Master's Programme in Health Sciences - specialisation in Physiotherapy for Musculoskeletal Health Programme description

The programme was established under the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University.

Candidates who pass the programme will be awarded the degree Master of Health Sciences (Norwegian: Master i helsevitenskap) in accordance with Section 3 of the Regulations concerning Requirements for the Master's Degrees. A specialisation in one of the following 15 specialisations forms part of the master’s degree programme:

Specialisations for applicants with backgrounds in health or social care:

• Health Sciences
• Empowerment and Health Promotion
• Mental Health and Addiction
• Rehabilitation and Habilitation

Specialisations for applicants who are authorised health personnel in the specified professional fields:

• Nutrition for Health Personnel
• Occupational Therapy
• Physiotherapy for Children and Adolescents
• Physiotherapy for the Older Adult
• Physiotherapy for Musculoskeletal Health
• Psychomotor Physiotherapy
• Advanced Nursing Practice
• Public Health Nursing
• Cancer Nursing
• Nursing – Clinical Research and Professional Development

Specialisations for applicants from the professional field of nutrition:

• Public Health Nutrition

The specialisation will also be stated on the diploma alongside the name of the degree: Master of Health Sciences.

The master’s degree programme has a scope of 120 ECTS credits. Some of the specialisations are taken full-time over two years, while others are taken part-time over three or four years.

The programme comprises compulsory common courses, compulsory specialisation courses and elective courses, in addition to the master’s thesis. A more detailed overview of the programme’s structure for each specialisation is given under the section Content and structure.

According to the UN Agenda 2030, a prerequisite for achieving sustainable development is that everyone is able to live healthy lives. The Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences is primarily aimed at the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, Good Health and Well-being, while SDGs 4, 5 and 10 on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, and achieving gender equality and reducing inequality, are also relevant. The 17 SDGs must be seen as a whole, however, where each goal is seen in conjunction with the others. The purpose of the programme is therefore to educate candidates who are qualified to help to ensure good health and promote quality of life for everyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, education, sexuality and functional ability, while also attempting to address considerations relating to sustainability, including life-long learning.

The students taking the programme can choose a specialisation in health promotion, illness prevention, treatment, palliative care and (re)habilitation work. The programme teaches the students to handle professional problems at the individual, group and system level in close cooperation with other professions, patients, users, next of kin and other services. The candidates should also be able to contribute to safe, effective, holistic and integrated services with good use of resources, and to innovation, improvement work and systematic user involvement.

Relevance to working life

Possible fields of work and careers after completing the programme include:

• research and development in the health sciences
• teaching, development and advisory functions in the guidance, administration and dissemination of knowledge in the health professions
• clinical work that is based on specialised expertise
• health and social care management positions

Relevance to further education

Students taking the Master's Degree Programme in Health Sciences who choose to write a master’s thesis worth 50 ECTS credits can apply for admission to the research programme for health sciences while taking the master’s programme. This is taken in parallel to and as an extension of the master’s programme. The research programme develops researcher expertise over and above that provided during the master’s programme and results in a research work that can later form part of a PhD-level work.

Candidates with a Master's Degree in Health Sciences are qualified to apply for admission to PhD programmes, including the PhD Programme in Health Sciences at OsloMet.

Specialisations

The Master's Degree Programme in Health Sciences has a number of specialisations that candidates can choose. Applicants must choose and apply directly for the specialisation they wish to take when applying for the master’s programme. The specialisations are subject to different admission requirements. However, the students will take a significant part of the programme together with students from the other specialisations, partly through compulsory common courses and partly through elective courses across the specialisations. More information about this is found in the section Content and structure.

MAMUS: Physiotherapy for Musculoskeletal Health

This specialisation focuses on concepts, theories and research related to injuries, diseases and conditions of the spine and joints, osteoporosis and other musculoskeletal conditions such as fibromyalgia and tendinitis. A broad understanding of causal connections and approaches is emphasised, both from an individual and a societal perspective.

