Master in Medicines, Health and the Healthcare System

Objectives and competences

Objectives and competences

Objectives

Designed to meet the changing demands of society, healthcare and related professions, this master's degree in Medicine, Health and the Healthcare System is primarily aimed at improving the provision of health services, patient safety and quality of care, through cross-disciplinary collaboration that fosters the integration of knowledge the creation of new dynamics. One of the goals is to further harmonize cross-disciplinary training and research programmes that facilitate links between education and professional practice, in order to improve health and healthcare outcomes for the population.

Competences

Successful completion of the master's degree in Medicine, Health and the Healthcare System requires students to acquire a range of generic and specific competences:

Generic competences

• Capacity to apply knowledge of health, management, social and clinical sciences from a cross-disciplinary perspective.


• Ability to critically analyse scientific literature related to drugs and other health technologies to improve decision making.


• Capacity to develop and coordinate inter-professional relations, to foster teamwork and cooperation for the achievement of common goals.


• Ability to communicate in an organized structure, as part of a general patient-focused approach to health.


• Capacity to plan, obtain, evaluate and disseminate the results of health sciences research.

Specific competences

• Capacity to help patients negotiate healthcare and socio-sanitary systems and to ensure they obtain the maximum benefit from the resources available.


• Capacity to identify and use technological, financial, human and material resources to optimize health management and drug access and financing.


• Capacity to interpret concepts related to patient safety and clinical risk management.


• Capacity to incorporate psychosocial aspects into patient-focused healthcare and welfare plans in an ethical and compassionate way.


• Capacity to manage polypharmacy and complex patients and to anticipate positive and negative health outcomes.


• Ability to motivate patients to take control of and responsibility for their health, promoting the evaluation of risks associated with different lifestyle choices.

Access and admission

Applicant profile and access requirements

Recommended applicant profile

The master's degree in Medicine, Health and the Healthcare System is intended for graduates in any discipline. Prospective students would benefit from academic training or professional experience in the area of health, although it is not a formal requirement; the course is suitable for graduates in other fields with an interest in medicine, health and the healthcare system.

Bridging courses are offered to those with no prior training in pharmacy or related disciplines to ensure an equivalent level of basic knowledge among candidates. Students should also have a good working knowledge of English (B1, CEFR) and user-level IT skills.

Access requirements and conditions

General requirements
In accordance with Article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/29 October 2007, students must hold one of the following qualifications to access university master's degree courses:

• An official Spanish degree.
  
• A degree issued by a higher education institution within the European Higher Education Area framework that authorizes the holder to access university master's degree courses in the country of issue.
  
• A qualification from outside the framework of the European Higher Education Area. In this case, the qualification should be recognized as equivalent to an official Spanish degree. If it is not recognized, the University of Barcelona shall verify that it corresponds to a level of education that is equivalent to official Spanish degrees and that it authorizes the holder to access university master's degree courses in the country of issue. Admission shall not, in any case, imply that prior qualifications have been recognized as equivalent to a Spanish master's degree and does not confer recognition for any purposes other than that of admission to the master's degree course.

Specific requirements
The master's degree in Medicine, Health and the Healthcare System is open to holders of a university qualification (pre-EHEA degree, diploma or bachelor's degree) or a certificate attesting to the completion of such studies.

Compulsory bridging courses are set to candidates with academic backgrounds other than pharmacy, to ensure that all students have a general level of understanding of the key aspects of the discipline; a maximum of 10 credits must be completed during September, prior to the start of the master's degree classes. The specific subjects are Biopharmacy, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmaceutical Technology and Clinical Pharmacy, which covers topics from biopharmaceutical, pharmacokinetic, clinical and technological studies relating to pharmaceutical methods of drug delivery.

Pre-enrolment

Calendar

20 February - 13 October 2023.

Notes:

• Pre-enrolment fee: A pre-enrolment fee of 30,21 euros is charged. Students who apply to more than one master's degree must pay the fee for each pre-enrolment request. Pre-enrolment requests cannot be processed until this fee has been paid.Fees will only be refunded if the master's degree in question is suspended.
• Reserved places: A maximum of 5% of the new places of the master's degree are reserved for students who meet the general and specific access requirements and accredit the recognition of a degree of disability equal to or greater than 33%.

