Your curriculum comprises a number of different elements carefully integrated to promote your ability to learn effectively and succeed in your degree. In Year 1 each module consists of a series of clinically-related scenarios (Themed Case Discussions) which you will use to define your weekly learning agenda. You are expected to take the initiative and make full use of all the resources available to you; these include the library, the e-learning resources, the laboratories and the teaching staff.
Group work is central to the MBChB Programme. In Years 1 and 2, each student will be part of a community of practice (COP). Within this Community of Practice you will work in smaller groups for the TBL sessions, Anatomy, Consultation Skills, ECE etc. You will stay in the same COP for Semester 1, this will then change for Semesters 2-4 in line with your clinical education campus (CEC) allocation. This will ensure, as in professional life, you gain experience of working with different people. Each group have designated academic members of staff as their facilitators. These groups form the basis for most learning activities in Years 1 and 2, alongside Early Clinical Experience (ECE) and laboratory work.
Themed Case Discussions (TCD) (using Team Based Learning methods)
You will develop your knowledge through small group teaching.
The week will begin with a compulsory opening interactive theatre event for the whole Year 1 cohort on the Monday morning. This event will kickstart the week’s learning with presentation of a clinical scenario through different and variable approaches.
The theatre event will provide opportunities for clinical reasoning with presentation of signs and symptoms, tests carried out and associated results. The approach will be enhanced by multimedia involvement, utilisation of simulated patients and opportunities for interactivity.
These events aim to enthuse and engage students. Towards the end of the event, students will begin the process of identifying what they need to know to understand the presented information and the formation of intended learning outcomes. After the event, the intended Learning outcomes will be made available for all students.
This supportive approach will provide consistency across the student cohort and provide more guidance on the depth of knowledge required for year 1 students. What you study is clearly aligned to the needs of professional practice.
The clinical scenarios and presented have been determined by two main criteria:
- Key concepts in science fundamental to medical practice.
- Key issues of health and illness in the UK today.
Always remember, there may be more than one explanation and don’t accept facts without evidence.
At the end of the week, students will meet within their Community of Practice (approximately 60 students) in the presence of several facilitators. Students will work within a smaller group of 6; these groups will remain the same for the whole semester.
As part of this, students first take an Individual Readiness Assurance test (IRAT), a short quiz consisting of ~10 MCQ questions, which the students take individually.
The students then take the same quiz but as a team (TRAT), discussing the options and justifying the reasoning for their answer choice. This will then be followed by some team-based application exercises
There are many other resources available for each weekly theme, these include mini learning modules, lecture presentations/ webinars, physiology/pharmacology practicals, consultation skills, ECE sessions and anatomy sessions and practicals,
You will have regular contact with academic staff (e.g. Academic Advisors, Anatomy Demonstrators or TBL Facilitators) who can also offer you academic study advice and pastoral support. However, problems that students encounter that may affect attendance, progress and examinations, or require more specialist study advice, should normally be dealt with by making an appointment with an experienced member of the Programme’s academic staff. (See: Additional Support in Years 1 and 2).
*The majority of teaching will be face to face but some teaching activities in academic year 2025-26 may be delivered online, all students should refer to the Programme’s guidance: Student ‘Netiquette’ for remotely-delivered teaching sessions in order to get the best out of these sessions.
See also: The Student Journey