Welcome
The new academic year is now well underway and events that seemed distant are now nearly upon us. This is a very busy year for the programme with the GMC visit and all the activity around the curriculum review.
In this newsletter:
- GMC visit
- What’s new, curriculum review
- Welcome to Andrew Blythe
- Academic Development Days
- Student achievement
- SPAM alert!
- Conferences and events
- Student reflections
- Junior doctor’s contacts
GMC visit
Probably hearing about the GMC’s imminent inspection (yet again) can become a little tedious and maybe there is a risk of people getting bored with this. Nonetheless, there are a number of things happening and changing which you might like to be aware of. At present, we know of a number of key dates that are happening
- December 9th, 2015 – an introductory meeting in Taunton at which we get to meet the GMC team
- March 9th, 2016 – an inspection team visit focussing on Year 5 students and Finals
- Tuesday and Wednesday, May 10th and 11th – an inspection team visit to the rest of the medical school – meeting with staff, students and probably visiting an academy or two.
The GMC have provided a long questionnaire for us to complete and have circulated a survey for students to complete – closing date -November 6th.
In the near future, we will be organising a series of preparatory events – initially briefing meetings (to ensure everyone knows about a key range of medical school activities), and then for those chosen to be in the teams to meet with the inspection team, some mock panel meetings which will hopefully simulate the actual meetings and highlight how best to tackle the meetings and get the most out of them.
What’s new?
Update on MB, ChB Curriculum Review
It’s now just over a year since the process of reviewing the MB, ChB programme started and we are really grateful for the time and effort that many people have already contributed to the process, enabling us to achieve a huge amount in a relatively short time. Some people have asked why we needed a curriculum review; Bristol produces great doctors as we know from their postgraduate performance and career progression. However, we also know that the student experience could be improved and we need to be responsive to the changes in medicine and the NHS that continue apace.
The aspiration for this review was to take what’s already excellent in the current curriculum, to build on both this and the changes that are already taking place in teaching and assessment in response to feedback from students and external bodies, such as the GMC. We started by conducting a comprehensive review of what’s good and what could be improved upon in the existing programme. From this, we focused on assimilating the best evidence in medical education to guide the development of the new curriculum through a series of working groups. These groups included clinicians, biomedical scientists, educationists and, most importantly, students and patient representatives. Key principles underpinning the work have been inclusiveness, transparency and responsiveness to feedback.
We have now reached a critical phase of development. The fundamental structure of the curriculum has been agreed and work has started on developing the detail of teaching material and learning outcomes for each year of the new curriculum. The big changes will be most evident in the early years of the course, where there will be a shift away from didactic, lecture-based teaching to learning in small groups with integration of clinical and biomedical sciences based around clinical cases. The objective is to make all learning experiences directly relevant to the process of becoming a doctor. The curriculum outline is available to view at: Bristol Doctor Curriculum 2017-An Overview
Many people have expressed anxieties about arrangements during transition from the current to the revised curriculum. We decided not to go for a ‘big bang’ introduction of the new curriculum across all years but to phase in the curriculum from 2017 onwards. To ensure current students benefit from all the work that has gone into curriculum review, we propose to introduce years 1 and 5 contemporaneously. As Professor David Cahill and his team, including the new Director of Assessments, Dr Andrew Blythe, have already put in place plans to improve the final year, the structural changes to Year 5 will be relatively small. The proposed changes to finals (i.e. moving to the end of year 4) will start with the 4th year cohort starting in 2020/21
There will obviously be students who take time out of their studies for a variety of reasons, including intercalated degrees, and the timing of this can lead to leaving one curriculum and re-entering a different one. Behind the scenes, we are working on these various scenarios and putting in place transitional arrangements to ensure no individual student is disadvantaged by this switch.
We are very excited by the opportunities that curriculum review has presented to make the Bristol MB, ChB course one of the best available, which will produce doctors of the highest calibre who are equipped to take advantages of all that a medical career can offer. We are always open to feedback from groups and individuals and, over the next few months, we will be out and about presenting the curriculum review in a series of open meetings and receiving feedback on progress to date and our plans for next phase of development.
Professor John Henderson & Dr Eugene Lloyd
Programme Directors, Curriculum Review Oct 2015
New Director of Assessments Dr Andrew Blythe
Welcome to Dr Andrew Blythe who returns to the post of Director of Assessments taking over from Nicki Cohen who left in July.
Academic Development Days
Want to sharpen your academic skills:
Nobody is born speaking academic English. It is something that we all need to learn if we want to succeed in our studies whether English is our first language or not. There are different expectations and depths of Academic Language and Literacy that are required at different levels of study, such as moving from A levels to UG study. If you want to be a successful participant in the undergraduate academic community, you need to be aware of these expectations and continue to develop your academic language and literacy in order to then meet them. The programme of days and how to book are available at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/english-language/study/current-students/add/
Will you get anything out of these? Well, yes you will if you are: A home, European or International student. In your first, second, or third year of UG studies. Looking to understand the expectations that your lecturers have and looking to meet these expectations to improve the standard of your work.