Required documentation

• Pre-enrolment application
  
• Photocopy of degree certificate or equivalent qualification. In case of admission, foreign degrees that require so should be translated and authenticated through diplomatic channels before completing the enrolment.
  
• Other specific documentation related to the selection criteria

Selection criteria

The selection and admission of students is carried out by the Coordination Committee for the master's degree, on the basis of the following criteria:

1) Academic transcript (50%).
2) Research experience (20%).
3) Professional experience in the area of health sciences (20%).
4) IT skills and knowledge of English (Level B1, CEFR) (10%).

With regard to professional experience (20%), credit is given for two years' experience in national and/or international public and private health centres, government agencies responsible for managing or funding of medicines and health services, private insurance companies, health management consulting services and pharmacy, pharmaceutical companies, clinical laboratories, and so on.

With regard to research experience (20%), credit is given for two years' experience in national and/or international university departments, research centres, institutes, foundations, research parks, public and private laboratories, and so on.

If the number of applications exceeds the number of available places, candidates are prioritized on the basis of their academic records, research and professional experience, and order of pre-enrolment.

If the number of applications exceeds the number of places offered, the following selection criteria will apply.

Notification

Enrolment

As a general rule, at the UB you will be required to enrol online. Remember that you can lose your place if you do not enrol on the day you have been assigned

• Documents required for enrolment
• Procedure to formalize enrolment
• Grants and financial aid (in Catalan)
• Economic information (in Catalan)

Welcome

• Student Support Service
• Grants and financial aid (in Catalan)
• Accommodation

Course curriculum

Subjects and course plans

Distribution of credits

List of subjects

Subject	Type	Language	Credits
Specialization: BC for admission to the Master's Degree in Medicine, Health and the Healthcare System
Biopharmacy, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmaceutical Technology and Clinical Pharmacy	Optional	1st semester	10

Bridging courses

Subject	Type	Language	Credits
Specialization: Medicines, Health and the Healthcare System
Clinical Studies for Precommercialization and Postcommercialization: New Drugs and Pharmacovigilance	Compulsory	1st semester	5
Final Project	Compulsory	2nd semester	10
Health 2.0 and New Perspectives	Compulsory	2nd semester	5
Health Management and the Relationship between Professionals and Care Levels	Compulsory	1st semester	5
Life Styles, Health and Determining Factors	Compulsory	2nd semester	5
Methodological Principles of Research in Health Sciences	Compulsory	1st semester	5
Prescription Habits, Medication Adjustment, Adherence, Communication	Compulsory	2nd semester	5
Psychosocial, Bioethical and Therapeutic Issues	Compulsory	2nd semester	5
Regulatory Policies in Drug Access and Financing	Compulsory	1st semester	5
Safety in Drug Use	Compulsory	1st semester	5
Tools for Knowledge Standardization; Evidence-Based Practice	Compulsory	1st semester	5

Previous years

• Plans docents 2022 - 2023
• Plans docents 2021 - 2022
• Plans docents 2020 - 2021

Teaching staff

List of spring and autumn teaching staff on a current course

Placements

Placements in a company or another type of organization are an integral part of university studies, providing first-hand experience of working methodologies in students' chosen professional fields. They offer invaluable practical experience for the transition into work after graduation.

Placements are supervised by tutors and subject to assessment. They are therefore included in the academic record.  There is also an option to complete non-curricular placements of up to 750 hours, which can be extended to 900 hours. For both curricular and non-curricular placements, an educational cooperation agreement is signed between the UB and the company, institution or other organization at which the placement will be carried out.

Institutional information

• Regulations on external placements


• FeinaUB

Career opportunities

What can you work on ?

The master's degree in Medicine, Health and the Healthcare System, in which diverse health sciences professionals participate, is taught by the Faculty of Pharmacy and is the first course of its type in Spain.

The main objectives of the programme are to offer training that facilitates entry into the job market and to provide pathway to doctoral studies, focusing on care-related research and the provision of direct practical solutions based on the paradigms of evidence-based medicine.

Since this an official degree qualification recognized throughout Europe, it is a potential source of competitive advantage over other students from Spain.

Access to the labour market

Data from the university system in Catalonia

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