Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine

  1. Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) or its equivalent with at least 5 passes
  2. Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) or its equivalent with at least 2 principal passes.
  3. An Honors degree from an accredited degree awarding institution
  4. Candidates who have a Pass degree should have at least a Postgraduate Diploma with at least a credit from an accredited degree awarding institution.

Additionally, for international applicants:

  1. Applicants whose first language or medium of instruction is not English, must provide evidence from a recognized English language training institution that they have sufficient command of English language.
  2. Applicants should have their documents verified by NCHE.
  3. Applicants should have their degree certificate and transcript translated and converted into an equivalent of Ugandan Universities’ CGPA

For applicants to clinical programmes;

    1. Have documentary evidence of Internship Training indicating disciplines and dates.
    2. Be registered or eligible for registration with Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council.
    3. A current certificate of good standing with the Medical Practitioners’ Council of the country of origin.

An honors degree in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

Code

PROGRAMME

DURATION

UGANDAN STUDENTS

 

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

 

 

 

 

TUITION (SHS.) per Semester

FUNCTIONAL FEES (SHS.) per year

 TUITION (SHS.) per Semester

 FUNCTIONAL FEES (SHS.) per year

MMED

Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine

3

1,400,000

1,270,000

2,800,000

2,540,000

Other Fees    
ITEM Ugandan International
NCHE 20,000 USD. 50
Smart ID Card 33,000 USD. 10
Application Fees Undergraduate 50,000 USD. 50
Application Completion programmes 80,000 USD. 50
Application Fees Postgraduate 50,000 USD. 50
Application Fees PHD 100,000 USD. 100
Certification Fees 3,000  
Graduation Fees 20,000 USD. 50
Transcript Fees 25,000 USD. 50
Certificate Fees 25,000 USD. 50
Partial Transcript 20,000 USD. 10
Convocation 10,000 USD. 50
Retake Fees 30,000 USD. 10
Application Fees for Change of Programme 10,000 USD. 10
Replacement of Admission Letter 10,000 USD. 10

INTERNAL MEDICINE PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

The Master of Medicine programme for Internal Medicine is a three-year post-graduate programme in adult medicine.  Successful completion of this programme results in the degree of Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine from the Mbarara University of Science and Technology.

The programme was introduced at the University in 2001.  Support at the outset came from The Tropical Health and Education Trust in London.  Teaching incorporated regular visits from international experts as well as teaching from the staff of the Internal Medicine Department and other local departments. Currently, the department has built the capacity of past graduates who are now in charge of teaching, clinical care, and research. Since its inception, the programme has regularly produced successful graduates, all of whom are now providing specialist medical care in Uganda and abroad.  During the programme, the candidates are based in Mbarara at the University and integrated Referral Hospital, apart from during annual leave and agreed periods of study leave to pursue special interests

A cycle of lectures and tutorials is provided by internal and external teachers so that all the topics of general medicine are covered, as well as epidemiology and biostatistics, during the three years.  Students are required to complete a research project during their first year, an audit in the second year, and work for their thesis dissertation in the second and third years.  Nominated supervisors will assist them with this work. There is also the opportunity to spend up to six weeks in different specialist clinics/rotations to further knowledge and clinical skills.  Additionally, during the second year, students will be required to complete attachments with the Intensive Care team, Hospice, and the community. Students in the programme will also gain teaching experience from themselves teaching and assessing the undergraduate medical students.

Students gain a vast amount of clinical experience from attending the daily post-take medical rounds and rotating through attachment to the different medical teams.  Throughout the year they are expected to be on the regular ward rounds, the basic working day being 8 am to 10 pm.  Outside these hours, they also need to be available for emergency cover (in rotation) during the week and the weekends.  They rotate through periods spent attending the general medical outpatient clinic, and the neurology, epilepsy, respiratory, diabetes, cardiology, gastroenterology, endoscopy, haematology and oncology, renal, TB, and HIV clinics.

2.2 Programme justification / rationale

There is a need throughout Uganda for medical doctors with specialist training in internal medicine so that they are available to provide optimal medical care for the public.  Internal Medicine is a very large component of medicine with many major subspecialty areas and so is an essential component of medical education.  This course aims to produce specialists able to provide health care in hospitals at all levels, and also care and medical advice in the community.  There is a particular emphasis on preventive and primary care medicine.  Graduates from the course will also be exposed to training opportunities in research and teaching and so be able to contribute to the advancement of medical knowledge, particularly in those areas important to health in Uganda.

Career and Employment opportunities

Upon completion of the programme, students will be competent to take up the responsibilities of specialist physicians in both rural and urban settings.  They should have the knowledge and experience to be effective teachers to medical students and others within the health system.  And they should have incorporated the knowledge to be able to analyse and take part in medical research.  They will have reached the point from where they can, if they so desire, pursue further specialist training within the burgeoning subspecialties of Internal Medicine necessary for modern health care.

Overall Aim

The primary aim of the programme is to equip medical doctors with the knowledge and skills to be effective specialist physicians in adult medicine. 

2.4.1 Specific Objectives

  1. To enable students to acquire the level of medical knowledge expected of a specialist physician providing medical care.  This will include the need to demonstrate competency in biostatistics and epidemiology and skill in assessing the medical literature with a view to enabling and encouraging lifelong learning.  Expertise in the clinical assessment of patients with medical disorders will be an essential competency to learn. 
  2. To expose students to various responsibilities for the development of skills in being in charge of medical service. 
  3. To teach students how to analyse publications on clinical and research work to inculcate a habit of continuous medical education i.e., lifelong effective learning
  4. To facilitate the students to complete their own research projects, culminating in a dissertation on their own research to be defended in the final year.  For many students, it has proved the case that this has resulted in the objective of continuing research in a Ugandan context post-graduation.

