Knowledge and Understanding

Before the clinical course starts, students will be directed to complete a set of eLearning for Health modules, including Information Governance, to meet the mandatory requirements of all staff working within the NHS

At the start of the clinical programme, there is a two-week Introductory Course comprising a mixture of large group lecture style sessions and smaller group rotational experiences.

By the end of the Introductory Course, students will:

• have received a grounding in the core skills required – clinical communication skills, clinical examination skills, practical procedural skills/resuscitation, professional skills and palliative care. They will also have received advice about experiential learning and using the available learning resources (including the on-line learning materials).
• have met their undergraduate clinical supervisors and followed a programme of instruction in basic clinical method including fundamentals of communication skills, basic history taking and clinical examination (through a peer-peer teaching programme with more senior students);
• have been introduced to basic concepts of patient investigation and clinical reasoning.

By the end of Year 4, the Core Clinical Practice course, students will be competent in basic clinical method. They will have met patients in hospital and in primary care with a wide range of acute and chronic general medical and surgical problems and pursued a clinically-orientated student-selected placement or research project. Students will be able to:

• Communicate effectively in a range of clinical settings;
• Take a clinical history;
• Perform a physical examination;
• Document their findings appropriately;
• Show competence in basic practical skills;
• Prepare and discuss a differential diagnosis;
• Suggest appropriate investigations;
• Interpret the results of simple clinical investigations.

By the end of Year 5, the Specialist Clinical Practice course, students will be competent in the clinical, communication and practical skills relevant to the medical specialities throughout all stages of life. They will have had an introduction to the specialist medical practice in the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust and exposure to the translational and clinical research underpinning major healthcare challenges, reflecting the research themes of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and including Neurosciences and Mental Health, Maternal and Child HealthCardiovascular Medicine, Inflammation andand Cancer.. Students will have met diverse patients both in hospital and in primary care and will:

• Be able to recognise different patterns of health and disease throughout life and in different communities;
• Have produced portfolio cases that reflect the presentation of disease throughout life;
• Be familiar with issues relating to physical and mental disability in patients of all ages;
• Have studied the diagnosis and management of a range of health problems by means of linked placements in primary and secondary care;
• Know about the public health aspects of medicine relating to screening, prevention and population health at different stages of life;
• Have had experience/direct involvement with clinical or translational research.

By the end of Year 6, the Applied Clinical Practice course, by integrating the curriculum themes in further clinical practice, and by undertaking an Apprenticeship period after the Final MB examinations, students will have developed the consultation, clinical management, diagnostic judgement and professional skills required for graduation. Students will have responsibility for patient care under close supervision in a variety of clinical environments. Students will:

• Be able to recognise the severity of illness and institute immediate and continuing care to patients of any age group who are acutely and seriously unwell, regardless of the underlying cause;
• Be able to demonstrate their understanding of General Practice as a speciality;
• Have acquired the Intermediate Life Support (ILS) Certificate;Be able to demonstrate the appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes required by the Clinical School and by the General Medical Council to practise as a doctor in the postgraduate Foundation programme.