The Department current has no undergraduate programme but offers one graduate programme; MPhil., Anaesthesia and Critical Care.

Anaesthesia and Critical Care

The MPhil., Anaesthesia and Critical Care programme was accredited by the GTEC in 2024 and implemented with the aim to develop skilled human resources, who will innovate, develop, and implement applied multidisciplinary research in the area of Anaesthesia and Critical Care, to improve health care delivery in Ghana and beyond.

The programme offers a window of opportunity for an academic professional career progression in Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine. The programme is distinct and is the first time a Ghanaian University runs a programme of this nature at the graduate level. The programme is academic and designed to allow practising anaesthetists and critical care providers earn a postgraduate degree in this specialized area of medicine.

The uniqueness of the programme lies in its specialized nature, instilling dynamism and a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, and the advanced skills required to manage complex medical scenarios effectively.

Programme Aims

The overall aim of the MPhil, Anaesthesia and Critical Care programme is to develop skilled human resources, who will innovate, develop, and implement applied multidisciplinary research in the area of anaesthesia and critical care, to improve health care delivery in Ghana and beyond.

Programme Objectives

Specifically, students will be trained to:

1. 1. Know the principles of anaesthesia and Critical Care to ensure patient safety, comfort, and optimal conditions for surgical or medical interventions.
   2. Know the application of the knowledge of anaesthesia and critical care to ensure patients’ safety, comfort, and optimal conditions for surgical or medical interventions.
   3. Assess, select, and apply appropriate research methods to investigate anaesthesia and critical care practice in developing countries
   4. Evaluate scientific data and present it at an advanced level, both verbally and in written form
   5. Develop a sound base for the prospective terminal degree (PhD) in anaesthesia and critical care as well as other related areas

Programme Intended/Expected Outcomes

Upon completion of the MPhil. Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, graduates should be:

1. 1. Equipped with a solid foundation on the principles of anaesthesia and Critical Care to ensure the safety and comfort of patients during surgical or medical interventions.
   2. Well-prepared to contribute to the ongoing efforts to address the challenges of anaesthesia and critical care through cutting-edge research and application of modern techniques to ensure the safety and comfort of patients during surgical or medical interventions.
   3. Know the application of the knowledge of anaesthesia and critical care to ensure patient safety, comfort, and optimal conditions for surgical or medical interventions.
   4. Develop the ability to critically examine information, make informed judgments on research methods, and apply these skills specifically to the investigation of anaesthetic techniques and surgical and medical conditions requiring critical care.
   5. Well-prepared to engage with the scientific community, contribute to ongoing research, and effectively communicate their knowledge of anaesthesia and critical care to various audiences.
   6. Develop a solid foundation for pursuing a terminal degree (PhD) in anaesthesia, critical care, and related areas of study.

Students Admission

Applicants may be considered for admission into the MPhil, Anaesthesia and Critical Care programme, if they meet the minimum requirement of possessing a good first degree in the area of Anaesthesia.

In addition, applicants with a Diploma in anaesthesia who have done a first degree in any health-related programme may also apply and who are of good standing with the Ghana Medical and Dental Council (MDC) may be considered.

For the avoidance of doubt, a good BSc degree means at least a BSc with Second Class with Lower Division or better.

However, applicants with Third Class may be considered for admission based on other conditions such as work experience and/or recommendation by the interview panel. Applicants who hold Postgraduate Diploma degrees in related fields in addition to a first degree may also apply for the programme.

Holders of MSc without research may also apply for top-up which afford them the opportunity to carry out extended research leading to the award of an MPhil degree in Anaesthesia and Critical Care.

As a pre-requisite, applicants should have been registered practitioners with the Ghana Medical and Dental Council and is of good standing as at the time of applying.

Each applicant shall be required to submit a concept paper on his/her proposed research topic and shall be required to attend a pre‐selection interview for the school board to ascertain their competencies for independent research in this specialised area of Medicine and its applications. Conditions such as recognition of prior learning, industrial experience and faculty motivations may be considered to facilitate entry into the programme.

Registration prior to the approval of the research proposal will be provisional and made official only when the proposal is approved by the board of the School of Medical Sciences and that of the Graduate Studies and Research. These procedures will be fully explained to all prospective applicants during the selection interview.

In addition, the MPhil applicant shall be required to submit one reference letter from an academic referee and must demonstrate the ability to fund the programme.

The applicant should also demonstrate an excellent understanding and comprehension of the English language. Admission into the MPhil programme will be based on the faculty’s internal capacity for supervision.

Course Work

The course work is scheduled for the entire two (2) years of the programme integrated with clinical clerkships in the various areas of anaesthesia and critical care. The coursework will allow students to take some foundation courses in anaesthesia and critical care, statistics, and research methodology. Courses are delivered in the form of lectures, tutorials, and self-study sessions.

Table D.3. Year-by-Year Course Structure of the Programme

Clinical Clerkship

Clinical clerkship is an integral and mandatory component of the programme and will be organised in the form of Clinical rotations through the various disciplines of anaesthesia.

The various disciplines are outlined and presented in Table D.4. Clinical training will be integrated with the course work and will carried out in the 2 years of the programme. During the clinical rotations, each student will be allowed to interact with patients to observe, assist, and perform various clinical tasks in that discipline.

They will also participate in all clinical work about anaesthesia practice and also assist in calibrating and maintaining anaesthetic equipment. Their day-to-day activities will be supervised by preceptors working in the various clinical training sites while lecturers from the department will conduct periodic supervisory visits.

All students’ activities: observations, assistance and hands-on performance will be recorded in the student’s logbook for monitoring purposes.

Areas of Clinical Rotations and the number of weeks allocated per rotation

Assessment of students’ performance and achievements

Students shall be assessed as prescribed by the postgraduate handbook of CKT-UTAS and the examinations regulations of SoMS specific to clinical examinations.

In short, the final grade of a student shall be based on the scores obtained for each course work, the Post Graduate Seminar series (I, II, III), and thesis examination (Internal, External thesis and viva voce).

The pass mark for each assessment is 60% and above. If a student fails one particular Graduate Seminar presentation, the student shall reappear in the next seminar to present the updated results. For the avoidance of doubt, any failed seminar shall not be counted to qualify the candidate to proceed to the next higher seminar.

If a thesis fails the external assessment (i.e., scores less than 60%), irrespective of the internal assessment score, the thesis shall be deemed to have technically failed.

Assessment Type and Marks Allocation

Grading System

Based on the grading system presented in the table, the pass mark is 60%. The grade, Incomplete (IC), shall be awarded to a student when he/she misses one or more components of the assessment.

A candidate who obtains a total mark of below 60% in any of the assessments shall be considered to have failed that assessment.

Such a student shall need to retake that assessment and pass it before progressing to the next level.

Candidates will be graded according to the table below: