Postgraduate Diploma in Sleep Medicine

Differences from 2018/19 to 2019/20

  • 1. The Divisional Board of Medical Sciences shall elect for the supervision of the course an Organising Committee. The Organising Committee will oversee teaching provision and will nominate Examiners for the Examination Board.

  • 2. The Course Committee shall arrange teaching, student supervision and assessments and shall appoint for each candidate an academic adviser.

  • 3.  Students admitted to the Postgraduate Diploma who wish to convert to the M.Sc. course will be offered a place on the M.Sc. course conditional on satisfactory completion of the Postgraduate Diploma. To be considered for a place on the M.Sc. course students will need to indicate their intention to convert no later than by the early January postgraduate admissions deadline applicable in the second year of their Postgraduate Diploma course. Otherwise students  will need to reapply.

  • 4. To be eligible for the award a student must have been on the Course Register for a period of not less than two years, and not more than four years.

  • 5. Candidates may be permitted in certain circumstances to suspend status, for a maximum of six terms. Any such period shall not count to the minimum permitted period of registration and no fee liability will be incurred during such periods.

  • 6. Every candidate for a Postgraduate Diploma award will be required to satisfy the examiners in the following:

    • (i) attendance at all modules specified in the Schedule;

    • (ii) completion of each of the MCQ examinations prior to the Final Meeting of the Board of Examiners;

    • (iii) submission of eight essays of not more than 4,000 words each, relating to each of modules (i) to (viii). Two essays will be submitted at the end of Hilary Term in each year of the course, and two essays will be submitted at the end of Trinity Term in each year of the course, on dates to be specified by the Course Committee and published in the course handbook no later than the start of Michaelmas Term of the first year of the course. Each essay topic will be selected by the Board of Examiners. The essay topics will be distributed to the students at the start of Michaelmas term of the academic year in which the examination is taken;

    • (iv) attendance at the Residential School following at least two terms of study.

  • 7.  Essays shall be submitted, in electronic format via Moodle Assignment Submission System, to the Chair of Examiners, Postgraduate Diploma in Sleep Medicine, c/o Registry, Department for Continuing Education, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA.  The format of each submission and the deadlines for submission shall be specified by the Course Committee and published in the course handbook no later than the start of Michaelmas Term of the first year of the course.

  • 8. Essays must be accompanied by a statement that they are the candidate's work except where otherwise indicated.

  • 9. Candidates must pass each assessment in order to pass the examination overall.

  • 10. Candidates who fail to satisfy the examiners in the extended essays will be permitted, by 2pm, Thursday of Week 8 of the term following the term in which the results were notified to the candidate, to resubmit work in respect of the part or parts they have failed on not more than one occasion.

  • 11. Candidates who fail any of the essays at the second attempt will be judged to have failed to reach the necessary standard for the award.

  • 12. In the case that a candidate has undertaken a module (as outlined in the Schedule) for credit prior to enrolling onto the PGDip in Sleep Medicine programme, the organising committee shall have discretion to deem satisfactory completion of the module (including the associated assessment material) prior to registration for the PGDip in Sleep Medicine. The organising committee shall decide if the candidate has met the attendance and examination requirements in respect of that module under 6.i-iii above. Such discretion will normally only be exercised if the time elapsed between commencement of the accredited module concerned and registration for the PGDip in Sleep Medicine is not more than three years. The maximum number of modules taken for credit prior to registration for the PGDip in Sleep Medicine that can contribute to the achievement of the award shall be three.

Schedule

  • (i) The Physiological Basis of Sleep

  • (ii) Introduction to Sleep Medicine and Methodological Approaches

  • (iii) Circadian Rhythm Disruption and Sleep

  • (iv) Insomnia

  • (v) Sleep-disordered Breathing and Sleep-related Movement Disorders

  • (vi) Hypersomnias and Parasomnias

  • (vii) Sleep in Specialist Populations

  • (viii) Sleep and Society