Sir Halley Stewart Trust
African MSc Palliative Care Scholarship
New scholarship opportunity for an African scholar to study at the Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London 1 MSc scholarship (the “Sir Halley Stewart Scholar”) For entry January 2018
Applications are invited for this new scholarship to enable a high calibre student from Africa to study for an MSc in Palliative Care at King’s College London commencing January 2018. It is a 1 year full-time course.
King’s College London is committed to opening doors to excellence for gifted and talented students from all over the world and these scholarships will benefit a student who for financial reasons would otherwise be unable to attend. The scholarship will fund the course tuition fees, travel, accommodation and living expenses.
Study at one of the world’s top 25 universities
King’s College London is listed as one of the top 25 universities in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement with a distinguished reputation in research which supports and informs the highest level of teaching. It is also one of the largest providers of healthcare education in Europe. The MSc programme is run by the Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation at King’s College London in collaboration with St Christopher’s Hospice which was established by Dame Cicely Saunders in 1967 and is widely regarded as the pioneer institution of the modern hospice movement. The MSc scholarship is supported by the Sir Halley Stewart Trust.
The Cicely Saunders Institute
The Institute is the world’s only purpose-built Institute dedicated to palliative care, www.csi.kcl.ac.uk. It has a reputation as a world-leading research institute with a broad ranging research output. The mission of the Institute established in her name is to pioneer the very best in palliative care and rehabilitation by integrating:
BUILDcare Africa: Promoting excellence in teaching, learning and research
Cutting-edge research – committed to building new knowledge and discovering new treatments through world-leading ethical and robust clinical, applied and health services research.
Skilled multi-professional care – delivering top-quality evidence-based clinical care and support to patients and carers, for life and living, and death and dying.
Innovation in engagement and education – to embed change in policy and practice nationally and internationally, engage with patients and public, and inspire tomorrow’s leaders in the field from around the world.
This seeks to enable ethical and robust research to quickly feed into care and practice, improving palliative care and enabling people to live better, with dignity and the least possible suffering.
The Centre for Global Health Palliative Care
Headed by Professor Richard Harding, we seek to work with partners around the world to build capacity, evidence and improve access to high quality palliative care. Our partnerships have established a large body of evidence, developed future leaders and provided technical assistance to drive up quality.
A unique learning environment
In addition to the wide range of state-of-the art learning resources provided by King’s College London http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/index.aspx, we offer specific support services for overseas students http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/international/index.aspx. Our Institute offers a unique set of learning opportunities, with a monthly PhD peer group, and monthly journal club, Open Seminars, researchers’ meeting, and methods seminars, all designed to develop research skills, specific methods and critical appraisal.
The MSc Course
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm/research/divisions/cicelysaunders/study/postgraduatetaught/index.aspx
The MSc in Palliative Care at King’s College London has a national and international reputation
attracting students working in palliative care and related fields from all over the world. The MSc,
which was highly commended by the Quality Assurance Agency in 2000, is research and
evidence based, enabling students to develop the skills and knowledge to take palliative care
forward. The course is also multi-professional and international, reflecting the multi-professional
nature of palliative care and the diverse cultural contexts in which it is provided. Teaching staff
are key academics, practitioners and policy-makers in the field of palliative care. Former
students have become consultants, nurse consultants and service directors. An increasing
number of former students have continued their studies at PhD level. The course consists of:
Core Modules – Research methods and statistics in palliative care; Biology and management of symptoms in advanced disease; Service organisation and policy in palliative care; Psychosocial, cultural, ethical and spiritual issues (assessment is by exam or 3,000 word assignment)
Optional modules – (two from the following) – Advanced pain and symptom control; Service development and management; Advanced psychosocial, ethical and spiritual care; Applying epidemiology to palliative care (assessment is by 5,000 word assignment)
Research project based on primary data collection, secondary analysis of existing data sets, or a systematic literature review (15,000 words)
BUILDcare Africa: Promoting excellence in teaching, learning and research
Creating future leaders
An analysis at the end of 2014 found that of 263 MSc Palliative Care graduates from our course, 31.2% were from overseas. The total number of outputs published was 741 (median 6.81, range 1-91) and included those in the British Medical Journal, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Journal of Pain and Symptom Control, Palliative Medicine and Social Science and Medicine among others. The most heavily cited paper on factors influencing death at home was cited 332 times. Contributions to textbooks included the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine and the Textbook of Palliative Medicine
Comments of former MSc students
“The course draws students from a variety of professional backgrounds and differing levels of advancement which lends greatly to the teaching and learning experience.”
“There have been a significant number of overseas students whose cultural and professional perspectives have added value to this course.”
“The course was extraordinarily liberating and instructive.”
Our previous African MSc scholars
Our previous African scholars have not only successfully achieved an MSc from a prestigious
University, but have first authored scientific publications:
Is symptom burden associated with treatment status and disease stage among adult HIV outpatients in East Africa? Journal of Palliative Medicine. 2014;17(3):304-12.
Pain among ambulatory HIV/AIDS patients: multicenter study of prevalence, intensity, associated factors, and effect. Namisango E, Harding R, Atuhaire L, Ddungu H, Katabira E, Muwanika FR, Powell RA. Journal of Pain. 2012;13(7):704-13.
The prevalence of life-limiting illness at a Ugandan National Referral Hospital: a 1-day census of all admitted patients. BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care. 2015;5(2):196-199.
MSc application criteria
The MSc in Palliative Care is open to doctors, nurses, and health and social care professionals working with patients with advanced disease, or relevant health or social scientists who have an upper second class honours degree or equivalent. To apply for the scholarship you must fulfil all the following criteria:
- You must have a first degree in medicine, nursing, allied health professions, life sciences, social sciences or other related subject awarded by a United Kingdom university or a recognised overseas university.
- You must be currently working in palliative care or palliative medicine in Africa – in clinical or social care, in practice or research.
You must be able to achieve the English Language test standards required by King’s
College London. This is currently assessed using IELTS scores, and a satisfactory score is 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in all four skills.
- You must be a citizen of an African country and currently resident in Africa.
- There is no known reason why you should not be eligible for a UK student Visa.
Students who have previously attended for the PG Certificate or PG Diploma are also eligible to apply for funding to complete the MSc.
How to apply for the MSc scholarship: please read carefully
BUILDcare Africa: Promoting excellence in teaching, learning and research
Please send us the following:
Your CV (maximum 6 pages)
A letter of support from your current employer.
Personal statement (maximum 800 words) in support of your application, explaining your reasons for applying, what you hope to gain from the programme of study, your personal plans to improve the status of palliative care in Africa if you are successful in securing a scholarship, and your ability to complete the programme of study.
2 references
MSc candidates must also apply online here: https://myapplication.kcl.ac.uk/. Please select the MSc course ‘Palliative Care’ and not ‘Palliative Care- Nursing’, as this is a different course. You must select ‘full time’, as all non-EU overseas MSc students have to study the course full time and stay in the UK for the duration of the course due to visa regulations.
Please send these documents by email to the following staff:
For MSc applications:
Charlotte Wood
Executive Assistant to Professor Richard Harding
Tel +44 207 848 5535
Fax +44 207 848 5517
Email [email protected]
The deadline for receipt of applications is Friday 15th September 2017.