The target group is students with a bachelor’s degree in health or social care who want to work on professional development and/or participate in research in their field, and potentially conduct clinical work in their chosen specialisation. The programme is a relevant additional education to a number of health and social care programmes.

Admission takes place directly to the chosen specialisation. The requirement for admission to the Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences is a bachelor's degree or an equivalent degree within a specified field, with an average grade of at least C. However, an average grade of C does not guarantee admission. If the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of places on the programme, the applicants will be ranked according to the applicable ranking rules.

Admission to individual courses

For admission to individual courses, the admission requirements are described in the course description. The grade C requirement does not apply to admission to individual courses. More information about admission to individual courses can be found on the programme’s website.

Reference is made to the Regulations relating to Admission to Studies at OsloMet. The specialisations will only be run if a sufficient number of qualified candidates apply.

Admission requirements for the Specialisation in Physiotherapy for Musculoskeletal Health

A bachelor's degree or an equivalent degree in physiotherapy. Applicants must also hold Norwegian authorisation as a physiotherapist. Applicants with an internship license can also be admitted.

Opptakskrav er generell studiekompetanse eller realkompetanse.

Søkere som søker opptak på grunnlag av realkompetanse må oppfylle disse kravene:

• Søker må være 25 år eller eldre i opptaksåret og kan ikke ha generell studiekompetanse.
• Søker må ha minimum fem års relevant (fulltids) yrkespraksis (deltid regnes om til heltid). Med relevant yrkespraksis menes fagspesifikk arbeidserfaring som er relevant for det studietilbudet det søkes om opptak til. Inntil to av de fem årene kan erstattes av relevant ulønnet arbeid, utdanning, organisasjonserfaring eller liknende. Ingen kan få mer enn 100 % uttelling for yrkespraksis og utdanning for samme periode.
• Søker må ha tilstrekkelige ferdigheter i norsk (eller annet nordisk språk) og engelsk til å kunne gjennomføre studiet. Dette skal dokumenteres med fagene norsk (112 årstimer) (eller annet nordisk språk) og engelsk (140 årstimer) fra videregående opplæring eller tilsvarende, bestått med karakteren 2 eller bedre. Alternativt kan kravet til norsk dokumenteres med en attest fra arbeidsgiver som beskriver hvordan søkeren på en tilfredsstillende måte har brukt norsk skriftlig og muntlig (eller annet nordisk språk) som en vesentlig del av sitt arbeid.
• Søkere med morsmål fra land utenfor Norden må dokumentere at de oppfyller kravet til norsk tilsvarende kravet til generell studiekompetanse, jf. krav i forskrift om opptak til høyere utdanning. Unntak kan gjøres dersom undervisningen i sin helhet foregår på engelsk, eller når søkeren kan dokumentere bestått treårig videregående opplæring fra Norge eller et annet nordisk land.

Som relevant yrkespraksis regnes arbeid relatert til undervisnings-, omsorg-, sosial- eller helsesektor, eller tilsvarende.

The master’s programme is designed to be comprehensive, and the academic content and educational tools are interlinked, showing a clear context between learning outcome descriptions, learning activities and forms of assessment.

The Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences has three or four compulsory common courses, depending on the chosen specialisation. In addition to these, there are at least two compulsory specialisation courses for each specific specialisation, and a master’s thesis worth either 30 or 50 ECTS credits, depending on the specialisation. The students can also choose one or more elective courses depending on their chosen specialisation. This does not apply to the specialisations cancer nursing, public health nursing and mental health and addiction as they only have compulsory courses in their programme structures.

The courses in the programme description build to some extent on each other to ensure progress, with increasing requirements for knowledge and understanding within each specialisation. The courses are mainly taken over the course of the semester, with start-up at the start of the semester and examinations towards the end. The exceptions are certain compulsory specialisation courses that include external supervised practical training. For a full overview, see the tables below showing the normal structure of the programme for each specialisation.

