Teaching
Case-Based Learning (CBL) is at the core of the MB ChB curriculum and is integrated across all four years of the programme. CBL is a leaner-centred method of teaching and learning that we regard as ‘directed discovery’. It identifies what is essential to know about a patient case while encouraging students, individually and in small groups, to take an active role in identifying what they need to learn and how they can learn it.
Year One will be delivered through largely university-based teaching, including integrated clinical exposure in various settings. You will be allocated to small learning groups made up of around ten students of different backgrounds and experiences. This method of working enables everyone to bring their own skills and knowledge to the group so you learn from one another, which we strongly believe enhances your learning experience. You will benefit from cutting-edge anatomy teaching using plastinated specimens and 3D imaging, and will build your clinical skills through supervised day-to-day work with patients both in the hospital setting and in the Community.
Year Two will begin with a similar learning environment to Year One. You will gradually increase the amount of time you spend learning in health care settings, so that by the middle of this year you will find yourself immersed in community and hospital-based clinical teaching.
In Year Three you will learn in the context of a series of specialist blocks, further enhancing knowledge around core subject areas and developing professional skills. The majority of your learning will be based in GP practices in the wider community and in hospitals through our partner trusts.
The majority of your learning in Year Four will continue to be based in the wider community and hospitals through our partner trusts whilst preparing you to start practice as a Foundation Year I (FY1) doctor. In addition, a six-week elective in a setting of your choice enables you to observe how medicine is practised in another country or in a different social, cultural and physical environment. Our graduates emerge committed to the highest standards of clinical practice, professionalism and patient care.
Class sizes
Small group work tends to be in groups of between 8 – 15 students depending on the nature of the session.
Typical contact hours
Contact hours for this course vary significantly between year groups and clinical placements.
Assessment
Students are assessed both formatively and summatively across all four years of the course. Formative assessments help to inform learning and are normally placed at the end of each teaching block. Summative assessments inform progression and take place at the end of Year One, end of Year Two, and in Year Four. The summative examinations consist of both a written and clinical element.
In addition, students must evidence engagement with the programme which includes demonstration of both academic and professional development, as well as a minimum attendance requirement.
In your final year you will be assessed by the national MLA (Medical Licensing Assessment) and be required to undertake the national Prescribing Safety Assessment.
Graduating students will receive a Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery. The final degree is unclassified. Awards of ‘with honours’ are based on a criteria determined by the Board of Examiners.
Additional course costs
There may be additional costs associated with studying this programme, such as personal clinical equipment – stethoscope, pen torch and laboratory coat, materials for research projects, printing, and travel costs between placements.
Students in their final year will undertake an elective of their choosing, which could be either home or abroad.
Students offered a place on the MB ChB programme will be required to submit a Disclosures and Barring Services (DBS) Enhanced check upon admission. MB ChB students are required to be re-checked every two years either by the DBS Update Service or full DBS enhanced check.
Your timetable
Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, listing your allocated lectures, seminars, and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you when you join us.
