Course Catalogue

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This course provides students with insight into the role of exercise in various medical conditions, including specific diseases / sports injuries; particular patient groups (eg in pregnancy); and in extreme conditions. Students will have access to expertise both on campus and at the National Stadium at Hampden.

On average approximately 6 x 1.5 hour sessions per week in Semester One, and 2 x 1.5 hour session per week in Semester 2.

Mandatory Entry Requirements

Actively enrolled in an MBChB or BDS and normally have successfully completed at least the first 3 years. Exceptionally, some external students from specific partner institutions may join the course after completion of two years of MBChB or BDS (or equivalent); however award of the intercalated degree will be withheld until they have subsequently completed the required number of additional credits (or equivalent) at their home institution.

Recommended Entry Requirements

Will normally be placed within the top 50% of the year and have demonstrated good academic progress.

None

BSc (Med Sci), BSc (Dent Sci) Clinical Medicine Core Course

BSc (Med Sci), BSc (Dent Sci) Clinical Medicine Research Project

BSc (Med Sci), BSc (Dent Sci) Clinical Medicine Statistics

Assessment

65% written examination in April/May

35% review essay completed during 2nd semester

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to introduce students to a number of aspects of exercise in relation to health promotion, disease prevention and treatment of disease states. The course also aims to demonstrate how many common disease processes influence exercise capacity. The course aims to allow students to examine the role of exercise in relation to various medical conditions, with an emphasis on cardiovascular disease, special patient groups and extreme conditions.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

Discuss the evidence for validated programmes in cardiac rehabilitation;

Review the evidence for use of exercise testing in stratifying risk in cardiac disease;

Critically review the evidence for causes of sudden cardiac death and programmes designed to prevent this during exercise;

Evaluate the role of exercise in both prevention and treatment of hypertension and angina;

Discuss the amount of exercise suitable for patients with chronic cardiac conditions such as heart failure, adult congenital heart disease and valvular heart disease;

Evaluate the role of exercise in special population groups such as females (including pregnancy), those with a disability, children and the elderly;

Critically review the evidence for exercise in extreme environments e.g. at altitude and underwater;

Evaluate the pathophysiological changes that occur in a number of conditions such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes and cancer;

Discuss the use of exercise as a preventative measure and potential treatment for conditions such as asthma, diabetes, cancer and stroke;

Identify the typical presentation and mechanism of certain injuries;

Critically review each treatment option for an injury and formulate a plan for treatment and rehabilitation;

Evaluate when an athlete is fit to return to sport (particularly following a head injury);

Critically evaluate injury prevention strategies for overuse injury;

Critically review the evidence for surgical versus conservative management for an injury.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.

Attendance of at least 80% of lectures and tutorials is mandatory along with active participation in the seminar and other teaching opportunities.