The new MPhil in Primary Care Research launches this autumn with places for eight students here at the  Primary Care Unit. The course has been completely redesigned to integrate with the well-established MPhils in Epidemiology and Public Health at the Cambridge Institute of Public Health, where the Primary Care Unit is based.

Students will have the opportunity to develop a robust understanding of epidemiology and public health along with specific methods and challenges used within primary care research, including the opportunities to co-ordinate research and trials within primary care, using primary care electronic databases for research and qualitative and survey methods.

The MPhil is directed by Professor Jonathan Mant with Dr Fiona Walter and organised by Dr Juliet Usher-Smith and Dr Greg Irving. This is either a full-time one year course or a part-time course over two years.

With the recent growth of the Primary Care Unit and the September 2015 launch of the NIHR School for Primary Care Research programme, this MPhil provides an exciting opportunity for students to acquire a solid grounding in primary care research and get involved in primary care research within the Unit – Jonathan Mant

The PCU is one of the UK’s strongest research groupings in behavioural science and primary care, and has built an international reputation for its work on the development and trial evaluation of theory-based preventive interventions, particularly in the areas of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The Unit has doubled in size in the last five years, with the appointment of five new professors, the acquisition of over £42m of research funds and a high level of impact on clinicians, NICE guidelines, central and local government health policies and the work of charities and NGOs.

Students who complete the MPhil programme successfully will have gained an understanding of the primary care research context, including the distinctive nature and contribution of primary care research, and the contribution of key underpinning methods. Graduates will possess a grounding in primary care-relevant epidemiological, psychological, sociological and health services research methods, statistical methods and data analyses including surveys, trials and evidence synthesis. Upon successful completion each student will be able to apply contemporary research tools to clinically relevant areas of investigation in primary care.

The course draws on local strengths in working with large databases, primary care-based clinical trials and a wide range of other appropriate methods of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analyses. A variety of teaching and learning methods are used during the course including lectures, practical exercises, one-to-one supervisions and self-directed learning. The course includes a research-based dissertation which will be undertaken and completed during the year. We encourage successful students to progress to a PhD.

Applications for the new course will be accepted until 30th June 2015 and the course begins in October 2015.

The course is open to all graduates with a relevant first degree, but is particularly aimed at Trainee GPs, and GPs working in the NHS who wish to gain a fuller understanding of the disciplines at the foundation of academic primary care.

Find out more and apply here

Photo credit: Dr Jon Ferdinand