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Doctor of Medicine (MD) Curriculum Information

Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Health Professionals

The world is changing rapidly, of their academic performance in their We believe that the future and so are leading universities. prior degree, a structured interview, and will need to fulfill a number of roles At UWA, we want to make sure performance in GAMSAT (or MCAT for including that of professional, leader, that our graduates continue to international graduate applicants). School advocate, clinician, educator, and scholar be well prepared to contribute to leaver applicants for the school leaver (PLACES). The curriculum is therefore society as it undergoes further pathways will be selected on the basis structured around these themes as per transformation. of their school academic performance, Diagram 1. Effective communication a structured interview, and performance skills are vital outcomes for each theme As part of significant curriculum reform, in UMAT (ISAT for international school and will be emphasised throughout the the MBBS has been replaced by the leavers). course. Within each theme are more postgraduate qualification Doctor of specific strands of knowledge, skills Medicine (MD). This will be a four year and behaviours which will be integrated full time course Aims of the MD Course throughout the 4 years of the curriculum. commencing in 2014 and will result The MD graduates from UWA will be in important innovations for medical committed to the well-being of the Diagram 1: Curriculum Framework education in Australia. patient, community and society as responsible, accountable, scholarly, All applicants will be required to capable and caring doctors. Clinician complete an Australian bachelor degree or equivalent before commencing the Advocate Educator MD. The degree can be in any discipline The learning outcomes of the course Patient Community as no pre-requisite knowledge will be were developed to respond to the current Society required apart from the UWA English and future needs of patients and the Leader Scholar language requirement. Graduate society in which UWA medical graduates applicants will be selected on the basis will practice. Professional Professional Leader Advocate Clinician Educator Scholar

Demonstration of Participation in Responsible Knowledge, Awareness of A commitment to the a commitment to activities that use of expertise comprehension, personal learning evaluation of scientific patients, professionals contribute to and influence to application and styles and application processes and and society through effectiveness of advance the health analysis of the to knowledge evidence, as well as ethical practice, healthcare teams, and well-being of scientific basis of acquisition over a accessing, creating, participation in organisations and individual patients, medicine integrated lifetime of professional disseminating, professional- systems, allocation communities and with clinical practice. service. Contribution applying and led regulation, of finite healthcare populations. Provide Accurately elicit to patient, family translating medical commitment to resources and culturally secure and synthesise and community knowledge. health and service in leadership care to Indigenous relevant information education. Critically sustainable practice. and team roles as peoples and respond and perspectives reflect on one’s own appropriate. to individual and of patients and performance to set population health their families; and individual learning needs, identify accurately convey and improvement determinants of that information goals, and engage in health inequities and to all concerned. appropriate learning promote health and Clinical assessment activities to meet well being. and of those goals. common and urgent medical conditions.

Features of the MD Course Teaching and Learning ÌÌ Graduates who are aware of their ÌÌ High quality teaching within a The new MD curriculum will provide a ethical, social and professional intensive university and number of benefits for students and responsibility to their patients, clinical environment. patients. The benefits include: community and country. ÌÌ Early clinical exposure with students ÌÌ An advanced and efficient learning ÌÌ Graduates who have a broad seeing patients from the first week. environment at postgraduate experience of medical training and ÌÌ , procedural skills and clinical level with increased use of are prepared for life-long learning communication taught from the innovative teaching and information and further training in their chosen first semester. technologies. medical speciality. ÌÌ Broad curriculum with opportunities ÌÌ A focus on application of robust for depth of study in areas of interest. scientific evidence to individual patient Learning will be: ÌÌ Student choice of scholarly activity, care. ÌÌ Patient based electives and selectives. ÌÌ A graded approach to skills training, ÌÌ Symptom based ÌÌ A focus on preparing students for from theoretical knowledge, to ÌÌ Case based inter-professional practice. simulated training and practice, to ÌÌ Discipline based. ÌÌ Leadership and teamwork skills for learning with real patients. collaborative patient care. ÌÌ An emphasis on quality, safety, The curriculum will be facilitated so that: ÌÌ Teaching in , Aboriginal effectiveness and efficiency of health ÌÌ There will be an emphasis on the health, global health and advocacy for care for individual patients and the personal nature of learning. patients and for health systems. health system. ÌÌ The development of an open ÌÌ Teaching students about teaching so ÌÌ Graduates who are prepared mind and lateral thinking will be they become educators of the future. and equipped for with encouraged. ÌÌ Contextualised and case-centred appropriate knowledge, skills and ÌÌ It allows discovery, self-evaluation and curriculum to improve the relevance professional attributes. co-operation. It permits questions and retention of learning. related to the topic that opens up further discussion and even confrontation of ideas. ÌÌ It will build a foundation for further directed self-learning.

