The brand new PCH (Patients, Communities and Healthcare) boat officially set sail from the harbour with a tutor introduction evening on 7th October. Representatives from over half of the GP PCH tutors’ practices attended to give their thoughts on this exciting new course for our first year students, and we worked together to explore how to make PCH work for everyone (patients, practices, students and faculty). We are delighted that the course launch has been received so positively by both practices and our new first year students.
To those unfamiliar with PCH, The PCH module runs across years 1 and 2 of the medical school curriculum. Its aim is to integrate the biological, psychological and social aspects of health, illness and disease, and explore how these impact on patient experiences and on health outcomes.
The start of the course involves a couple of interactive lectures to orientate the student to sociological concepts, hearing from a patient sharing their experience of health/illness, exploration of the NHS structure and logistics of the course. The students then visit their allocated GP practices on eight Thursdays spaced from November till March. During these days, the students will:
• visit patients in their own home (who are invited on criteria including whether the practice feels the patient would benefit from these visits)
• conduct a survey project of local patients exploring healthcare satisfaction or perception of health
• practice starting real consultations with patients during GP clinics
• discuss and reflect on their experiences in small group tutorials
They are assessed through a range of workplace based assessments and through the survey project.
PCH has been designed to serve the needs of the whole community, including patients, practices, students and faculty. Its development has been informed by feedback from GP tutors, students and patient representatives. We look forward to updating you with how it progresses. Many thanks to the whole PCPH team for their help with this, including Sonia, Arti, Michael, Jenna and Nadine, and a special thanks to Dr Libby Pearson for her input.