Overview

In the spirit of the mission assumed by the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova (UMFCV) which, in addition to basic training in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and health care, also provides advanced professional development post-graduation, through residency, professional or research master's degrees, doctoral studies and postdoctoral programs, in line with the university's aspirations to strengthen its position as a national reference academic institution in the field of health sciences, starting with the academic year 2015-2016, UMFCV organizes the master's degree program Clinical Laboratory Techniques and Drug Analysis, a program approved by the ARACIS Council in its meeting of 23 July 2015.

The program provides training for the following main directions:

• Work in the medical laboratory;
• Work in pharmaceutical control laboratories;
• Biomedical research;
• Work in laboratories in the pharmaceutical industry.

Motivation

The health services sector has been subject to a wide-ranging reform process in recent years, which has involved redefining the legal framework for the provision of health services in hospitals and other health structures, developing and implementing specific quality assurance standards in the health sector, etc. High skills training in the medical laboratory and drug screening laboratory is imperative for laboratory staff who have graduated from university in earlier years and have not benefited from a curriculum that allows them to adapt to the 'explosion' of genetic testing and biomarker identification using state-of-the-art technologies. Moreover, training through this Master's program offers new employment opportunities for clinical laboratory specialists, as this is a growing field internationally, which will increase the need for laboratory professionals in the future. For example, between 2010 and 2020 the need for laboratory staff is expected to increase by 11% (see www.bls.gov). Another very important argument for the absorption of the graduates of this Master by the market is related to the conditions stipulated by the Romanian Order of Biochemists, Biologists and Chemists in the Romanian Health System (hereinafter referred to as OBBCSSR), the authority representing the interests of the biochemist, biologist and chemist professions in the Romanian health system. OBBCSSR follows the application of the laws and regulations that organize and regulate the exercise of the mentioned professions at national level and requires the issuance of the free practice permit for graduates of the first cycle of Bologna for chemistry, biochemistry and biology specializations, who wish to work in medical, sanitary-veterinary and toxicological analysis laboratories, to have graduated a Master's degree in the medical field and to prove that they have completed a practical internship of at least 6 months in a medical analysis laboratory.

Specific objectives

 

The Master's program promotes the idea of acquiring skills that complement the initial training. It is beneficial for students to think analytically, to pay attention to detail and to realize that they possess knowledge that is important for solving problems in the field. Therefore, the objectives of the program are:

·      Providing knowledge of new laboratory technologies;

·      Increase the technical skills of master students in the direction of study;

·      Provide knowledge for the correct management of laboratory work and data processing;

·       Develop skills to understand the importance of participating in well-defined and valid clinical research;

·      Increased ability to interpret the literature and skills to present results in scientific communications or articles;

·      Preparing for further doctoral training. 

Educational facilities

U.M.F. of Craiova's material base corresponds to the standards of a quality instructional-educational process. The educational process will take place in the educational spaces belonging to the U.M.F. of Craiova. Due to the modular nature of the curriculum, the spaces intended for theoretical instruction and practical training will be used exclusively by the students of the master's program, avoiding overlapping with students of the undergraduate degree programs within the U.M.F. of Craiova.

 

Equipment 

Each lecture room in the U.M.F. of Craiova has the necessary teaching facilities: blackboard, video projector, projection screen, and the lecture halls have sound and air conditioning. The laboratories have enough space and teaching material.

Social services

This Master's students will be able to benefit from the services of the dormitories and canteen managed by U.M.F. Craiova within the limit of available places and under the conditions of their prior request.
 

Financial activities 

The budget of the Master's program in Clinical Laboratory Techniques and Drug Analysis is an integral part of the budget of the Faculty of Medicine of the U.M.F. of Craiova, which is the institution with legal personality. Within the University budget, the funds allocated to the Faculty of Pharmacy and implicitly to the Master's program in LCAM will be directly proportional to the number of students.

 

Teaching staff

It is represented by the teaching and practical training staff working in the Faculties of Pharmacy and Medicine.

Program duration and subjects studied

The Master's degree program has a duration of 4 semesters, 120 ECTS credits, and the subjects in the curriculum are the following:

 

MANDATORY SUBJECTS

Analytical methods in the clinical and pharmaceutical laboratory

Clinical biochemistry

Cell and molecular biology

Medical pathology

Medical Bacteriology

Medical virology

Hematology. Transfusion Hematology

General and laboratory immunology

Medical mycology

Medical parasitology

Analytical and clinical toxicology

Food and water quality control

Drug analysis

Statistical methods in laboratory data processing and medical-pharmaceutical research Methodology and ethics of medical and pharmaceutical scientific research

Quality management in the medical and pharmaceutical laboratory

OPTIONAL SUBJECTS

Medical genetics

Metabolism of xenobiotics 

Analysis and control of plant products

Needle fluid cytology

LABORATORY PRACTICE – 6 months (without interruption)

General application conditions  

Candidates must be Romanian citizens or citizens of one of the EU or E.E.U. or E.E.S. Member States and hold a bachelor's degree issued by a higher education institution in the following specializations: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, pharmacy, clinical laboratory assistance and general medicine (working in the clinical laboratory), medical physics. 

Candidate registration

 Registration will consist of submitting a file containing the following:

•     baccalaureate diploma - original;
•     degree diploma and transcript - original;
•     birth certificate - legalized copy;
•     the marriage certificate or other documents on the basis of which an eventual change of name took place - legalized copy (if applicable);
•     copy of identity card / identity card;
•     receipt of payment of the registration fee;
•     application form (standardized application form to be obtained from the registration secretariat);

· proof of having completed another Master's degree in budget/tax (if applicable);

·   university degree certificate for the budget/tax form, specifying the number of years completed and in which form;

•      an updated Curriculum Vitae;
•      recommendation from last place of employment (if applicable).

·         The papers in one copy shall be placed in a plastic file folder with rail and transparent first tab, with numbered post-its for each item on the list of papers.

Very important!

Graduates who have completed all the years of the "budget" form or who have already completed a master's degree can only apply for the "fee-paid" form.