22. Pain management

Graduate Certificate in Pain Management

(GradCertPainMgt) KG008

Graduate Diploma in Medicine (Pain Management)

(GradDipMed(PainMgt)) KF044

Graduate Diploma of Science in Medicine (Pain Management)

(GradDipScMed(PainMgt)) KF045

Master of Medicine (Pain Management)

(MMed(PainMgt)) KC057

Master of Science in Medicine (Pain Management)

(MScMed(PainMgt)) KC058

Overview

The Pain Management program explores the problem of pain within a multidisciplinary team framework to investigate the extent of the problem in the community. The courses aim to provide advanced education in pain management by providing clinically relevant teaching that helps students expand their knowledge of the basic sciences, concepts and procedures of pain assessment and management.

The Master of Medicine (Pain Management) and the Master of Science in Medicine (Pain Management) are essentially the same program with different admission requirements, and the same applies to the Graduate Diploma in Medicine (Pain Management) and the Graduate Diploma of Science in Medicine (Pain Management).

Only medical graduates (ie those with an MBBS) may be admitted to the Master of Medicine/Graduate Diploma in Medicine while non-medical graduates may be admitted to the Master of Science in Medicine/Graduate Diploma of Science in Medicine. Students follow the same program of study, with the only difference being the title of the course they are awarded on completion.

The master’s degrees may be awarded at either a pass or honours grade. Honours is only available to students who meet the criteria detailed below, which include enrolling in a further 12 credit points of dissertation units of study for which they undertake supervised research, which is written up in a dissertation for examination.

Master’s degree students who choose not to undertake the honours component but complete their coursework units of study with a minimum average mark of 75 per cent will be awarded pass with merit.

Admission

Graduate Certificate in Pain Management
Admission normally requires either a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) or a bachelor's degree in a health-related discipline with first or second class honours from the University of Sydney or another approved institution. If candidates do not have an honours degree, they may be admitted on the basis of having equivalent professional experience.

Graduate Diploma of Science in Medicine (Pain Management) and Master of Science in Medicine (Pain Management)
Admission normally requires a bachelor's degree in a health-related discipline with first or second class honours from the University of Sydney or another approved institution. If candidates do not have an honours degree, they may be admitted on the basis of having equivalent professional experience.

Graduate Diploma in Medicine (Pain Management) and Master of Medicine (Pain Management)
Admission normally requires a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Sydney or another approved institution.

Structure

The graduate certificate and graduate diplomas are embedded in the master’s degrees (see chapter 8 for an explanation of embedded degrees).

The program is offered in distance education mode. Enrolled students are provided with a username and password that allows them to access a protected course website. The website provides study guides with lecture notes and links to journal articles.

Interactive multimedia tutorials are also provided on CD-ROM. Computer conferencing allows students and staff to maintain regular contact. Some units provide additional support material on the website. Assessment is by essays, case studies and online activities. Marks are also given for the contribution students make to online discussion.

Students may also attend an optional two week course held in February each year at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.

* Students wishing to undertake full-time study should contact the course coordinator.

The graduate certificate comprises four core units of study (see table on core units of study below and chapter 31 for unit of study details).

The graduate diploma comprises four core units of study and a further two elective units of study chosen from the list of electives (see unit of study tables below and chapter 31 for unit of study details).

The master’s degree comprises four core units of study and a further four elective units of study chosen from the list of electives (see unit of study tables below and chapter 31 for unit of study details).

To qualify for the master’s degree with honours, students must obtain a weighted average mark of 70 per cent in all 48 credit points of coursework and successfully complete an additional 12 credit point research dissertation (ie 60 credit points of units of study in total), in which students undertake a supervised individual project in an area of interest and report the outcomes in a dissertation.

Students are only able to enrol in the dissertation if they have achieved a weighted average mark of 70 per cent in their first 24 credit points of coursework and have the permission of the course coordinator.

Pain managment core units of study

Pain managment elective units of study

Pain managment dissertation units of study

Further enquiries

Mrs Ros Wyllie
Phone: +61 2 9926 7386     Fax: +61 2 9926 7680     Email: