Unit information: Infertility- Diagnosis & Management in 2023/24

Unit name	Infertility- Diagnosis & Management
Unit code	SOCSM0009
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Dr. Gordon
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	Bristol Medical School
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Unit Information

This unit covers the causes, prevalence and investigations of infertility. This unit will provide the students with a comprehensive understanding of the primary and secondary levels of infertility diagnosis and management. It will outline the clinical and laboratory techniques that are utilised in the diagnosis of infertility. This knowledge will enable students to interpret and apply these techniques at primary and secondary level of management and treatment of fertility.

The four main aims of the unit are:

• It will provide a comprehensive coverage of the primary and secondary level of management of couples with difficulty in conceiving.
• It will provide detailed coverage of various pathologies associated with infertility in both male as well as female partners.
• It will provide detailed coverage of the diagnostic tests as well as management options available for each of the pathologies.
• It will explore, through a number of practical case studies and scenarios, the difficulties as well as dilemmas faced in day to day infertility practice.

Your learning on this unit

On completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• describe the investigation pathways of couples suffering from infertility.
• identify the common pathologies associated with infertility like anovulation, endometriosis, tubal problems, unexplained and male infertility.
• recognise the contribution of related disciplines such as cytogenetics, and counseling in infertility.
• evaluate the routine laboratory techniques and clinical procedures used to investigate cases of infertility.
• formulate a treatment pathway including the investigations and likely management in a case of infertility.

How you will learn

• Lectures/Seminars
• Synchronous discussion sessions
• Self-directed study
• Peer-to-peer learning (group work/presentations)
• Asynchronous discussion forums

How you will be assessed

• Coursework (contributing a total of 60% to the Unit)

Essay 30%

Practical Log Book 10%

Peer assessed problem-based case studies seminar contributing 20% to Unit.

• A timed assessment (contributing to 40% of the Unit)

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SOCSM0009).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.