative care expertise. You will experience a comprehensive and intellectually stimulating experience wherever you are in the world.

The Oncology for the Pharmaceutical Industry course is designed specifically for professionals working in the pharmaceutical industry or those working in the health and palliative care profession. The course offers an insight into the evolution of drugs used for the treatment of cancer and related illnesses. You will focus on drug research and cutting down costs to find effective medicines to treat cancer.

You will develop detailed knowledge about the interrelationship between oncology and clinical cancer service provision. These courses are suitable for those who wish to pursue a career in oncology pharmaceuticals, with a thorough understanding of oncology.

Throughout the course you will develop clinical leadership, clinical excellence and the ability to cultivate interdisciplinary collaboration in the delivery of evidence based oncology. This includes sharing mutually valuable information to help develop clinical practice. You will be introduced to the basis of research in oncology, preparing you for further research within the field.

We have designed these courses in collaboration with the Northern Institute for Cancer Research (NICR) and it is delivered in association with the Northern Centre for Cancer Care (NCCC).

Our students include those:

• training in nursing, medical or scientific specialties and dealing with cancer, clinical or medical oncology, or palliative care
• working in the pharmacology industry or in cancer research

Staff

Newcastle and the North East of England have a tremendous amount of oncological expertise and all our teaching staff are healthcare professionals actively involved in research. This knowledge base provides a comprehensive, intellectually stimulating, and extremely useful educational experience to all students involved in it.

The course is led by:

• Dr Charles Kelly, Degree Programme Director and Consultant Clinical Oncologist
• Dr Victoria Hewitt, Deputy Degree Programme Director and Palliative Care Specialist

Delivery

Modules are taught online, so you can choose to study anytime and anywhere. This flexibility means that you can fit your studies around your other commitments, plus learning online will develop your online digital literacy skills.

You will be given an account on Blackboard, our managed virtual learning environment, and an email address. Blackboard is accessible across a variety of operating systems and browsers, check that your equipment is compatible. Our materials and supporting reading are accessible across a variety of devices including desktop computers, tablets and mobile phones.

IT support

As this programme is online, you should feel comfortable using the internet and networking online. You don't have to be a technical expert to study online. We'll give you an online induction before you start. This will show you the different interactive tools you will use during your studies. These include:

• discussion boards
• reflective journals
• blogs
• collaborative learning spaces, e.g. wikis

IT requirements

No campus attendance is needed, but you must have reliable access to the following:

• computer
• the Internet
• webcam
• headset
• printer

Recommended specifications:

• operating system: Windows 7 and above (32 and 64 bit) or Mac OSX 10.6 and above
• processor: Intel Pentium, Intel Celeron, Intel i3, Intel i5, Intel i7, or recent AMD processor
• RAM: At least 2GB
• connectivity: broadband or mobile broadband
• screen resolution: at least 1024 x 768 px

Online delivery is structured in weekly topics, guiding your learning via tutorials, videos, discussions and formative exercises. The courses are full of interactive exercises and activities, including immediate feedback from automatically scored activities and practices. You can discuss the course, ask questions and get help with problems through the course discussion groups or through emailing your module leader. The networking opportunities of this course give you a multi-disciplinary awareness to your studies.

Your first task will be to complete a short induction module before studying between 10 and 40 credits per semester. You will be assessed in a variety of ways including:

• multiple choice question exams
• essays
• presentations
• case studies

Each 10 credit module is the equivalent to 100 hours of estimated study time, which includes:

• studying the course materials
• online networking with fellow students
• directed reading
• research
• interactive and collaborative activities
• preparing assessments

Semester Dates

Approximate semester start dates are as follows:

• semester 1 - end of September
• semester 2 - end of January

Semester dates can be found on the University Calendar.

Visit the Oncology for the Pharmaceutical Industry - MSc/PGDip/PGCert page on the Newcastle University website for more details!