The academic year is 40 weeks long, and the expected workload for a full-time student is 40 hours per week. This includes scheduled activities, students’ own study activity and examinations. The course descriptions provide more details about learning outcomes, work methods, coursework requirements and examinations. Tables 1 and 2 below show the course organisation for normal study progress for full-time students writing a master’s thesis worth 50 and 30 ECTS credits, respectively. The tables are read from left to right.

Content of compulsory common courses

The programme includes a compulsory common course MAVIT4100 Quality Improvement and Implementation of Evidence-based Practice, 10 ECTS credits. The purpose of this course is to enable students to actively contribute to promoting safe and high-quality health and care services. By health and care services is meant both public and approved private services, as well as health promoting work in the public and private sectors. The course introduces students to the organisation and management of health and care services, and prepares for interprofessional quality improvement work. It also gives students experience of interprofessional quality improvement cooperation. Through the course, the students will learn about different quality improvement models and the interaction between user knowledge, experience-based knowledge and research-based knowledge in clinical decision-making processes.

There are also three common courses in the theory of science and research methods: MAVIT4050 Theory of Science and Research Methods, 10 ECTS credits, MAVIT4060 Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods, 10 ECTS credits and MAVIT4070 Research Design and Project Description, 10 ECTS credits. These courses aim to help the student to read, understand and critically assess research literature, to critically assess various sources of knowledge that form part of clinical decision-making processes, to acquire in-depth knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods, and lead up to the development of a project description for their master’s thesis.

In the first course, MAVIT4050, the students are introduced to theory of science and research methods and research ethics.

The second course, MAVIT4060, provides students with a deeper understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods.

The third course, MAVIT4070, the students will work more thoroughly with their chosen method and develop a project description for their master’s thesis. This is to ensure that the students get to grips with work on their master’s thesis at an early stage.

Master’s thesis – 30 and 50 ECTS credits

The master’s thesis in the programme is worth 50 ECTS credits (MAVIT5900/MAVITD5900) or 30 ECTS credits (MAVIT5910/MAVITD5910), respectively. Whether the students are able to choose the scope of their master’s thesis depends on the specialisation they have been admitted to. Normally students will develop a project description as part of the course MAVIT4070 Research Design and Project Description, 10 ECTS credits. The project description is developed with the support of the lecturer, who quality assures the project with respect to scope and degree of difficulty.

The same requirements apply to scientific and research-related work regardless of the length of the thesis. Students can choose to write the master’s thesis individually or in pairs. Students can also apply to write the master’s thesis with students from other specialisations, provided that the scope of the master’s thesis is the same. On application, interdisciplinary innovation projects can be written in groups of up to four students. Students are encouraged to contact potential supervisors about possible project ideas.

Elective courses

In the course of the master’s programme, the students can choose one or more elective courses depending on their chosen specialisation. This does not apply to the specialisations cancer nursing, public health nursing and mental health and addiction as they only have compulsory courses in their programme structures. Which elective courses that are available will vary. These elective courses cover a broad area of the health sciences. Students must apply for a place on elective courses no later than the semester before, subject to specific deadlines. More information about the elective courses can be found here. https://student.oslomet.no/valgemner-master-helsevitenskap

There will be an upper limit for places on each elective course. Elective courses could be cancelled by the Faculty if enrolment is below the minimum of 10 students.

