Undergraduate Medicine 2020-2021

The Clinical Skills 1 course introduces the process of diagnosis and treatment through medical history taking, clinical examination, performance of basic clinical procedures and clinical assessment that is appropriate to the patient's needs. In year one the course covers the principles and application of clinical skills, clinical examination and communication skills in general terms and as applied to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. It also introduces students to the clinical environment and to patient centred care and patient safety. The professional and ethical principles of the doctor are introduced and the need for medical students to take personal and professional responsibility for their actions and their learning.

This course is the start of the systems based teaching in the medicine curriculum and incorporates the form and function of the human respiratory and cardiovascular systems in both health and disease and the biomedical principles which underlie them. Diagnosis and management of common respiratory and cardiovascular disease are studied. This course is only available to students in year 1 of the MBChB programme/ year 1 of the B Clin Med Sci programme.

This course delivers the anatomy content for Year 1 MBChB.

Alternative projects are your ideas; this is your opportunity to identify a topic of your own choosing to study in depth that considers Medicine and Healthcare from an alternative perspective. Purely Scientific/ Medical projects will not be approved, otherwise there is no limit to the possibilities.

Where possible you should find a suitable person with appropriate expertise to supervise you and to assess your work academically. The Medical Humanities team may be able to help you find a suitable supervisor.

Alternative projects are your ideas; this is your opportunity to identify a topic of your own choosing to study in depth that considers Medicine and Healthcare from an alternative perspective. Purely Scientific/ Medical projects will not be approved, otherwise there is no limit to the possibilities.

Where possible you should find a suitable person with appropriate expertise to supervise you and to assess your work academically. The Medical Humanities team may be able to help you find a suitable supervisor.

This course allows you to explore visual art and its relationship to anatomy and medicine through practical artistic engagement.

The course will involve weekly practical sessions including life drawing and lecture/seminars on key artists/concepts that might influence your work. You will create an artistic portfolio and reflect on influences and feedback and document progress towards a final piece to form part of the student exhibition.

There will also be visits to support the students planning the exhibition and they will make the arrangements for this exhibition.

This course provides an intensive introduction to the Spanish language for students with little or no previous knowledge of Spanish. It concentrates on the four basic language skills: reading, writing, speaking, listening comprehension. Students attend 2 lectures and 1 grammar seminar per week and attend a further tutorial focusing on spoken Spanish. Students are also required to pursue private study and to submit regular written work

The course will develop students Gaelic language skills through weekly classes which will focus respectively on written language, grammar and oral language. The course follows customised workbooks, which are available to download from MyAberdeen.

You also have the option to attend one lecture and one tutorial on aspects of Gaelic culture and will be required to prepare for each tutorial and keep abreast of set reading for the course.

The course is designed to offer students the opportunity to develop their creativity and practical literary skills in a highly supportive, constructive learning environment. It also introduces students to some of the key processes and challenges involved in publishing creative written work, whether poetry or prose.

The teaching process consists of regular, carefully targeted critical advice and guidance from the class tutor and peer evaluation from class members in a workshop environment. Examples of writing by both recognised authors and class members will be used to stimulate both the appreciation and practical application of the basic principles of effective creative writing.

This course will start with an overview of the current educational and political drivers impacting on medical education and an account of its regulation in the UK. The course will then progress in more detail through sections on Curriculum Planning, Teaching and Learning (Practice and Theory), Assessment and finally Evaluation.

Medical Education research literature will be highlighted wherever possible throughout and it is hoped that students will have the opportunity to plan and undertake their own teaching. Students will also deliver two first year tutorials during the course.

This course will engage students as active citizens through the viewing and discussion of films engaging contemporary moral issues. Feature length films, most often documentaries, will be screened during the class session and will be followed by student-led classroom debates about the issues raised. Each session will end with a lecture on the topic raised by the film. Assessment will be by way of short student papers explaining how the debates have led students to change their views on the discussed topics. Possible topics may include: environmentalism, energy policy, human relations with animals and food, global geopolitics and more. Download course guide.

