The highly specialised and applied nature of this degree makes it a unique qualification for those wishing to pursue a career in the field of Assisted Reproduction.
The course is designed to equip graduates with the theoretical knowledge and practical training necessary for three main career paths:
(i) Clinical embryology: A career in clinical embryology is perceived as both a personally and financially rewarding career choice, and thus demand is strong amongst new science graduates for trainee positions. This training programme is normally administered by the Association of Clinical Embryologists and requires a student to obtain a trainee position in an assisted conception unit so that they can undertake an intensive training programme over a period of at least 2 years. This programme involves intensive day-to-day training in the practical skills required for a clinical embryologist to the required level of competence and more general tuition in the regulation and theoretical background of ART. Although a Masters degree is not a requirement to obtain a trainee position, it is an enormous advantage and graduates from the M.Med.Sci. (ART) course have been singularly successful in going on to this career path
(ii) Assisted conception: For the clinician, the M.Med.Sci (ART) provides the theoretical and technical basis to pursue a career in this speciality. The primary advantage of the course for the clinician is that it provides a total view of the process of assisted conception. This is particularly important in terms of the laboratory procedures and quality assurance required to run an assisted conception unit as it clear that this aspect of ART is the primary determinant of achieving high success rates in assisted conception. Thus the ART course is particularly useful for clinical graduates who wish to return to their country of origin and work in or establish an assisted conception unit and this career path is taken by the majority of our clinically qualified ART graduates. Alternatively, a small but signficant number of our graduates wish to remain and practice in the UK and after obtaining the necessary qualifications to do so, the normal career path is to obtain a position in an IVF unit in which direct contact with patients and tuition in gynaecological/surgical procedures can be obtained.
(iii) Research in ART: A primary aim of the course is to provide graduates with the necessary skills to go on to undertake a higher research degree (PhD, MD). Therefore a large amount of time is devoted to the development of professional, practical and transferable skills in terms of the ability to collect, analyse and present data in a scientific format. This is achieved through journal clubs, specific tutorials, essays and the third semester research project which has to be presented in written, poster and oral forms. The development of effective communication skills is therefore a primary learning outcome and each year the module convenors and external examiners are gratified by the high standard achieved by the M.Med.Sci students when these skills are assessed at these presentations. A small but significant number of graduates from the M.Med.Sci. (ART) course go on to do higher research degrees each year and there are often opportunities within the academic unit of Obstetrics and Gynaecology or elsewhere within the University of Nottingham to undertake these degrees.
We recently conducted a survey of course alumni and included a selection of their responses in the
Careers and Testimonials page on the course website.