The University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine (Clinical School) was formally established in January 1975 when it subsumed the School of Clinical Research and Postgraduate Teaching that had existed since 1946; the first entry of 50 Clinical Students was admitted in October 1976. For the last few years, and up to and including 2016 entry, the annual intake to the Standard Clinical Course was around 160 students. From September 2017, all preclinical students will stay in Cambridge for the clinical component of the course, subject to satisfactory progression. This will increase the annual intake to around 260 students. Around 10 of those students are offered places on the MBPhD programme; in addition, 20 students are admitted to the Cambridge Graduate-entry Course (CGC) (this will rise to 40 students from 2018-19).
The focus of the Clinical School’s activities is the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Addenbrooke’s Hospital) situated on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, an outstanding centre for clinical practice, medical education and biomedical research. In addition, there are significant links in teaching and research with Regional Partner NHS Trust hospitals and in general practices throughout the East of England.
The seven regional partner Trusts are divided into three groups:
South: The Lister Hospital (Stevenage) and Bedford Hospital
North: Peterborough City Hospital, Hinchingbrooke Hospital (Huntingdon) and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kings Lynn
East: Ipswich Hospital and West Suffolk Hospital (Bury St Edmunds).
Clinical teaching in each of these “Hubs” will be coordinated, including with local general practices, in order to optimise students’ experiences of general medical and surgical practice in primary and secondary care and patients from different socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds, and to experience close supervision in small groups. The clinical curriculum is three years in duration, each year with its own focus.
Year 4: Core Clinical Practice
Year 5: Specialist Clinical Practice
Year 6: Applied Clinical Practice
Within each year, students are exposed to general medical practice, both in community, primary and secondary care placements and to the specialist care provided in hospital settings, especially at Addenbrookes Hospital. The focus for teaching and learning is patient-centredness, such that students are encouraged to think of medical care from the patients’ perspective throughout. The curriculum is built around a common set of themes, which allow integration of a wide range of medical subjects around core principles of healthcare for the individual and for communities. Throughout the course there are opportunities for students to pursue areas of their own interest in a series of student – selected and research components.
Click on the links on the left-hand menu to find out more about the different parts of the course.
