Surgical Care Practice

To join this MSc, you must:

1. Be a registered non-medical practitioner working within a specific/specialist area of surgical practice, registered with a healthcare Professional Statutory Regulatory Body (PSRB).
2. Demonstrate ability to work at master's level, evidenced by prior studies. Minimum requirement is typically a lower second-class honours degree. A third class honours degree classification and/or a relevant Diploma in Healthcare will be considered on an individual basis.
3. Have completed at least 18 months post-registration experience in surgical practice.
4. Be employed as a Trainee Surgical Care Practitioner (TSCP) (supernumerary) for the duration of the programme. Documentary evidence required. Loss of employment as a TSCP during the programme may result in withdrawal from the programme.
5. Provide evidence of written approval from your TSCP employing organisation to confirm their support for the duration of the MSc Surgical Care Practice programme.
6. Provide written approval identifying a named educational supervisor and clinical supervisors who agree to support an appropriate workplace environment providing relevant clinical experience throughout the programme, as required by the Royal College of Surgeons (1).
7. Provide documentary evidence from your employer of satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) Enhanced Disclosure and occupational health checks, covering the duration of the programme.

Medical doctors or international students will not be eligible to apply for this course. Please visit our course listing page for alternative courses which you may be interested in.

This innovative Masters degree is suitable for qualified registered practitioners who have been appointed as a trainee surgical care practitioner within a surgical directorate. Your role should incorporate the delivery of care and clincal skills within all phases of surgical care, particularly pre-, peri-, intra- and post-operative care.

You will be provided with a systematic and critical understanding of the breadth and depth of knowledge within specific areas of practice. You will develop core and specialist surgical skills and extend your knowledge and practice within the surgical care environment. This will include some operative procedures that will enable specialist practitioners to provide continuity of service and standards of care to patients in areas which do not necessarily need to be provided by medically qualified staff. The programme aims to help you to become a competent and capable surgical care practitioner equipped to deliver high quality outcomes for patients in the UK. On successful completion of the programme you will have demonstrated the capabilities required by the RCS.

Eleven specialist pathways are available:

MSc Surgical Care Practice (Cardiothoracic Surgery)
MSc Surgical Care Practice (General Surgery)
MSc Surgical Care Practice (Gynaecology Surgery)
MSc Surgical Care Practice (Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery)
MSc Surgical Care Practice (Neurosurgery)
MSc Surgical Care Practice (Otorhinolaryngology Surgery)
MSc Surgical Care Practice (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery)
MSc Surgical Care Practice (Robot Assisted Surgery)
MSc Surgical Care Practice (Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery)
MSc Surgical Care Practice (Urology)
MSc Surgical Care Practice (Vascular Surgery)