Early Clinical Experience (ECE) is designed to provide further clinical context to your learning and prepare you for education in a clinical setting. It comprises 2 components; (1) Simulation based learning and (2) Practice based learning.

Simulation based learning: Consultation skills (CSLC, Stopford building)

Throughout Year 1 you will attend consultation skills teaching sessions in the Consultation Skills Learning Centre (CSLC), Stopford Building. Consultation skills aims to equip you with a strong foundation in person centred communication and clinical assessment. This includes learning how to build trust and rapport, carry out purposeful interviews, apply clinical reasoning, hold behaviour change conversations, and perform physical examinations

During the sessions you will work in small groups with simulated patients and tutors. Together you will explore and reflect on the patient experience as you begin to intentionally cultivate your approach through developing the skills, knowledge, attitudes and reflective practice needed to care for people thoughtfully, practice safely and work well with colleagues.

The teaching will build on the knowledge you have acquired in your weekly learning including Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology, Behavioural and Social Sciences, and Ethics and Law. The combined nature of our teaching will be tested through dedicated CCAs (see Assessments section).

Practice Based Learning

The aims of your practice-based learning are to provide you “authentic (real as opposed to simulated) human contact in a social or clinical context that enhances learning of health, illness and disease, and the role of the health professional.” You will be immersed in clinical environments, and we want to encourage you to make the most of the opportunities each space provides you. The foundation of your practice-based learning is to develop your confidence to interact with patients and colleagues in your role as a medical student, gain understanding of the NHS systems you will become a part of and hear from patients to develop your understanding of illness experiences. A key aspect of this learning is to develop your confidence in, and understanding of, how to learn in a clinical environment  in preparation for the workplace-based learning you will undertake in year 3.

Practice based learning is made up of experiences in Hospital and Community Care.

Community Placements

General Practice visits offers you the chance to experience the reality of clinical practice within primary care. These community GP visits support you to understand further how primary care works and enable you to appreciate the diverse context in which different people live their lives. You will attend General Practice twice during semester 2 and again in Year 2 as part of your Early Clinical Experience (ECE) visits. Each visit in Semester 2 of Year 1 will be 6 hours long.

The ECE GP visits are an exciting opportunity to immerse yourself in General Practice and observe patient interactions in an authentic environment. You will attend these visits as a pair of students.

Structured debrief following your visit will facilitate you to generate meaningful reflections about your experiences.

Please note: Students are unable to visit clinical environments until their DBS check is complete. In the event that you are placed for ECE visits at the GP surgery where you are registered you should advise the Community Placement Team as soon as possible. It is best practice to keep your work and personal contact with General Practice separate whenever this is feasible. Your personal data at your registered GP remains confidential.

Early Clinical Debrief 

In Year 1 we will introduce you to the concept of Clinical debrief. Clinical debrief supports you to make sense of clinical interactions, providing space to discuss and deliberate. You will have clinical debrief sessions throughout the programme in Years 1 and 2 (early clinical debrief)  year 3 (clinical debrief) and year 5 (advanced clinical debrief).

Semester 1: Together in your group of 6 you will watch real-life GP consultations and your tutor will guide you through a reflective discussion to analyse the interaction. You will draw from your learning of consultation skills, bioscience and behaviour and social sciences, and be introduced to clinical reasoning. These sessions will help to contextualise some of your simulation learning into reality.

Semester 2: Following your visits to General Practice in pairs, you will meet in your group of 6, with your tutor, and share the experiences you encountered. Your tutor will support you to talk anonymously, learn from each other and make sense of the interactions. These discussions will support you to reflect meaningfully. This type of clinical debrief (based on your individual interactions) models the clinical debrief sessions you will have weekly in Year 3.

Hospital Visits: In Year 2 you will spend 4 days in your allocated Clinical Education Campus [CEC]. For further information please see Year 2 Early Clinical Experience.

Representing the University and the medical profession

Every time you meet patients, families or healthcare professionals, you’re not only learning — you’re representing the values and standards of both the University and the medical profession, to which you belong. It’s an opportunity to show respect, curiosity and professionalism, and to build trust and positive connections with everyone you encounter. Please:

• Show compassion and respect to everyone you meet — patients, staff, and fellow students alike.
• Be grateful for others time and embrace every learning opportunity with curiosity and enthusiasm.
• Know your limits, and don’t hesitate to ask for support or guidance when needed.
• Take responsibility for your learning, be proactive in seeking opportunities to develop.
• Always be appropriately supervised when performing any clinical tasks to ensure patient safety and support your learning.
• Dress intentionally, acknowledging you will be talking with patients about personal matters, working alongside your future colleagues. Guidance is available in the dress code document (See FBMH Professionalism Policy and Guidance, pages 9-13).
• You must adhere to the standards of the infection control for all NHS staff, these may differ across NHS trusts, be guided by your supervisors.
• Direct patients to the appropriate health professional where necessary.
• Understanding the concepts of consent and confidentiality: Duties of a Doctor.
• Speak up thoughtfully if you have concerns about patient or staff wellbeing—your voice matters.
• Take care of your own wellbeing and safety as an essential part of becoming a healthy, effective person and healthcare professional.
• Reflect on your interactions purposefully to develop your approach to your learning and practice as a medical student.

Important note: Clinical environments can sometimes experience pressures that are unpredictable. As such planned experiences may change last minute so we ask for your flexibility and understanding.

Occupational Health Screening: As the practical nature of this course brings you into contact with patients you are required to attend Occupational Health appointments starting in semester 1. Occupational health are concerned with the prevention of ill health, they will ensure you have the required immunisations, minimising the risk of infection to both patients and you. Attending your occupational health appointments and completing your immunisations is imperative to ensure you are safe to learn in clinical environments. See: Student Occupational Health.

Attendance, Timetable, Travel Arrangements

Your personal timetable is available on 1Med. Please check this regularly as scheduled activities may be changed during term time or at unavoidably short notice. Where this happens, we will endeavour to email you but request that you also check your timetable regularly and take responsibility to ensure you are aware of commitments that week.

If you are unable to attend a scheduled clinical visit, it’s essential to contact your tutor and clinical partner as early as possible. This helps your tutor manage the session smoothly and allows your clinical partner to adjust their plans accordingly. Timely communication shows professionalism, respect for others’ time, and supports a positive learning environment for everyone involved.

Plan your route carefully and aim to arrive early.

Closing message

Thank you for taking the time to read this and prepare for your learning. We hope these learning experiences connect with your motivation to understand illness, the patient experience and the role of the doctor in healthcare. Developing consultation skills takes courage and openness — we’re here to support you every step of the way.