2.4.2 Programme Outcomes

By the end of the programme, the trainee shall:

  1. Exhibit professional skills in the management of patients with different medical conditions
  2. Be able to identify and diagnose different medical conditions
  3. Provide comprehensive emergency care in internal medicine.
  4. Be competent specialists in Internal Medicine.
  5. Employ relevant methods of assessing patients with different medical conditions.
  6. Be able to use preventive and therapeutic interventions effectively including procedures in a safe, appropriate, and timely manner
  7. Function in a multidisciplinary clinical team and have the ability to seek appropriate consultation from other health professionals, recognizing the limits of their own expertise
  8. Demonstrate effective communication skills.
  9. Be able to carry out quality improvement and research projects.
  10. Perform specialised procedures in internal medicine.
  11. Conceptualise and perform scientific research.

 Innovations

The programme is rapidly evolving to enable students to get the maximum experience of the various subspecialties of internal medicine.  To this end, specialist services now include cardiology, respiratory medicine, renal medicine, diabetes, oncology, HIV and TB medicine, and GI endoscopy.  Plans for a major cancer center, linked with the Uganda Cancer Institute, are well advanced.  There is the intention to further integrate with the emergency medicine service to advance teaching in that area. With the set-up of these subspecialty clinics, the attending physicians are able to link with existing clinics both locally and internationally and this has enabled the sharing of information via the use of ICT. The department of internal medicine has webinar case conferences with the University of Virginia, Royal Free hospital, UK, and encourages the trainees to prepare and lead the case discussions.

Curriculum structure

Year one, semester one

Course Code

Course Title

Status

LH

PH

TH

CH

CU

MED 7101

Epidemiology

Core

24

102

0

75

5

MED 7102

Infectious diseases 1

Core

39

72

0

75

5

MED 7103

Cardiovascular diseases 1

Core

26

90

8

75

5

MED 7104

Respiratory diseases 1

Core

25

98

2

75

5

 

Total semester load

 

 

 

 

 

20

 Year one, semester two

Course Code

Course Title

Status

LH

PH

TH

CH

CU

MED 7201

Gastroenterology 1

Core

21

102

6

75

5

MED 7202

Haemato-oncology, palliative care 1

Core

41

68

 

75

5

MED 7203

Nephrology 1

Core

23

92

12

75

5

MED 7204

Neurology 1

Core

25

100

 

75

5

MED 7205

Clinical Methods 1

Core

-

150

 

75

5

 

Total semester load

 

 

 

 

 

25

Year one, recess term

Course Code

Course Title

Status

LH

PH

TH

CH

CU

MED 7301

Introduction to  Research methods 1

Core

 

145

5

75

5

MED 7302

Introduction to research methods 2

Core

 

148

2

75

5

 

Total semester load

 

 

 

 

 

10

 Year two, Semester one

Course Code

Course Title

Status

LH

PH

TH

CH

CU

MED 8101

Gastroenterology 2

Core

16

118

 

75

5

MED 8102

Rheumatology

Core

22

106

 

75

5

MED 8103

Endocrinology

Core

25

100

 

75

5

MED 8104

Haemato-oncology and palliative care 2

Core

23

104

 

75

5

 

Total semester load

 

 

 

 

 

20

Year two, semester two

Course Code

Course Title

Status

LH

PH

TH

CH

CU

MED 8201

HIV medicine

Core

22

76

 

60

4

MED 8202

Infectious Diseases 2

Core

23

104

 

75

5

MED 8203

Cardiovascular diseases 2

Core

22

106

 

75

5

MED 8204

Clinical Methods II

Core

 

150

 

75

5

 

Total Semester load

 

 

 

 

 

19

 Year two /Recess term

Course Code

Course Title

Status

LH

PH

TH

CH

CU

MED 8301

Research proposal development

Core

 

145

5

75

5

MED 8302

Clinical Audit

Core

 

145

5

75

5

 

Total semester load

 

 

 

 

 

10

Year three, semester one

Course Code

Course Title

Status

LH

PH

TH

CH

CU

MED 9101

Biostatistics

Core

30

42

18

60

4

MED 9102

Nephrology 2

Core

22

106

 

75

5

MED 9103

Neurology 2

Core

25

100

 

75

5

 

Total semester load

 

 

 

 

 

14

 Year three, semester two

Course Code

Course Title

Status

LH

PH

TH

CH

CU

MED 9201

Respiratory diseases 2

Core

21

106

2

75

5

MED 9202

Advanced Clinical Methods

Core

0

150

 

75

5

MED 9203

Advanced Internal Medicine theory

Core

60

20

10

75

5

MED 9204

Research project and dissertation

Core

0

150

 

75

5

 

Total semester load

 

 

 

 

75

20

 LH=Lecture hours      PH=Practical hours     CH=Contact Hours     CU=Credit Units

Recess term:

During the recess term, the clinical responsibilities of the postgraduates will continue.  However, this term adds to the facilitation of time for students to pursue medical experience in the community.  Students are expected to spend two weeks at a community health centre, and two weeks with the Intensive care service.  The timing of such periods of study will be agreed upon with the postgraduate coordinator.

 

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