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 Medicine - 3801
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Program Summary

   
   
 
Campus: Kensington Campus
 
 
Career: Undergraduate
 
 
Typical Duration: 6 Years
 
 
Typical UOC Per Session: 24
 
 
Min UOC Per Session: 3
 
 
Max UOC Per Session: 27
 
 
Min UOC For Award: 288
 
 
Award(s):
 
 
Bachelor of Science (Medicine) Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (Honours)
 
 
Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (Major)
 
 
Bachelor of Science (Medicine) (Major)
 
 
Bachelor of Science (Medicine) Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (Major)
 
  

Program Description

This program is not available to commencing students. Details below are provided for the reference of continuing students only.

Prospective students should refer instead to the new Medicine program 3802. A direct link is given below:


New Medicine program 3802

Program Description - 3801

This six year program leads to the award of the degrees of Bachelor of Science (Medicine), Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery - BSc (Med) MB BS.

These degrees, which are in effect a single degree, may be awarded with Honours Class 1; Honours Class II, Division I; Honours Class II, Division II or at Pass level. The award of honours is determined on the basis of a student's performance throughout the six year program, and is usually obtained by using the weighted average mark for each year, calculated by weighting the courses according to units of credit.

On completion of Year 3 of the six year program, students also qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Science (Medicine). Students would not ordinarily be awarded the BSc(Med) until the completion of the requirements for the award of the MB BS. However, students who have completed the requirements for the award of the BSc(Med) and are leaving the Medicine Program 3801 (BSc(Med)MB BS), either through their own decision to withdraw or upon exclusion by the University, are eligible to be awarded the BSc(Med) degree at that stage.

Students who have achieved a high standard in their studies may undertake an additional one year program of supervised research leading to the award of the BSc(Med) Honours. For details see the program description for 3831. A direct link is given below:

BSc(Med) Honours

Program Objectives and Learning Outcomes

The objectives of the Medicine program are:

1. To produce a graduate with knowledge of medical and behavioural sciences sufficient to understand the scientific basis of medicine and to go forward with medicine as it develops further.
2. To provide a graduate with the flexibility of outlook and training necessary to progress to any field of endeavour in medicine or related disciplines.
3. To provide education in clinical methods and patient care in the main branches of medicine and surgery so that the graduate could undertake patient care under supervision at the level of an intern.
4. To help the graduate understand professional and ethical principles and to be at all times mindful of the individual's obligations to patients, colleagues and the community.

Program Structure

Year 1
Year 1 is not being offered in 2005

Year 2
Year 2 is not being offered in 2005

Year 3
Year 3 is conducted in two academic sessions. The principal campus-based courses of the year are Medical Pharmacology, Medical Physiology, Microbiology for Medical Students and Pathology. Clinical Studies 3 continues the clinical program commenced in first year. Students also take the course Medical Ethics and Health Law, which builds on material presented in first year ICBS and second year Human Behaviour.

An understanding of Immunology is also required to enable students to deal with the pathogenesis of specific diseases. To facilitate this understanding, a series of introductory lectures in Immunology provide an outline of the structure and function of the immune system, covering the cells and mediators involved in the immune response. The Immunology program is integrated with the Microbiology course on the response to infectious diseases, and with the Pathology course and is presented in an interdisciplinary fashion, providing a basis for subsequent instruction in the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of clinical immunology in the later years of the curriculum.

All medicine courses in Year 3 are conducted over both sessions except for CMED3001. The UOC indicated below is for a single session only
Assessment
In addition to the end of year assessment, mid-year progress assessments are programmed in some courses.

Rules of Progression
Students who pass all courses in Year 3 are eligible to progress to Year 4. Students who do not pass a course are required to repeat the whole course. They are not required to repeat any course in which they have attained a pass. The exception is that they are required to repeat Clinical Studies 3 while they are repeating a Year 3 course or courses, regardless of whether or not they have passed Clinical Studies 3.

Allocation to Hospitals for Year 4
During Session 2, Year 3 students are asked to list their preferences regarding allocation to a Sydney or rural teaching Hospital. See the Faculty of Medicine website for further details.

Year 4
Year 4 of the program is primarily based in the teaching hospitals and comprises 6 terms totalling 39 weeks. Of these weeks, 36 will be spent in hospitals and 3 will be spent on campus. For their time in hospitals, students will work as part of a health-care delivery team. The students' responsibilities as part of that team will be increased gradually as new skills are acquired. The philosophy inherent in education by attachment to a hospital team is important. Learning 'on the job' exposes students to real clinical situations incorporating both the medical and social implications of disease and allows the continued development of counselling skills. Thus, students will learn that hospital care should be linked to continuing care in the community, and that there is much emphasis in modern medicine on rehabilitation to maximise patients' chances of resuming their normal role in society. Reading about pathological processes, combined with team discussion of problem patients, provides the ideal environment for the retention of new knowledge.

The teaching of Population Health and Community Medicine is integrated with clinical studies in the teaching hospitals and is a part of the campus teaching program.

The Pathology course comprises a component of didactic teaching within the framework of the common campus program and a major hospital-based component taught through a tutorial program.

The course of Clinical Pharmacology (Therapeutics) is introduced during the common campus program and reinforced during discussions of patient management as part of student attachments to clinical units.

At the commencement of fourth year, each student will receive a syllabus containing details of the integrated program for Clinical Studies, Pathology, Clinical Pharmacology and Population Health and Community Medicine.

Rules of Progression
Students will be required to pass each of four separate segments of the assessment, namely: a pass in the Population Health and Community Medicine continuous assessment, a pass in the Pathology viva and project report (as a combined mark), a pass in a Short Case clinical examination, and a pass in the combined written papers.

Students who have not completed the General Education components of the Medicine program and who otherwise are eligible to progress to Year 5 are not allowed to progress until they have satisfied such requirements.

The medicine course in Year 4 is conducted over both sessions. The UOC indicated below is for a single session only.
Preparation for Year 6 Elective Term
Arrangements for Elective attachments in Year 6 must be made by the students. Students should commence these arrangements in Year 4, especially those wishing to undertake attachments overseas. See course description for MFAC6001 under Year 6, below.

Year 5
Year 5 is comprised of four terms, each of nine weeks. In Terms 5:1 to 5:4 students rotate through blocks of teaching in obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry, geriatrics, general practice and subspecialties, rather than studying the courses concurrently. For this purpose students are allocated to a particular group (A, B, C, or D) and will follow the program of that group for the year.

The courses studied in Year 5 are:
Assessment and Rules of Progression
The work of each rotating block is assessed during or towards the end of the block. Students will be required to pass in all four term examinations before progressing to Year 6. Course examiners may, in the time between the sitting of term assessments and the meeting of the Assessment Committee , require students to undertake further assessment. A student who fails one term may be required to repeat that term in a six week remedial period following Term 5:4. Students are warned that they may be required to undertake such additional assessment and should take this into account if making travel arrangements for the period after the end of Term 5:4. A student who fails two terms or more will be required to repeat all Year 5 courses.

Sequence of Blocks - Group A
Term 5:1 (9 weeks) Paediatrics

Term 5:2 (9 weeks) Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Term 5:3 (9 weeks) Psychiatry

Term 5:4 (9 weeks) Geriatrics/General Practice/Subspecialities

Sequence of Blocks - Group B
Term 5:1 (9 weeks) Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Term 5:2 (9 weeks) Paediatrics

Term 5:3 (9 weeks) Geriatrics/General Practice/Subspecialities

Term 5:4 (9 weeks) Psychiatry

Sequence of Blocks - Group C
Term 5:1 (9 weeks) Psychiatry

Term 5:2 (9 weeks) Geriatrics/General Practice/Subspecialities

Term 5:3 (9 weeks) Paediatrics

Term 5:4 (9 weeks) Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Sequence of Blocks - Group D
Term 5:1 (9 weeks) Geriatrics/General Practice/Subspecialities

Term 5:2 (9 weeks) Psychiatry

Term 5:3 (9 weeks) Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Term 5:4 (9 weeks) Paediatrics

Year 6
The first term in Year 6 is an Elective term (MFAC6001) of 8 weeks. The remaining five terms totaling 32 weeks are devoted to the course Integrated Clinical Studies 6 (MDSG6001) of which 30 weeks is based in the Teaching Hospitals and 2 weeks will be spent on campus.

MDSG6001 is conducted over both sessions. The UOC indicated below is for a single session only.

Academic Rules

Supplementary Assessment

Details of assessment requirements are contained in the sections on particular years and courses in the program. The following regulations relate to supplementary assessment, which apply to all years of the Medicine program.

Course examiners may, in the time between the sitting of an assessment and the meeting of the Assessment Committee, require students to present themselves for further assessment to resolve any doubts as to a student's performance. After the Assessment Committee meets further assessment may be given to allow the Assessment Committee to resolve a doubt. In Years 3, 4 and 6 such additional assessment is usually undertaken in December. Such further assessment may be given when students, through illness or some other acceptable circumstances, have been prevented from taking one or more of the assessments or have been disadvantaged during the assessment.

In Year 5, course examiners may, in the time between the sitting of term assessments and the meeting of the Assessment Committee, require students to undertake further assessment. A student who fails one term may be required to repeat that term in a six week remedial period following Term 5:4. Students are warned that they may be required to undertake such additional assessment and should take this into account if making travel arrangements for the period after the end of Term 5:4.

Further assessment may not be granted when the composite mark accurately reflects failure to achieve the required standard of knowledge and understanding of the course.

Fees

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following web-page:  https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/FeesMainPage.html


Area(s) of Specialisation

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© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.