Course description
Course Summary
The IOSH accredited Occupational Health and Safety Management course is suitable for practitioners working in occupational health and safety. Students include both professional consultants wishing to gain IOSH accreditation, newly qualified graduates managing occupational health and safety, naval engineers, doctors, nurses and others from a variety of backgrounds.
Course Details
Modules are set within a European context, and aim to equip the professional to understand and solve a wide range of occupational health problems, critically evaluate and initiate relevant research and lead the multidisciplinary team. Students are encouraged to use routinely-collected data from the workplace for their dissertation. The research methods module helps investigate real occupational problems with appropriate statistics in SPSS.
Modules Available
* Occupational Health and Safety
The principles of contemporary occupational health and safety are brought into focus and explored through the interface between man, industry and the environment. Key topics include the prevention of occupational disease, toxicology and risk assessment. Health surveillance including biological monitoring is discussed in the context of toxic chemical, biological and physical agents encountered within the workplace.
* Occupational Epidemiology: Evidence Base for Health and Safety
An in-depth exploration of the patterns of disease occurrence (mortality, morbidity and injury) alongside the diverse factors which influence these patterns are taught. The epidemiologist as a scientific detective uses a range of methods to investigate, explain, predict and promote the design of prevention strategies to reduce ill-health and injury. The module is designed to focus the research objectives for workplace problems, and to assess and use concepts, methods and routinely collected data constructively. It underpins many other modules and in particular the dissertation enabling meaningful research.
* Occupational Health and Safety Law
The main aim is for an understanding of the legal context within which professional health and safety skills are applied. It provides an in-depth, critically evaluative learning environment, where mutual exploration of key contemporary legal issues is encouraged. Appropriate links are made with the environmental management module.
* Occupational Management
The focus here is on the management requirements of contemporary occupational practice. An introduction to management and organisational theory encourages critical analysis of the principles required for practice. Key principles are evaluation, audit, and quality assurance, to inform strategy and policy development. Human resource implications for efficient and effective practice are considered with the emphasis on communication and man-management skills.
* Occupational Psychology and Ergonomics
The interface between the organisation and the individual's health is brought into focus by drawing upon concepts and applications of occupational psychology and ergonomics. These aim to enhance students' awareness of stress-related issues, the quality of the working life and the extent, form and impact of work-structuring, together with implications for occupational practice.
* Research Methods
Dissertation
The successful completion of a dissertation of 15,000-20,000 words will lead to the award of the master's degree. Dissertation attendance will be required, as deemed necessary by the dissertation supervisor. Final submission is by the end of the first term following completion of the taught course for full-time students, and by the end of the second term following completion of the taught modules for part-time students.
Recent examples of dissertations by students taking this course include:
* An investigative study into incidents in valve turning operations in the water industry;
* A study of hearing levels of orchestral musicians to determine if there is risk of developing noise-induced hearing loss;
* A small area cross-sectional study of occupational hand dermatitis in hairdressers.
Special Features
Intermediate Awards
The Postgraduate Certificate may be awarded after the successful completion of three single modules (60 credits). The Postgraduate Diploma may be awarded on successful completion of the six module taught programme (120 credits).
This course is accredited by the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). IOSH accreditation requires the completion of all the six taught modules, the MSc dissertation and work experience in health and safety as deemed appropriate by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