The following courses are elective for all students taking the Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences:

• MAFAR4100 Innovation within Healthcare, 10 ECTS credits.
• MAVIT4600 Supervision / Counselling, 10 ECTS credits
• MAVIT4700 Food, Health and Sustainability, 10 ECTS credits
• MAVIT4800 Personalised Nutrition, 10 ECTS credits
• MAVIT4900 Quality of Life, 10 ECTS credits
• MAVIT5100 Health communication 10 ECTS credits
• MAVIT5300 Knowledge Translation, 10 ECTS credits
• MAVIT5500 Adolescent Health, 10 ECTS credits.
• MAVIT5600 Physical Activity and Exercise in a Life Course Perspective and with a Special Focus on Aging, 10 ECTS credits
• MAVIT5700 Pain – Multidimensional Assessment and Health Professional Interventions, 10 ECTS credits
• MAVIT5800 Introduction to Clinical Studies for Healthcare Personnel, 10 ECTS credits
• MAPSY4400 Mental Health of Migrants and Minorities, 10 ECTS credits
• MSLV4200 Collaboration and collaborative management, 10 stp.

The following courses are elective for students at the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences with relevant prerequisites:

• MAVIT400 Clinical Neurophysiology, 10 ECTS credits (AUTUMN). The student must be admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences and have a bachelor´s degree or equivalent in nursing, pharmacy, psychology, physiotherapy, bioengineering, paramedicine, social education, physiology or molecular biology, or medicine (profession). The course is also offered as a separate course, with the admission requirements a bachelor´s degree or equivalent in nursing, pharmacy, psychology, physiotherapy, bioengineering, paramedicine, social education, physiology or molecular biology, or medicine (profession). Grade C is not required for admission to the separate course.

Students can also choose some compulsory specialisation courses from other specialisations as elective courses. This is on condition that the student meets the prerequisite requirements given in the relevant course description and that there is a place on the course. This applies to:

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences.

• MAEMP4100 Public Health, Empowerment and Health Promotion, 10 ECTS credits
• MAEMP4200 Health Pedagogy, 10 ECTS credits
• MAHAB4100 Coping and Participation in the Rehabilitation Process, 10 ECTS credits
• MERG4100 The Knowledge Base for Occupation and Participation, 10 ECTS credits
• MAERN4100 Energy and Nutrients, 10 ECTS credits

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences and hold authorisation as healthcare personnel.

• MAERN4100 Energy and Nutrients, 10 ECTS credits

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences and hold authorisation as a general nurse.

• MAKLI4200 Practical Ethics, 10 ECTS credits
• MAKRE4100 Nursing and Treatment for Patients with Cancer

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences and hold authorisation as an occupational therapist.

• MERG4100 The Knowledge Base for Occupation and Participation, 10 ECTS credits

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences and hold authorisation as a physiotherapist.

• MABU4100 Physiotherapy for Children and Adolescents - Part 1, 10 ECTS credits
• MAELD4100 Physiotherapy for Home-dwelling Older Adults, 10 ECTS credits
• MAELD4200 Physiotherapy for Older Adults with a Disability, 10 ECTS credits
• MAMUS4100 Physical Therapy for Musculoskeletal Conditions – Part 1, 10 ECTS credits
• MAMUS4200 Physical Therapy for Musculoskeletal Conditions – Part 2, 10 ECTS credits

Study progress

The following progress requirements apply to the programme:

• All courses in the programme must be passed before the student can submit their master's thesis for assessment.
• Some courses may have separate progress requirements; see the individual course descriptions.

See the course descriptions for MAMUS4100 and MAMUS4200 for a more detailed description of the content of the specialisation courses.

Målgruppe er praksislærere som ønsker mer kompetanse innen veiledning. Emnet passer også for barnehagelærere som veileder nyutdannede kollegaer og/eller andre grupper.

Studiet tilbys som to emner à 15 studiepoeng. Emne 2 bygger på emne 1. Studiet er organisert med tre undervisningssamlinger i hvert semester. Mellom samlingene arbeider deltakerne med selvstudium av pensumtekster, utprøving av ulike aktiviteter i egen (eller lånt) klasse, erfaringsdeling med kolleger og innlevering av oppgaver på OsloMets digitale læringsplattform (se under avsnittet om arbeidskrav).

