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How to dominate your
UCT MMed from start
to finish 2019 – 2nd Edition (Revision 1)
…In the fear and alarm You did not desert me My brothers in arms…
Mark Knopfler Brothers in Arms
Dedication
This booklet is dedicated to my brothers (and sisters) in arms.
May each battle bring you closer to the victory you so richly deserve.
Thanks for never deserting me or each other.
- DJ
Contents
1. Setting up a Research Proposal....................................................................................................... 1
2. Applying for Ethical and Institutional Approval .............................................................................. 3
3. Actual Research ............................................................................................................................... 5
4. Actual Write-up ............................................................................................................................... 6
5. Submitting your MMed for marking ............................................................................................... 9
6. I survived, now what?... ................................................................................................................ 12
7. Miscellaneous Issues ..................................................................................................................... 13
8. Registering with the HPCSA .......................................................................................................... 14
9. Appendix 1: Research flow chart with tick sheet .......................................................................... 16
10. Appendix 2: All the forms and who signs them ........................................................................ 17
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1. Setting up a Research Proposal
a) Think of a topic
My advice is to think about quick, easy projects that interest you. Try to make them:
▪ Relevant to your daily practice
▪ Think retrospective: collect data on procedures or studies already completed
▪ Think numbers: have enough numbers for a reasonable sample size
No use collecting stats on outcomes of foetal MRI brain scans that are still to be completed
in 2018… prospective studies mean you will have to consent every mother, wait to see what
the brain scans show (will you know?) and probably only have 3 cases to report.
Rather think about outcomes of patients who have had CT scans in 2015 with SDHs and
whether they had surgery… make it a relevant study, retrospective (meaning no consent is
needed), with large sample size and you’re likely to have repeat imaging that shows if they
had surgery.
b) Identify and secure a research supervisor
This should read identify and BEG / BRIBE someone to supervise you… Just make sure that:
▪ You can work well with this person
▪ They have an MMed (or other suitable qualification) and preferably some
experience with research
▪ They are interested in your topic
c) Responsibilities and Rights for Students and Supervisors
▪ Your supervisor is there to help and guide you NOT to baby you!
▪ You must stay in constant contact with your supervisor
▪ Set realistic goals with your supervisor and try to stick to them
▪ Make sure you BOTH use Track Changes in Word to enable to track what has been
said and corrected over time
▪ Get your supervisor to fill in a D2a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) form
outlining your and their responsibilities (See Protocol folder) within 6 months of
starting your research. Make sure you submit this with your protocol and KEEP A
COPY in case they need it when you submit the thesis (and they’ve lost it!)
▪ Name each proposal or study draft with a number and date attached, using the
format: [Your Name][Short title] MMed Draft 1 [Date] (eg. Bob Brain CT MMed Draft
1 01-01-2018) and after each major update that your supervisor checks change the
draft number and date AFTER you’ve saved a copy of the previous version
somewhere
▪ Keep a backup copy on the cloud (Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox etc…) as there is
nothing worse than having a USB drive die and losing a weeks’ worth of work!
d) Download the easy to use Protocol Template
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Use the almost blank and easy to follow protocol template which will plan out your MMed
and can form the basis of a dissertation if you decide to go that route (more on that later).
Find it in the Protocol folder.
e) Download and install a Citation Manager
Get a copy of a Citation Manager to help organise the millions of irrelevant journal articles
you will download in your first week, before settling on only 15-25…
▪ Citation managers are freely available on the internet for PC and MAC
▪ They download a module into MS-Word to allow you to cite journal articles easily
and create a reference list / bibliography
▪ I recommend Mendeley (https://www.mendeley.com/downloads) which worked
the best for me and had the most online tutorials
▪ You can also use EndNote or RefWorks or any other one as long as it works for you…
UCT Health Sciences recommends the UCT Harvard citation style but discuss this with your
supervisor – for details on how to setup the citation style please Google or contact me.
f) Begin your Literature Review
This is basically a way to legitimately crib other people’s ideas…
▪ Google is your friend… until you want scientific data…
▪ Use PubMed for your searches (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/)
▪ NEVER pay for any access to journal articles – this should be free via UCT:
o You can login to the library (http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/) from a UCT PC
o You can remotely login to the library if you’re at home
(www.ezproxy.uct.ac.za) using your student number and password which
will give you access to most journals for free
▪ All PDF articles can be automatically imported into Mendeley and it will add all the
author details into your reference list – Google or ask me how!
g) Write up miscellaneous crap
There is a bunch of miscellaneous crap to write into the protocol including:
▪ An expected timeline – double your expected timings to be realistic
▪ Budget – thumb-suck some figures to make it look official!
