Academic Curriculum: Y3 – Y5

Academic year 

Syllabus 

Year 3 

15 weeks of lectures
Topic: Genetic, Pathology, Haematology, Female pathology, Cardiology, Infectious disease, Respiratory, Dermatology, MSK, Neurology, GI, Renal, Endocrine.

Format: Lectures, Case-based learning, Hospital visit. 

Year 4

Topic:
General medicine (Cardiology, Clinical Pharmacology, Dermatology, Diabetes, Endocrinology and clinical biochemistry, Gastroenterology, Geriatrics medicine, Haematology, Infectious disease, Nephrology, Neurology, Palliative medicine, Respiratory medicine, Rheumatology.)
General surgery (Acute surgery, Upper GI Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Breast surgery, Endocrine surgery, Urology, Perioperative surgery)

After the exam: Speciality placement lectures, bedside teaching, supervisor teaching

Year 5

Topic: General Practice, Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Orthopedic and Rheumatology, ENT and Ophthalmology, Cardiology and Neurology, Paediatric.

Format: Lectures, bedside teaching, supervisor teaching

Academic Calendar

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Lectures 

(15weeks)

Written exam

Clinical placement 

(10 weeks)

Y3 OSCE

Junior Elective and summer holiday

Student Selected Component + Medical Block + Surgical placement 

( 20 weeks )

Written exam

Specialty placement 

(20 weeks)

Senior elective and summer holiday

Specialty placement 

(20 weeks) 


*SJT

Written and OSCE

Prepare for Practice (PfP)

( 5 weeks

Assessment Format

Year 3

Type of assessment: Written exam (January), OSCE (June)

Syllabus
Written exam: mainly focus on the lectures given on the first 15 weeks of year 3
OSCE: 10-minute stations; 12 stations in 3 days, history taking/ Clinical examination/ Combined history and clinical examination/+data interpretation 

Year 4

Type of assessment: Written exam (Mid February)

Syllabus
Written exam: General medicine and General surgery 

Year 5

Type of assessment: Written exam (March), OSCE (March)

Syllabus
Written: General Medicine, General Surgery, General Practice, Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Orthopedic and Rheumatology, ENT and Ophthalmology, Cardiology and Neurology, Paediatric. 
OSCE: 10 minutes station, 16 stations in 4 days, History taking/ Clinical examination/ Data interpretation/ Clinical reasoning.

Research Opportunities

Why is research important?

The FP score accounts for 2 points during foundation year application. This may seem minute but may affect the allocation of your desired programme. Here are a few ways to get started with research projects which may contribute towards your FP score.

Clinical placements

At the start of a placement, take the initiative and ask doctors in the ward about any research projects that you can participate in. A clinical audit is a good project for students new to research and there is always a demand for quality improvement.

Between 3rd and 4th year, you can enroll in an intercalated degree which is an additional honours degree BSc (MedSci) or BSc (DentSci) degree within the College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences or College of Arts. It provides an opportunity to study what interests you in much greater depth. You will be required to carry out a research project for your thesis which will help improve on research skills such as research technique and critical appraisal.

Student selected component (ssc) and electives

SSC is a five week academic block within term outwith curriculum content. You can choose from a selection of modules provided by the medical school or propose a topic of interest with independently determined learning objectives. This is a great time to start getting involved in research work. You can achieve a similar experience with your elective placement that takes place in summer.