Overordnete mål for begge emnene er å gi ny forskningsbasert kunnskap om andrespråkslæring og erfaring med andrespråkspedagogikk. Dette gjelder både for elever som får særskilt språkopplæring i egne grupper og for elever med norsk som andrespråk som er integrert i ordinær undervisning.

I tråd med innholdet i LK20 vil estetiske arbeidsformer, praktiske aktiviteter og bruk av digitale verktøy vektlegges. Digital kompetanse er derfor integrert i studiet, både som et eget tema, som redskap i studentenes egen læringsprosess, og i erfaringsdeling og diskusjon knyttet til faglige emner og utforming av læringsaktiviteter for elevene.

Kartlegging av språkkompetanse er et sentralt tema i opplæring av elever med norsk som andrespråk, og studentene vil bli kjent med ulike kartleggingsverktøy, utprøving av disse og dessuten reflektere og diskutere bruken av tester og kartlegging av språk.

De ulike temaene knyttes til LK20, både til læreplanen i grunnleggende norsk for språklige minoriteter og læreplanen i norsk. Studentene skal få erfaring med analyse og sammenlikning av disse to planene, og diskutere hvordan planene kan implementeres i undervisningen. Studentene skal også se andrespråkspedagogikken i lys av læreplan i morsmål for språklige minoriteter.

En kandidat med fullført mastergradsstudium i barnesykepleie har følgende totale læringsutbytte definert i kunnskap, ferdigheter og generell kompetanse:

Kunnskap

Kandidaten

• har avansert kunnskap innenfor barnesykepleierens funksjons- og ansvarsområder
• har inngående kunnskap om sykepleiens vitenskapelige teori og metoder
• har avansert kunnskap om barns fysiske, psykiske og sosiale utvikling
• har inngående kunnskap om barns opplevelser, reaksjoner og behov ved akutt, kritisk eller kronisk sykdom, i et flerkulturelt perspektiv
• har inngående kunnskap om avansert medisinsk behandling av akutt og/eller kritisk syke barn
• har avansert kunnskap om barns grunnleggende behov og hvordan komplikasjoner og utviklingsskader kan forebygges
• har inngående kunnskap om foreldre og søskens opplevelser, reaksjoner og behov når barn er akutt, kritisk eller kronisk syke, i et flerkulturelt perspektiv
• kan analysere og evaluere faglige problemstillinger med utgangspunkt i barnesykepleiens historie, tradisjoner, egenart og plass i samfunnet

Ferdigheter

Kandidaten

• kan analysere og forholde seg kritisk til ulike informasjonskilder og anvende disse til å strukturere og formulere faglige resonnementer innen barnesykepleie
• kan analysere og forholde seg kritisk til teori og metoder innenfor avansert barnemedisinsk behandling og barnesykepleie
• kan observere, vurdere og identifisere barnets generelle og spesielle behov, ressurser og problemer gjennom kommunikasjon og samhandling med barnet og dets omsorgspersoner
• kan prioritere og iverksette nødvendige tiltak for å opprettholde eller gjenopprette livsviktige funksjoner
• kan forebygge komplikasjoner ved akutt og/eller kritisk sykdom og avansert medisinsk behandling i sykepleie til barn
• kan redusere barn og foreldres stress, smerte og ubehag ved avansert medisinsk behandling og barnesykepleie
• kan identifisere tegn på omsorgssvikt og barnemishandling og kan iverksette nødvendige tiltak
• kan ivareta det friske i barnet og fremme mestring, vekst og utviklingsmuligheter
• kan planlegge, organisere, koordinere og samarbeide om de ressursene man har til rådighet, slik at de blir brukt målrettet til pasientens beste
• kan arbeide selvstendig med praktisk og teoretisk problemløsning relatert til barnesykepleierens funksjons- og ansvarsområder
• kan anvende pedagogiske og fagdidaktiske prinsipper i informasjon, undervisning og veiledning til barn og omsorgspersoner fra ulike kulturer, og til egen faggruppe og andre i helseteamet
• kan gjennomføre et selvstendig, avgrenset forsknings- eller kvalitetsarbeid (fagutviklingsarbeid, kvalitetssikringsarbeid eller kvalitetskontrollarbeid) under veiledning og i tråd med gjeldende forskningsetiske normer
• kan utøve barnesykepleie i samsvar med etiske prinsipper og helselovgivningen

