Fundamental Skills in Medicine
Anatomy in Gateway to Medical Studies
Course outline
The Gateway to Medical Studies programme is designed as a whole-rounded pre-medical experience with several essential components:
Theoretical and practical components
The programme of study will have a focus on credit bearing courses in Level 1 Biology and Science Fundamentals, with daily lectures and weekly laboratory sessions and an additional bespoke Fundamental Skills in Medicine module.
The Fundamental skills in Medicine module is designed to develop the academic skills required to study medicine at university level to develop those independent life long learning skills, team work and communication skills required as a doctor within a clinical context.
Students receive workshops in vocational studies understanding professionalism and communication skills in a clinical context, managing their digital identity and an introduction to clinical skills in preparation for their clinical placements in both a primary and secondary care setting. In addition an opportunity to partake in short periods of immersive experiential opportunity in remote and rural medicine will be provided to students.
Within this module Team Based Learning is used as part of the learning strategy. This approach is different from the traditional lecture style of teaching. The students are required to work in smaller groups and the emphasis is on what the students are doing and how they are learning from their experience. Teaching time is largely spent on the students actively engaging in applying their learning and understanding to relevant clinical scenarios. This approach really encourages the development of a reflective approach to studying and development of life long learning skills and attributes.
The Fundamental Skills in Medicine module also focuses on providing a grounding in the policies and provisions of Healthcare in Scotland and the UK. Students work together on a group project to prepare a presentation which introduces students to scientific research skills and the development of academic writing skills with a focus on the impact of lifestyle on health and society.
The GMC emphasises the importance of reflecting on your practice as a core component for continuing professional development of doctors. This module introduces students to what reflection is and the benefits of reflecting, providing a framework for how to reflect and encouraging students to reflect on what they have been taught and how they can use this to improve their learning.
Students are also begin to develop the important skill of reflecting within a clinical setting and develop the skills of writing reflectively on their clinical experiences.
The bespoke anatomy classes offered as part of the gateway programme will cover body systems that relate directly to topics covered within the medical school programme such as the back and limbs, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, and the abdominal organs of the gastrointestinal system as examples.
In addition to learning the theory through lectures, students gain hands-on experience with plastinated anatomy specimens. These are real anatomical specimens that have been professionally dissected and preserved to allow direct visualisation of these 3-dimensional anatomical structures.
Our students learn how to use anatomical and medical terminology to describe the human body and are taught how to identify key structures on anatomical specimens.
As part of the course students have the opportunity to apply their anatomy knowledge to clinical scenarios. Core skills including communication, professionalism, and the ethical and legal considerations around the use of human tissues are also covered.
To support students, each will be allocated a personal mentor, drawn from in-house academic teaching staff and a clinical mentor providing unique exposure to the clinical environment, drawn from local clinicians.
Resources
Resources and Facilities
An introduction to clinical skills will be delivered within the Medical School using our simulated clinical facilities.
As a Gateway to Medical Studies student at the University of Glasgow you will have the opportunity to study within a licensed anatomy teaching facility and will have access to the Museum of Anatomy containing the world-famous Hunter and Cleland anatomy specimens, many of which are still used in teaching today.
Online resources including recorded lectures, e-textbooks, exercises and Moodle quizzes will be available to enhance self-directed learning.
Students will be provided with an electronic tablet to support them through their studies and to make sure they have access to all available resources provided by the university.
The timetable quite deliberately leaves room for participation in sporting and recreational activities as this has been shown in other similar programmes to enhance integration with the student body, and improve and enhance the student experience and performance.