▪ Questionnaires or forms you are going to use to do the research should be placed in
the protocol appendix
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2. Applying for Ethical and Institutional Approval
a) Complete the research protocol (see step 1)
Simply put: get the protocol out of the way before moving on…
▪ Make sure you’ve kept your supervisor in the loop regarding the protocol and make
changes as needed
b) Send the protocol to Alistair Hunter for review
The protocol needs to be reviewed by the Departmental Review Committee (DRC) before
going for Ethics Approval. The person to contact is Alistair Hunter ([email protected]).
▪ Once approved you will need him to sign a FHS013 Form (See Ethics folder)
c) Fill in the necessary forms
▪ Make sure you have the latest forms – check HREC webpage for the latest versions
o http://www.health.uct.ac.za/fhs/research/humanethics/forms
▪ Start with the FHS013HLP PDF file (See Ethics folder), it has a checklist to help you
with all the documents you need
▪ Apply for Expedited Ethics Approval (unless you are irradiating mice or babies
prospectively with US government funding…)
▪ Write a Cover Letter (example in the Ethics folder)
▪ Write a Protocol Synopsis (WTF?!… submit the protocol and a summary of the
protocol?...): use form FHS015HLP PDF as a guide (or see an example in the Ethics
folder)
▪ Make 2 copies of everything (and keep the original for insurance)
d) Take the protocol to the Human Research Ethics Committee
▪ Room 46, E53, GSH Old Main Building (ask for directions if needed)
▪ You can also phone them on (021) 406 6492
e) Wait for Approval
▪ Expedited ethics approval takes about 2-4 weeks and you will receive an email with
an ethics approval number (eg: HREC001/19)
▪ Ethics approval is valid for 1 year but can be extended via a form (see form FHS016
below under Actual Research)
f) Contact GSH for Institutional Approval
In order to officially access the PACS system or other GSH patient records for your research,
you will need to get official permission:
a) Complete the ANNEXURE 2 form (see Ethics folder)
b) Email Prof Beningfield ([email protected]) and ask him for a letter
granting you permission to undertake the research project
c) Email GSH ([email protected]) with the completed form,
letter from Prof and your previously completed Protocol Synopsis
d) Await confirmation before proceeding… ;)
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g) Contact Red Cross Children’s Hospital for Institutional Approval
▪ Check the Ethics folder for forms related specifically to RXH if you intend
doing research on patients from their hospital
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3. Actual Research
a) Stay in contact with your supervisor
▪ Make sure you maintain contact with your supervisor during the planning and data
collection phases
▪ Make sure you send drafts to your supervisor and accept changes you’ve agreed on
b) Enlist a statistician in your battle with numbers
▪ Before beginning your formal data collection, contact a statistician
▪ I recommend Prof Martin Kidd ([email protected]) who works at the University of
Stellenbosch School of Business (USB)
▪ Send him an email and ask if you can accommodate you
▪ Then meet with him and explain your study – he will advise you on the best
statistical tests and a relevant sample size
▪ He will then make you an Excel spreadsheet designed to capture your stats directly.
This will save you a massive amount of time!
▪ Prof Kidd only bills you for work after the work is completed and all his work can be
reimbursed by the department (ie. You don’t pay for ANYTHING yourself! See
section 6 below)
c) Collect data
▪ Use the spreadsheet provided by Prof Kidd or your preferred statistician
▪ Anonymise all your data on the spreadsheet
o Make sure your sample size and patient numbers in the Excel spreadsheet
match
d) Send collected data to your “statis-magician”
▪ Send the completed spreadsheet to Prof Kidd or your statistician to review
▪ Once they have done some preliminary statistics, review them with your supervisor
▪ Refer any changes or questions to Prof Kidd or the statistician you have chosen
e) Annual Ethics Report / Extension of Ethics Approval
We all want our research to be done in a single year, unfortunately shit life happens…
▪ Every year you will be required to fill out an FHS016 form (see Actual Research
folder) to extend your Ethics if your research is not completed
▪ DON’T forget this as it can have severe negative consequences - an angel dies every
time you forget to renew your ethics… :(
f) Annual Progress Report
Just to make your life more difficult, the HREC requires a yearly progress report…
▪ Every year you will be required to fill out an D2(b) Progress form (see Actual
Research folder) to allow the ethics committee to confirm what they already know
about your project, while wasting your time…
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4. Actual Write-up
UCT offers you multiple ways to write-up the MMed:
➢ Conventional dissertation (“Monograph format”)
▪ This is a full text write-up of your research including the literature review, full
findings and recommendations.
