Welcome to English Competence and Research Training

“Health for All” – The slogan from the WHO’s Ottawa Charter states the importance of health for everyone at each stage of an individual´s life. 

Objectives:

This course will improve your ability to read scientific articles from a variety of sources as well as improve your competence with basic terminology and technical language used in such research documents. It will expose you to health topics and how you, as a health professional, can apply this knowledge to both an individual patient´s health or to the public health sphere as a whole. 

You will gain knowledge in two main areas:

Research Training:

• Learning about different study designs and their principles
• Criteria for evaluating the validity of a scientific article
• Introduction to available databases in the health care sector

English Competence:

• Comprehending methods and health strategies related to your patient’s/ client´s care
• Voluntary: Technical language in relevant health topics

Target group:

“English Competence and Research Training for Health Professionals“ is designed for students from different health fields (e. g. nursing science, physical therapy, health science) who want to broaden their knowledge about research skills and selected health topics. The interdisciplinary group of students will help contribute to broadening your view on specific health topics through discussion during the tutorial or the news forum on the course platform.  

Class Format

The course contains six chapters. You should start with Chapter 1 and work chronologically down to Chapter 6.

Chapter 1 introduces you to the most common health system models. It also gives you background information in order to understand the contents of this course.

Chapter 2 teaches about research terminology. The chapter starts with a glossary that serves as a basis for the content in chapters 3 through 6.

Chapters 3 through 6 have similar structures. Each chapter has its own health topic (first title) as well as research topic (subtitle). It starts with a case study to introduce you to the topic and the chapter’s learning objectives. After that, two articles and short summaries are listed. Article 1 is usually applicable for the research methods you will learn in this course while article 2 is generally related to the health content. A video gives you a deeper insight into one selected research or health topic. Four exercises will help you in learning how to work with English articles and the different topics of each chapter. Exercise 1 and 2 both contain open questions about the research method and the health content, respectively. Both exercises provide answers that serve as an idea, not the only correct answer. Exercise 3 contains true and false questions that applies to either the research or the health content side. Exercise 4 has a mix of different types of questions. Exercise 3 and 4 must be completed with a 80% grade to start the next chapter. At the end of each chapter, a conclusion will repeat the learning objectives from that chapter.

Additionally, the course contains a tutorial platform through which you can talk to your tutor once a week (dates are listed in the platform). Also, different forums give space for questions and important announcements. 

Course Pre-requisites

Before you start the course, you need to know how to access a full text article from a common scientific database (e. g. CINAHL). Also, you should have basic knowledge of descriptive statistics and the main study designs and methods used in the health care sector (e. g. systematic review).

It is important to emphasize that this course is not an English class that teaches vocabulary or repeats grammar. To ensure successful participation and good results, the German B2-English level or at least four years of English lessons are highly recommended. Nonetheless, you can use the course to learn new vocabulary through the interactive English key word glossary which you, as a student, will create with your colleagues.

Suggested Strategies

The course begins in March and ends in July. You should start with Chapter 1 and work through the different topics chronologically. This means that you have approximately two to three weeks per chapter. Please make sure to give yourself enough time to work on this course.

Assistance

To ensure your success in this course, there are many different ways to receive help. A regular tutorial via Adobe Connect allows you to ask questions regarding the different chapters. Each tutorial is voluntary and takes place on a different day of the week. This is to ensure that every participant is able to attend at least once and have the opportunity to ask questions. 

The forum announcements informs you about updates regarding the organizational process, such as the final exam.

The question forums at the end of each chapter are the perfect place to post questions regarding specific topics. Each chapter has its own platform and provides a space to talk to your course colleagues and discuss the topics. Your tutor will answer specific questions.

The news forum allows you to learn more about current news in the health care sector. Due to changes in different countries and sectors, it is important to be aware of up-to-date information. You are encouraged to post news you find interesting and want to share with your colleagues.

Upon Completion

A final written exam will take place in Deggendorf upon completion of the course and all of the exercises. The exact date will be published in the forum announcements.

The exam is similar to the exercises in this course. Approximately half of the questions relate to the research content and half to the health content.

And now: Explore what the Ottawa Charter’s slogan “Health for All” can mean!