Medicine (Graduate Entry)

UCAS code: A101

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

Are you looking for a medical degree that accelerates your learning and prepares you to step confidently into clinical practice?

Our accelerated 4 year medical degree is designed to reflect the way in which clinicians approach patients and how patients present to doctors. From the first term you will gain clinical experience on placement.

Throughout the Medicine (Graduate Entry), MBBCH, 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.

Our entry interview process is structured to take account of these qualities needed as a doctor, as set out in Good Medical Practice, (Professional Standards, GMC), and the capacity to meet the requirements of Outcomes for Graduates (GMC) and Promoting excellence: standards for medical education and training.

As a Swansea medical student, you will develop the qualities and behaviours expected of a safe, effective, and compassionate doctor. • Communication skills • Problem solving skills • Coping with pressure • Insight and integrity • Passion for medicine/resilience to succeed • Organisation and research • Ethics and values

On successful completion of the programme, you will graduate with an MBBCh degree from Swansea University, enabling you to progress to the UK Foundation Programme for newly qualified doctors, where you will begin training in a clinical environment.

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.