➢ Publication-ready format
▪ This is the literature review and an article written up in the format of the journal you
are supposedly planning on publishing in.
➢ Published article
▪ This is the research you conducted for the MMed but have had it already accepted
and published in a journal
Consider each of these options carefully and discuss it with your supervisor before committing
to a particular format. I would recommend either the conventional dissertation or publication-
ready format options, but the pros and cons are listed for you below:
Write-up style Pro Con Conventional dissertation • No constraint on number
of words, graphs or figures.
• Marked and returned for corrections in shortest time.
• Not a true reflection of journal writing style.
• Will require significant editing if you want to publish it in a journal.
Publication-ready format • MMed already written in journal format (with journal of your choice).
• Can be handed in directly without being accepted for publication.
• Short wait for marking and corrections.
• Requires a literature review (which you’ve already likely done) of 3000 words.
Published article • Already written in a journal format.
• No need for corrections.
• Must be accepted for publication before marking (with no guarantee that the journal will accept it).
1. Conventional Dissertation (“Monograph” format)
a) Destroy a portion of your protocol
▪ Now you need to get rid of some useless protocol-related stuff by deleting:
o Data analysis section
o Ethics application section
o Timing section
o Budget section
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o Anticipated Problems section
o Any appendices you may not need
▪ Leave your References section and any applicable Appendices in place
b) Add in the following sections
▪ Study Results
▪ Discussion
▪ Recommendations
▪ Conclusion
▪ Acknowledgements (Optional thank you section for people that have helped your
research but aren’t listed as authors)
c) Practical points on the Dissertation write-up
▪ Only give results in the Results section – don’t interpret!
▪ Not all results need graphs, tables or figures. If you can use a short sentence, it
doesn’t need a graph…
▪ If it’s in a table, graph or figure, it must be mentioned in the text and numbered,
for example:
o All patient complaints were compiled and are listed in Table 1 below…
▪ Tables, graphs and figures should be numbered in order of appearance
▪ Give an overview of your study population as a start under Discussion before giving
your results
▪ Don’t discuss things that don’t answer your aims
▪ In the discussion state your results, then quote outcomes of other studies and
compare them explaining whether they match or not and the possible reasons. Try
to link points together to make the discussion easy to read.
▪ When concluding make sure each Aim and Objective is answered
▪ Your Appendices should also be numbered in the order they are mentioned and
contain:
o Ethics approval
o Ethics extension letter
o GSH research approval letter
o Any research tools (eg. questionnaire or informed consent form) you used
d) Send in drafts to your supervisor
▪ Make sure your supervisor is in the loop!
▪ Accept any changes your supervisor advises
2. Publication-ready Format
▪ This is an option if you’d like to get a bonus publication out of your research (highly
recommended!)
▪ You may choose to go this route initially before writing up a full dissertation as of
2017. Please see UCT circular MMed2017 (in the Actual Research folder)
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▪ You only need to submit the dissertation in the format of the journal you want to
publish in – so don’t wait to get accepted or published! Get it done…
a) Keep your literature review as is
▪ The literature review should be between 2000-5000 words (as per the UCT
guidelines – see MMed2017 pdf in Actual Research)
▪ The references should appear after the literature review chapter not at the end of
the document (again according to UCT recommendations)
b) Use the handy Publication-ready Format SAJR template
▪ Find it in the handy Actual Research folder
▪ It has all the sections you will need when writing up an article for the SAJR
▪ Please also check the SAJR website for the latest submission criteria
(https://sajr.org.za/index.php/sajr/pages/view/submission-guidelines)
▪ SAJR (as at 01 January 2019) recommends no more than 3000 words for the article
(excluding abstract and references)
▪ Follow the advice given in the Dissertation write-up but remember to stay within the
word limit
c) Addenda
▪ Add the Ethics approval letter and any extension letter to the addendum chapter of
the write-up
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5. Submitting your MMed for marking
You’re almost there…NOT! [Insert poo emoji here!]
a) Get all the forms together
This is the crucial thing about handing in your research for marking. Unfortunately, the
university makes this harder than the research! (And if you’re reading this, you’re probably
already over it!).