Generell kompetanse

Kandidaten

• har handlingskompetanse i barnesykepleie
• kan gjennomføre helt eller delvis kompenserende sykepleie ved svikt i barns grunnleggende behov
• kan analysere relevante fag-, yrkes- og forskningsetiske problemstillinger innen barnesykepleie med utgangspunkt i fag-, forsknings-, erfarings- og pasientkunnskap
• kan anvende kunnskap og ferdigheter på nye områder for å gjennomføre avanserte arbeidsoppgaver og prosjekter innen barnesykepleie
• kan formidle omfattende selvstendig arbeid og behersker uttrykksformene innenfor barnesykepleie
• kan kommunisere om faglige problemstillinger, analyser og konklusjoner innenfor barnesykepleie, både med spesialister og til allmennheten
• kan samarbeide med egen faggruppe og på tvers av faggrupper i behandlingen av barn
• kan bidra til nytenkning og i innovasjonsprosesser i klinisk praksis

Arbeidskrav og obligatoriske aktiviteter

Det er krav om at studenten må delta på samlingene og utføre arbeidsoppgaver som er inkludert i studiet. Det er krav om tilstedeværelse på minst 80 prosent av samlingene på OsloMet. Dette begrunnes med at studentene i de fysiske samlingene skal arbeide med refleksjon og læringsprosesser i grupper. Fravær utover 20 prosent, eller mer enn én samling, medfører at studenten blir trukket fra eksamen i emnet. Studenter som overstiger fraværskvoten på grunn av gyldig dokumentert fravær, vil etter vurdering av studieleder og avtale med fagansvarlig kunne få kompensatoriske oppgaver. Slike alternative oppgaver gis ikke studenter som har fravær som overstiger 50 prosent, uansett fraværsgrunn. Krav om innhold og omfang til det kompensatoriske arbeidet avhenger av de faglige og didaktiske perspektivene studenten har mistet på grunn av fraværet.

Det er knyttet arbeidskrav til hvert emne. Retten til å gå opp til eksamen i emne 1 og 2 forutsetter godkjente arbeidskrav. For nærmere informasjon om innholdet i arbeidskrav, se den enkelte emneplan. Arbeidskrav skal være levert/utført innen fastsatt(e) frist(er). Gyldig fravær dokumentert med for eksempel sykemelding, gir ikke fritak for å innfri arbeidskrav. Studenter som på grunn av sykdom eller annen dokumentert gyldig årsak ikke leverer/utfører arbeidskrav innen fristen, kan få forlenget frist. Ny frist for å innfri arbeidskrav avtales i hvert enkelt tilfelle med den aktuelle læreren.

Arbeidskrav vurderes til «Godkjent» eller «Ikke godkjent». Studenter som leverer/utfører arbeidskrav innen fristen, men som får vurderingen «Ikke godkjent», har anledning til ett nytt forsøk. Studenten må da selv avtale ny innlevering av det aktuelle arbeidskravet med faglærer. Studenter som ikke leverer/utfører arbeidskrav innen fristen og som ikke har dokumentert gyldig årsak, får ingen nye forsøk.

Nærmere informasjon om arbeidskrav finnes i den enkelte emneplan.

Programme description considered by the Academic Affairs Committee at the Faculty of Health Sciences on 12 February 2020 and finally approved by the vice-dean on 27 January 2023

Adopted by the University Board 9 september 2020

Faculty of Health Sciences

The programme description applies to students starting the programme in 2023