Medicine (Graduate Entry)

UCAS code: A101

Here's what Swansea University says about its Medicine (Graduate Entry) course.

Graduate Entry Medicine at Swansea University is one of just a handful of similar programmes of medical study in the UK open to graduates of any discipline.

This accelerated, four-year medical degree follows an innovative, integrated spiral curriculum designed to reflect the way in which clinicians approach patients and how patients present to doctors.

You will study the basic biomedical sciences in the context of clinical medicine, public health, pathology, therapeutics, ethics, and psycho-social issues in patient management.

Together with a strong focus on clinical and communication skills, you will develop the academic, practical, and personal qualities to practise medicine competently and with confidence.

You will have a high level of structured clinical contact as your studies progress, covering the following areas: clinical apprenticeships, including one week of nursing practice, junior assistantship, specialty attachments, including acute surgery, acute medicine, women’s health, child health, mental health, sub-specialities of medicine and surgery, and frailty, community-based learning, senior assistantship, shadowing F1 doctors and elective.

We are a relatively small medical school, so you will benefit from extensive contact with teaching staff, and you will have contact with patients right from the first semester. You will join a university that is ranked 5th in the UK for Medicine according to the Times Good University Guide 2024.

The Programme consists of Phase I (Years 1 + 2) and Phase II (Years 3 + 4). Each year is mapped onto the GMC’s Outcomes for Graduates (2018) where 3 Modules reflect the outcome areas:

• Scholar and Scientist
• Practitioner
• Professional. -- Phase I -- Learning Weeks (Case based, includes Integrated Clinical Method).

Community-Based Learning (CBL) in General Practice for one day every fourth or fifth week.

LOCS - Learning Opportunities in the Clinical Setting.

LORS – Learning Opportunities in a Research Setting.

Early Apprenticeships (1-3).

-- Phase II -- Case of the Week (Case Based Learning Weeks).

Clinical Apprenticeships and Assistantships(Medicine, Surgery and Primary Care) (4-8) including 8 weeks in CBL.

Specialty Attachments– Eight 5 Week placements in Medicine (at Singleton, Morriston and Prince Phillip Hospitals), Acute Surgery, Women’s Health, Child Health, Mental Health, Sub-Specialities of Medicine and Surgery, and Frailty. These include Integrated Clinical Method and simulation.

Elective in Year 4 (5-week clinical Placement mostly taken overseas).

Senior Assistantship / Shadowing period at end of Year 4 prior to F1 (5-week Clinical Placement where students "shadow" F1 doctors in their allocated post in Wales or join the all-Wales ‘shadow’ programme).

Assessment is closely matched to the curriculum, the defined learning outcomes and learning and teaching methods. Assessments in the Graduate Entry Medicine programme have three main functions.

• To help focus students’ learning and to help demonstrate whether or not the standards have been achieved in respect to the defined learning outcomes.
• To provide regular systematic information on students’ progress throughout the programme so that remedial action can be taken by students and staff as required.
• To ensure that students progressing to the next stage of their training have met the prescribed learning outcomes.

The assessment approach reflects the teaching ethos of the programme by promoting continuing reflection on progress. Students are formally assessed at regular intervals during the course and these assessments use standard assessment formats throughout the entire four years of the course. Although the formats remain predominantly similar, their complexity and challenge increases in parallel with the abilities of the students. These assessments are, therefore, designed to measure global ability in the relevant domain with the aim of encouraging students to integrate and regularly maintain their knowledge and skills.