Course overview
Use evidence-based tools and techniques to improve the reliability and safety of everyday healthcare systems and processes. Develop leadership skills and strategies for driving changes in patient safety ethically and effectively.
Engage with a range of research and literature to deepen your understanding of human factors and patient safety in healthcare at a national and international level. Your professional experience and insight into organisational enrich your learning environment, contributing meaningfully to group discussions. Integrating practice-based knowledge and academic scholarship develops confidence, criticality, creativity, adaptability, articulation and aspiration.
Members of our teaching team come from both clinical and non-clinical disciplines. They are experienced in providing online education and use their skills to develop your digital literacy, introducing you to a wide range of digital tools and platforms.
Top five reasons to study this course:
- Flexibility: study online, accessing learning materials when convenient for you.
- Support: benefit from course staff who are experienced in delivering distance learning and supporting students online. You are assigned an individual supervisor for your dissertation projects.
- Research and study skills: transition into postgraduate study with guidance on using electronic databases to identify relevant material and critical evaluation of research literature. Design and execute an original research project for your dissertation, disseminating the results through publication and conference presentations.
- Multi-disciplinarity: learn from tutors with a wide range of experience alongside students from a variety of healthcare professions, forming useful professional networks.
- Contemporary healthcare context: immerse yourself in the contexts and challenges of contemporary healthcare. Built around your workplace experience, you critically examine the issues to transform the care of service users, carers and their families.
Supporting information for applicants
Course details
Course structure
Core modules
Applied Human Factors
Learning From Patient Safety Events
Legal and Ethical Issues in Leadership
Managing the Human Dimension of Change
You examine the soft skills side of managing change – the impact of change on people and approaches and behaviours that engage with others in improvement activities. These two modules are taught concurrently as they reflect the two complementary sides of change management.
Core modules
Designing Ethical Research in Healthcare
Dissertation: Applying Human Factors in Practice
Modules offered may vary.
How you learn
You learn online through Teesside University Online Learning, giving you the flexibility to study when it suits you. You access recorded keynote lectures and other online material at your convenience. Experience tutors lead live online sessions, which are recorded if you can not attend. One-to-one tutorials are available through Teams for additional support and to prepare for assignments.
In your first year, you are expected to study two modules in each semester. In your second year, you study one module in the first semester, then complete your dissertation project over semesters two and three. Each module involves around 200 hours of learning. 20 hours are delivered as online lectures and seminars, and the remaining hours should be used for guided independent study, including reviewing module learning materials, undertaking further reading and completing assessments.
How you are assessed
You are assessed using a range of methods designed to build skills relevant to healthcare practice. These include essays, written reports, recorded presentations, research proposals and research reports. Through these tasks, you develop transferable skills such as clear communication, evidence evaluation, and the ability to lead and manage change in patient safety.
You receive both formal and informal feedback throughout each module. Tutors give informal feedback during live sessions, through emails, discussion boards and online tutorials to help you improve before final assessments. You receive written feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
Each module includes clear learning outcomes and assessment criteria, shared in the module and in introductory sessions. This helps you understand expectations and stay focused. All assessments are designed to meet the learning outcomes of the module and overall course.
Entry requirements
You should have an honour’s degree of 2.2 classification or above in a health or social care-related subject or in leadership or management. Applicants with other qualifications and experience may be able to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) if they can provide evidence of their ability to study at master’s level. Such applicants will be invited to discuss their experiences and abilities with the course leader. Applicants whose first language is not English will need to satisfy the English Language requirements, which are a minimum overall score of IELTS 6.5.
Basic digital literacy skills are required. Students should have the ability to use Microsoft Office applications (or equivalent) and have access to a PC with a reliable internet connection, webcam and microphone. Induction activities in the first week of the course will provide instruction on navigating our system.
For general information please see our overview of entry requirements
Employability
Career opportunities
The Student Futures team provide expert advice and guidance to help students achieve their aspirations. Together with colleagues from across the university, they ensure you have access to industry leaders and current career thinking so you can make informed choices about the possibilities open to you after the course.
Graduates of the course have gone on to work in more senior roles within their organisation, have been recruited to governance bodies and pursued new careers within academia.
Learning platform
Our virtual learning environment (VLE) is the platform you use to access your online course
Teesside University online learning courses are delivered through the Brightspace Learning Environment.
Here are some of the benefits.
- You can use it on your smartphone, tablet and computer.
- And you can use it anytime, so that you can plan your learning to fit your own schedule.
- It's easy to use and navigate.
- Modules are set out by topics and themes. You can use the progress bar to understand where you are in your modules, and appreciate your achievements.
- We support you to become familiar with your VLE, helping you to start learning quickly.
- You get feedback, help and guidance from tutors throughout your course through the VLE, and you can ask questions at any time.
- Our tutors use a live activity feed to keep you updated about your course.
- You can create a student profile, collaborate with other students and take part in online discussion forums.
