As you may already be aware, the MBBS curriculum is currently undergoing a review which involves all years and, excitingly, has an increased focus on teaching in General Practice. The new curriculum will start to roll out from MBBS year 1 in September 2019 (phasing in over the next 6 years) but there are also few changes which are happening in the later clinical years ahead of the process, giving us more opportunity to demonstrate to our students why General Practice is such an amazing teaching environment and such a rich and varied career. Below are some of the opportunities for the community, beginning this coming academic year.
Patients, Communities and Healthcare (Year 1) November 2019
PCH is a new, community-based early years course to the Imperial MBBS (replacing FCA).Students will spend 8 Thursdays in a GP Practice over the course of year 1 with a further 8 days in the second year. Mornings will be spent with students visiting patients in their homes or sitting in GP clinics, with the afternoon back at the Practice for a patient de-brief, followed by a tutorial. There is an opportunity now to sign up to year 1 of the course by contacting n.engineer@imperial.ac.uk
F-Zero (Year 6) July 2019
F-Zero is an innovative new course based on the international model of “longitudinal learning” and leads on from our highly successful ICA placement in year 5. F-Zero students will be based in GP, Medicine & Surgery with allocated supervisors in each through the academic year (July to February), taking a meaningful and authentic role in the care of patients across their primary and secondary teams. This coming July 2019, 30 students have self-selected to take part in the course, replacing their traditional Year 6. They will be based at Northwick Park Hospital and a surrounding GP practice that refers into Northwick. There is an opportunity now to sign up to this F-zero course by contacting n.engineer@imperial.ac.uk
GPSA (Year 6) July 2019
From July 2019 the ever popular out of London GPSA course will be extended to 4 weeks, recognising the importance of General Practice teaching and learning prior to finals. There is an opportunity now to sign up to this by contacting n.engineer@imperial.ac.uk
ENT & Ophthalmology (Year 6)
From July 2019, ENT and Ophthalmology teaching will be delivered in a more integrated way. Rather than discrete blocks, both disciplines will be taught through other relevant specialities. Students, especially those in Year 6, may need additional signposting to practise their ENT and Ophthalmology skills so please be mindful of any learning opportunities that arise in your practice.
Other Changes July 2019 (Years 5/6)
Other broader changes outside of General Practice include musculoskeletal medicine moving from year 5 to year 6 and, in exchange, the Specialty Choice Placement will move from year 6 to year 5 and will be increased to 4 weeks. Renal medicine will now be delivered within the 4 week Senior Medicine placement in Year 6 and lastly Emergency Medicine will be extended to 4 weeks in Year 6.
There is no doubt that General Practice being front and centre in the above changes to the curriculum is down to your hard work teaching our students to such a high level. For this, we continue to be grateful and look forward to taking these exciting opportunities together. We will stay in touch as other changes roll out in the forthcoming years and if you have any questions on the above on how this may affect your teaching in the practice or getting involved in any of the new courses, please do contact n.engineer@imperial.ac.uk our Faculty Development Manager.