Make sure you have the latest forms – check UCT Vula for the latest versions
▪ www.vula.uct.ac.za
▪ Click “Resources”, then “Health Sci Post Grads 2018 Resources, then ”Dissertation-
forms” (or try: https://vula.uct.ac.za/x/j3R0Ei)
The latest versions available as at 01/01/2019 have been placed in the Actual Research
Folder:
▪ D8 (Intention to Submit)
▪ D15 (IP Assessment Form)
▪ D18 (Declaration / Word Count Form)
▪ D19 (Plagiarism Declaration Form)
▪ Your latest Abstract – this must be renamed Abstract-Open.docx
▪ Your latest Thesis – this must be renamed Thesis.docx
Make sure you’ve submitted the following forms and if you haven’t previously then also get
them completed (in the Protocol folder):
▪ D1 and D3 (Approval of Study and Supervisor)
▪ D1a (Scientific Validity of MMed Proposal)
▪ D2a (HSF MoU for Students and Supervisor)
b) TurnItIn
UCT lets you check for plagiarism before submitting your research through a service called
TurnItIn. To find out how to access this use the Submitting to TurnItIn PDF (in the Actual
Research folder)
▪ Do this with your final draft and check the score you get – lower is “better” but the
report you receive is quite easy to understand (for problems read the Interpreting
Originality Reports PDF in the Actual Research folder)
▪ A copy must be seen by your supervisor to enable them to sign you off (form D19)
but is not needed for submission or intention to submit.
c) Get all the forms signed
Some forms are just between you and the supervisor / co-supervisor. Others need and HoD
signature (ie. Prof B.’s signature), so there is a handy reference table in Appendix 2.
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d) Intention to Submit
This lets the university know that you are going to need a marker and that they can finally
charge you extra for the privilege (see Miscellaneous Issues below for more)
▪ Follow the process in the Intention to Submit Quick Reference PDF (in the Actual
Research folder)
▪ PLEASE NOTE: the system has been changed to make finding the intention to submit
area very confusing – please look at the Reference to NEW PeopleSoft Research
Page for clarity (it will save you hours!)
o Or follow along here:
o Login to PeopleSoft (https://studentsonline.uct.ac.za)
o In case you don’t have time, please click the COMPASS icon in the
PeopleSoft top right corner and choose “Navigator” then “Research
Activities”, followed by “Service Request” and “Create New Request”
before choosing “Intention to Submit”
▪ They say you should apply 4 weeks before actually submitting… this is (in my
experience) absolute nonsense – once you receive an email confirming your
Intention to submit has been received, you can actually go on to Submitting your
final thesis.
▪ Because the post-graduate office is manned by protocol-abiding robots, please make
sure that you:
o Don’t insert a comment in the comment field (Why, I ask, have one then?)
o Only upload forms D2a, D8, D15 and your abstract (named Abstract-Open
including the capitals) in PDF format.
o Any other forms you want to supply should be emailed to your UCT research
co-ordinator directly, so as not to complicate their process…
e) Actual Submission
▪ Follow the process in the Submitting a Thesis Quick Reference PDF (in the Actual
Research folder)
▪ PLEASE NOTE: the system has been changed to make finding the intention to submit
area very confusing – please look at the Reference to NEW PeopleSoft Research
Page for clarity (it will save you hours!)
o Or follow along here:
o Login to PeopleSoft (https://studentsonline.uct.ac.za)
o In case you don’t have time, please click the COMPASS icon in the
PeopleSoft top right corner and choose “Navigator” then “Research
Activities”, followed by “Service Request” and “Create New Request”
before choosing “Thesis Submission”
o Because the post-graduate office is manned by protocol-abiding robots,
please make sure that you:
▪ Don’t insert a comment in the comment field (Why, I ask, have one
then?)
▪ Only upload forms D18, D19, your abstract and thesis (named
Abstract-Open and Thesis; including the capitals) in PDF format.
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o Any other forms you want to supply (D1a and D1 incl D3) should be emailed
to your UCT research co-ordinator directly, so as not to complicate their
process…
▪ Once this is done, an email will be sent confirming your submission
▪ You now have to wait 1-2 months to receive your mark (and a bonus gift called…
Corrections… just to incentivise you to do more research)
▪ You survived, now what? Read on…
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6. I survived, now what?... a) Get involved in more research
Build your CV by getting involved in others MMed projects. How you ask?
▪ Be a participant – read xrays, CTs or MRIs if people need this
▪ Suggest MMed ideas from your bank of patients
▪ Offer advice – if anyone asks about your experience, please share things that helped
or hindered your research. Any cautionary tales can save someone else weeks of
unnecessary work… and you’d be doing your colleague a solid!
b) Consider co-supervision
▪ On the path to becoming comfortable with research and ultimately supervising
others? It starts with co-supervising others… some work for another line in your CV
c) Read a book
▪ Don’t forget to pass your FC Rad… ultimately this allows you to graduate your
MMed, so make time for this!