Student Achievements
More prizes for our students – at the South West Obstetrics & Genealogical meeting on October 2nd
Competing against O&G trainees from across the region and fellow students, Chantal Cox-George won first prize for her oral presentation: Domestic Violence – The Case For Incorporating Teaching Into The National O&G Curriculum, and Samantha Leong, with Samantha Leong, Holly Bevan and Katy Yeo won first prize for their poster: A Multi-Centre Audit Of Chlamydia Trachomatis Screening And Treatment In Patients Undergoing Surgical Termination Of Pregnancy And Surgical Management Of Miscarriage. Three of the 9 oral presentations and 6 of the 24 poster were from University of Bristol undergraduates. “I felt very proud to see you all there and competing with and beating our trainees. Well done!” Professor David Cahill
There were two Primary Care Prizes awarded this year to Bronwen Warner and Chantal Cox-George (who fittingly was also president of the primary care undergraduate society). Congratulations to them both.
Rumour has it – Spam, spam, spam.
You’re probably noticed that the university is receiving a lot of spam emails. Please be vigilant and take care of what attachments you open as the emails appear to come from normal UoB accounts. If you are asked to go to a website and log in (to Blackboard for example) then do log in via your usual route and never via the link provided.
Remember: we will NEVER ask for your bank details via email.
See here for IT supports advice on dealing with spam. http://www.bris.ac.uk/it-services/news/2014/phishing10june.html
Conferences and Events
Remember : 2 November 2015, 6.00 PM – 7.00 PM
Professor Dame Anne Johnson – ‘When pathogens meet people: controlling infectious disease epidemics’ Lecture. University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ
The event is free to attend but registration is required via Eventbrite.
Student Reflections
My summer working at Northampton Saints RFC
This summer I was delighted to return to Northampton Saints RFC for my second preseason shadowing the medical team. ‘Saints’ play Rugby in the English premiership and are at the very top of their game. In my capacity as a medical student, my role involved shadowing the Head of Medical services, Physiotherapist Matt Lee, and his highly capable team of Sports Medicine professionals. This included a ‘GP SI’ (GP with a special interest). I was tasked with helping collate the baseline ‘SCAT 3’measures from each player; this test is essentially a tool used to help assess concussion. Not dissimilar to the MMSE or MOCA (routinely used on the wards to assess cognitive function), the SCAT was originally published in the BJSM (British Journal of Sports Medicine), and has been widely used since then. The test has played a vital role in the diagnosis and management of what is a very serious condition. Concussion is the vogue word in Sports and Exercise Medicine (SEM) at the moment, and so it should be. As Becky James, the Welsh international cyclist (and partner of Northampton Saints and Wales Rugby player) put it: ‘at the end of the day, if I need it, I can have my knee replaced. They can’t replace George’s head’.
Aside from SCAT testing, I was privy to some of the most advanced techniques in SEM. A highly experienced team of physiotherapists, Sports therapist and Osteopaths worked together in the medical room to ensure that each player was able to achieve the best possible recovery from their various injuries. Modern ‘gadgetry’, such as the Game Ready Compression devices, Isokinetic testing machine and acupuncture were combined with good old fashioned soft tissue manipulation, underpinned by a vast sum of knowledge and experience.
As I hoped, I came away from my placement delighted by how much I had learned. The club are incredibly welcoming and have a highly functioning professional unit. As a medic desperate to pursue a career in Sports Medicine, I could not recommend contacting your local sports club and asking for work experience more. The skills and contacts gained are invaluable. You do not even need to be specifically attached to a Physician; often the physiotherapist, sports therapists and osteopaths are in a better position to help further your musculoskeletal knowledge.
Cliona Lewis. 4th Year Medical Student
Intercalated BSc in sports science. President of Sports med society 2013-2014.
Finally
To all members of the Student body
Many of you are very aware of the impending changes to junior doctors’ contracts, which have been proposed. You will also have seen the reports of support marches all over England. Members of the faculty took part in the march in Bristol. We recognise the considerable stress and distress this is having on our students, especially those in Final year with impending examinations, but now, on top, anxiety about contracts and working conditions in the future.
We know that you have expressed concerns about the action and teaching/exams/picket lines/being penalised for missing teaching etc. We will consider our position in more detail on this when the ballot results come in and we have more clarity on what is being proposed.
We are particularly aware of the need to secure the safety of teaching and examinations that would fall during any time; we will provide guidance on what to do if there is industrial action. As a member of the BMA, I would consider important to allow my trainees to express their right to take industrial action if necessary, and to support that by stepping in to back fill their roles as necessary. The BMA has provided advice to medical students on this matter and there is a link to it here.
David Cahill
Do you have something to share? Please send contributions to: susan.pettinger-moores@bristol.ac.uk