Course Structure Phase 1 The focus of student learning outcomes in Phase 1 (Foundations of Medical Practice) is to ensure comprehensibility of the nomenclature and structure of medical knowledge, skills and values which will be foreign to many students that has become disordered, diseased or but particularly from those backgrounds dysfunctional. The six PLACES themes which do not include health or will also be integrated with teaching biomedical science. methods including case-enhanced learning, e-learning, simulations, skills The learning outcomes for the Clinician workshops and clinical attachments. theme in Phase 1 will ensure students The theory and practical elements will achieve an understanding of medical and be consolidated by clinical teaching and scientific terminology, generic science learning sessions relevant to the systems and clinical knowledge, and introductory studied and cases illustrating important clinical skills. Outcomes related to other learning issues. themes will be expected in this phase, including research methodology for The chronological order of the systems the Scholar theme, health inequities is based on developing an overall ‘road and Indigenous health for the Advocate map’ followed by the fine details of theme, and leadership and teamwork each body system. Students will study skills for the Leader theme. The first content related to Skin, Musculoskeletal 2 weeks of the course (Introductory System, Neurosciences, Haematology Program) will include: and , Cardiovascular and ÌÌ A broad overview of the profession Respiratory, Gastrointestinal and Nutrition, of medicine from a variety of Renal and Endocrine, and Reproduction perspectives, particularly that and Life Course. This phase will conclude surgical problems, mental health of patients; with a Multisystem block which will disorders, musculoskeletal diseases ÌÌ An introduction to the art and science integrate previous knowledge and provide and general medical conditions. of medicine; a smooth transition to immersion into a Through these attachments, they ÌÌ An introduction to a collaborative clinical setting. will be expected to display ethical learning environment (with other and professional behaviour, excellent health professionals); Phase 3 communication skills, teamwork, and ÌÌ Clarification of the aims and process The emphasis of the Clinical Learning will have commenced peer-teaching and of the courses and expectations of and Practice phase shifts toward assessment exercises. students/staff; application of the previous knowledge to ÌÌ An emphasis on the importance of the real clinical settings, and higher level non- During Year 3, approximately 25 per patient as a person and addressing clinical knowledge, skills and professional cent of the student cohort will learn their concerns and those of their behaviours. Integration of scientific, in a rural setting, spending the entire families/carers in the best ways clinical, professional and societal health academic year in the Rural Clinical possible. issues will occur throughout the clinical School of WA. These sites stretch across attachments. Western Australia and include remote The subsequent weeks of the sites in the Kimberley and Pilbara. The Foundations of Medical Practice phase Clinical Learning and Practice in years urban students will undertake clinical will include a general introduction to the 2 and 3 consists of clinical attachments attachments in a variety of Perth relevant scientific disciplines, an overview into the wards and clinics of the hospitals hospitals, general practice , and of the and the “language” of Perth, general practices, other other community settings. of basic, applied and clinical sciences. community settings, and rural locations. Case-enhanced learning will be used to A longitudinal attachment to General Phase 4 provide clinical context and relevance to Practitioner’s surgeries will occur in year The final year is the Transition to the scientific content, and integrate the 2 to provide students with experience in Professional Practice phase and will six PLACES themes of the curriculum. continuity of patient care. ensure that MD graduates are ready for work as interns. Following an elective Phase 2 By the end of year 2, students will term, the student doctors will experience The Systems-Based Learning and be expected to demonstrate history- attachments to clinical areas and be Practice phase will occur in Semesters taking with patients, thorough physical expected to work within a team structure 2 and 3 of the course. This phase shifts examination skills, and some procedural to assist the functioning of the clinical toward outcomes related to more specific skills. They will have experience area. Students will also have a choice human structure, function and behaviour at dealing with patients with acute of electives, and participate in an Diagram 2: Curriculum Structure

Year 1 Foundations of Medical Practice System Based Learning and Practice

Clinical Learning and Practice I

Year 2 Systems Based Learning and Practice Aged Care and Internal Musculoskeletal Medicine Medicine

Clinical Learning and Practice II Year 3 General Practice/ Child Health Women’s Health Psychiatry/Surgery

Transition to Postgraduate Practice

Year 4 Emergency Surgery Internal Transition to Rural GP Selective CPAP Selective Medicine Medicine/IPP Internship

 IPP Interprofessional practice  CPAP cancer, pain, anaesthesiology, inter-professional practice attachment. Student Support A Transition to Internship block is and Mentorship envisaged for the final attachment It is envisaged that students will be where the student doctors will have allocated into longitudinal mentorship an attachment to the clinical setting groups which will provide opportunities where they will commence as interns for student support, formative the following year. This will also be the assessment and mentorship. Peer- block where further professional training assisted learning will be encouraged and will occur to make the MD graduates formalised within the curriculum. The ready for internship, the first step in their close association between the student careers as doctors. body and academic staff which currently exists at UWA will be encouraged and Scholarly Activity strengthened. The defining feature of the MD is the Scholarly Activity in which all students Further Information undertake a high quality project in MD Admissions Information an area of student interest. This is Faculty Admissions Office, M501 a longitudinal activity commencing Faculty of Medicine, in Year 2, with completion in Year 4. Dentistry and Health Sciences Students will have a choice of completing The University of Western Australia original research; coursework in an 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 area of interest including education, Tel: +61 8 6488 4646 leadership or which may Email: [email protected] potentially lead to an intercalated degree; meddent.uwa.edu.au/admissions and service learning which includes contributing to and health MD Curriculum Information systems locally or internationally. All The Education Centre, M515 scholarly activities will require students to Faculty of Medicine, undertake activities to demonstrate their Dentistry and Health Sciences understanding and application of the The University of Western Australia scholarship of medical practice. 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 Email: [email protected]

Information in this publication was compiled in February 2013, but is subject to change from time to time. In particular the University reserves the right to change the content of courses at any time. The content of the MD curriculum still UniPrint 96194 requires final approval and all content at the time of this publication is subject to modification. CRICOS Provider Code: 00126G