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7. Miscellaneous Issues
a) Registering for MMed Part III (Marking of dissertation)
Despite UCT advertising you should register for marking (also called part 3) once you’ve
started your research or at the beginning of the academic year…DON’T do it!
▪ You can apply for the part 3 just before you submit without penalty
▪ Wait until you have a finalised draft or (even better) once you’ve received an email
confirming your Intention to Submit approach the fees office (Adri Winckler via
[email protected]) to arrange the change in registration and payment of the
extra fee (~R9000 in 2018)
b) Should I register if I’ve done 4 years of my degree already?
If you’ve completed 4 years of registrar training but are taking an extension to get more
experience or complete your exam, you may not have to pay for varsity fees
▪ Please check with Thobeka at the Postgraduate office to clarify
▪ You should take a copy of your contract extension to Thobeka to prevent her giving
away your registrar number to someone else
▪ You may lose Eduroam internet access if you are not registered, in which case you
can apply to be made a joint UCT/GSH appointee. This makes you a staff member of
UCT and comes with internet access (contact Nadia Mitchell –
[email protected] if you need this)
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8. Registering with the HPCSA
Registering with the HPCSA after completing your MMed and FC Rad (Guest authored by Dr Mark Smith): Hear ye, hear ye! ALL SIGNATURES MUST BE ORIGINAL, PEN TO PAPER, ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES, COPIES OR ANY OTHER VARIATION WITH BE SMIRKED AT AND THROWN INTO THE FIRES OF MOUNT DOOM. Fill in – 1. Form 19: Application for Registration of an Additional Qualification or Category. *Medical Masters in Radiology (tag on to Form 21 signing procedure)
Signed by: You The Dean and Adri Winkler (registrar/principal)
2. HREC approval letter 3. Form 19: (‘nother one) Application for Registration of an Additional Qualification or Category. *FC RAD DIAG (SA) As supplied by the CMSA (blue form with your certificate)
Signed by: You Other signatures already present
4. Form 21: Application for Registration Specialist/Subspecialist Page 1
Signed by: You
Page 2 Experience in chronological order
Signed by: You
Internship – they accepted me saying “Certificate held by HPCSA” in the supporting documents column. Community Service - they accepted me saying “Certificate held by HPCSA” in the supporting documents column. MO or Other Time – I provided my employment contract but pay slips or a letter from the facility (generally as easy as milking a wild boar to obtain) will do. Registrar Time – “See form 57” in the supporting document column and ask Prof. for a brief letter stating your time, just in case they don’t understand their own form or believe the HOD, Dean, Head of research project and Hospital CEO’s signatures on it. 5. Form 57: Certificate relating to training specialties etc. Signed by You MMed Supervisor
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… then take it to the post grad office. They will stamp it and sprinkle it with the necessary magic dust before sending it for The Dean’s signature. It will then be returned to the post grad office where you will pick it up. … then take it to the G-floor, old main building, for The CEO’s signature. Ancillary findings: If you complete 5 years, chances are that they will give your registrar number to someone else after completion of your 4th year, which means that you will need to be assigned new registrar number for your 5th year and a letter from Adri Winkler confirming this needs to be sent to the HPCSA. This “addition period” also needs to be filled in on Form 57. Try to circumvent this by notifying the post grad office that you will be doing a 5th year if you are still youthful enough. Courier above forms to the HPCSA and swim in the sea under the light of a full moon with a conch shell tied around your left ankle. Oh, and pay them approximately R4902, subject to change without warning. Specialist registration fee Additional qualification fee – FC RAD Additional HPCSA subs because you are now a specialist Additional qualification fee – MMed Fair thee well, dear friends! Mark
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9. Appendix 1: Research flow chart with tick sheet
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10. Appendix 2: All the forms and who signs them
Form No.
Use case You Supervisor Co-Supervisor
Prof B. (HoD)
Alistair Hunter
GSH CEO
Dean
FHS013 Ethics approval X X X X
Annex 2 GSH research approval
X
FHS016 Annual report / ethics extension
X
D1&D3 Study approval and supervisor appointment
X X X
D1a Scientific validity
X
D2a MoU with supervisor
X X X X X
D2b Yearly progress report
X X X
D8 Intention to Submit
X X X
D15 IP assessment X
D18 Declaration and word count
X
D19 Plagiarism declaration (already in protocol)
X
Please note that I have supplied edited versions of the: D2a – MoU D2b – Yearly progress report forms to make the process easier for you.
