Medical education in the United Kingdom (Part 1)

Medical education in the UK

Medical education is education associated with the practice of being a medical practitioner; either the initial training to become a physician at medical school and in internship, also additional training at residency and fellowship, or training to become a Physician Assistant. Medical education and training differs considerably over the world. Various teaching methodologies have been used in medical education, which is an active area of educational research.

Medical education in the UK has the following grades:

1. Undergraduate education- four or five years of study at medical school, the section of a university responsible for medical education (two years of basic sciences and three years of clinical work). During the first two pre-clinical years students study human anatomy and biology, physics, organic and biological chemistry, physiology and histology, statistics and genetics. They attend lectures and seminars and do practical work in labs.

2. A two-year FoundationProgramme which provides training for new doctors after graduation through a series of placements in different specialties (see Unit 8). After this period a young doctor obtains a «Certificate of Experience» and he or she may work as a medical practitioner.

3.Postgraduate training which doctors take to become GPs or consultants - senior specialists - often delivered through colleges for different specialties, for example the Royal College of Physicians

4. Continuing professional development - which doctors undertake in the form of courses and seminars throughout their working lives to keep up to date.

Information froman undergraduate leaflet

The MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) is a five-year undergraduate medical degree course. Most of the learning is hold in small groups. The main component parts are:

Years 1-3

It consists of an integrated programme of clinical and scientific topics. These topics are mainly presented through problem-based learning (PBL) method, where you work with others on a series of case problems in small groups.

Student Selected Modules

Student selected modules (SSMs) are allowed to be chosen from a menu of subjects such as Sports Medicine or even study a language as preparation for an overseas elective. Students can also take a hospital attachment of their own choice between Years 4 and 5.

Vocational Studies and Clinical Skills

This component prepares student for the clinical skills required for contact with patients from Year 1 of their course. They have some periods of practical training where students are attached to a hospital department or general practice.

Years 4 and 5

Students have a series of four-week clinical attachments in Medicine, Surgery, Psychological Medicine, Child Health, Obstetrics &Gynaecology and General Practice.

View of a first year student

Helen is a medical student, she has just finished her first year of Medicine department. What she likes about this course is that the students are involved with patients from the very beginning. Even in their first year, they spend time in hospital. Much of the course is Problem Based Learning. They have two 2-hour sessions a week where they work in groups of eight to ten solving clinical problems. They decide together how to tackle the problem, look up books and online sources, make notes and discuss the case together. It's a great way of learning and getting to know the other students. In the past, medical students had lectures with the whole class making notes from lecturers from 9.00 to 5.00, but now it's mainly group work, although they do have some lectures and seminars, where they work in small groups with a tutor. Helen likes all of it, even the dissection. They get to cut up cadavers from the second month of the course.'