Medicine is a global profession framed by forces going beyond national boundaries, such as food insecurity, human migration, climate change and conflict. It follows that medical education needs to keep pace with these changes and to ensure the next generation of doctors are aware of global issues, regardless of whether they choose to work in the UK or overseas. This awareness improves their critical thinking, enables them to empathise more with patients from diverse backgrounds, and strengthens their ability to understand the challenges faced by different types of health systems – and not just the NHS. Global health covers issues of health and healthcare across the world, and not just in developing countries.

This practical anatomy option provides students with an opportunity to carry out a full body dissection in a small group setting. This will be followed by an independent elective dissection of an anatomical region of clinial and historical interest.

This option is centred around self-directed dissection based activities and library/museum work. The course will be based in Anatomy at the Suttie Centre. It will largely involve self-directed dissected with weekly interactive tutorials, and library study.

In addition, the historical and cultural place of Anatomy in society and medicine is explored through a short series of lectures/tutorials, discussing topics relating to Anatomy such as history, art, archaeology, ethics, and museums.

The course will involve each student working individually on a historical project of his or her own choice, under the supervision of the course co-ordinator.

Health Studies in Education offers an opportunity for medical students to experience a 2 week placement in a secondary school, designing learning materials and taking classes in a range of subjects from a medical perspective. The students enrich the curriculum by making connections between it and medicine. Joining in the general life of the school wherever possible is encouraged. Students also have opportunities to mentor senior pupils who are interested in applying for medical school and on general aspects of student life.

The supportive 2-week Induction programme prior to the school placement includes interactive sessions on making best use of learning theories and planning learning for others. Presentation skills are important and support is provided for further development of these skills. Reflective practice and reflective writing have been an important feature of education for a long time and students have the opportunity to access support to further develop their understanding of professional reflection. Guest lecturers may contribute sessions on some aspects of Health Education. Students also make a two-day preparatory visit to their placement school on the Wednesday and Thursday of the first week to meet the staff, discuss their timetable and decide on what they will prepare before returning to the school.

This is an introductory course in the modern Scottish Gaelic language for students who have a standard grade qualification in Gaelic.

There are five classes per week: three language classes, one oral/aural class and one reading class. The language classes follow a custom-written textbook ‘Progressive Gaelic 1’. Sound files accompanying the textbook are made available through the virtual learning environment, MyAberdeen. In the oral/aural class, students have an opportunity to practise speaking, develop their vocabulary further, and listen to a native speaker. This class follows another custom-written workbook, which is given to students free of charge, and a programme of language lab work.

The course ME33IF joins the course FR1023: LEVEL 1 FRENCH LANGUAGE 1A: BEGINNERS/NEAR BEGINNERS (STANDARD GRADE/GCSE OR BELOW) in week 7.

This introductory language course suitable for students with some or very little knowledge of French. All students must sit a diagnostic test on MyCurriculum before enrolling for this course.

Students with Higher or A Level or native speakers are not eligible to take this course

This course concentrates on the acquisition of basic grammar and vocabulary, and on the development of reading, writing, listening and speaking skills

The course ME33IG joins the course GM1054 German for Beginners 1 in week 7, when the medical students will be welcomed and integrated in the learning and study community of German as a foreign language.

Since the beginners will have worked through 5 chapters of the course book in the first 6 weeks, it is important that the medical students, who join in later, already have knowledge of basic vocabulary and grammar to build oME33GA Advanced German Language for Medical Students

This course is an introduction to the concept and practice of mindfulness for medical students, involving the critical analysis of the subject and the underpinning neuroscience of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is included in the NICE guidelines as an NHS treatment for mild to moderate recurring depression. Furthermore, there is a large body of research indicating the physiological, psychological and neurological benefits of practice mindfulness. The study and practice of mindfulness is, therefore, of relevance to medical students hence why this course is offered as a Medical Humanities option. The course involves training in mindfulness practices

The aim of this course will be to address the concepts that underpin sustainability in healthcare. It will encourage the student to consider the complex relationship between health and the environment and examine the difficulties of providing modern healthcare while conserving the natural world.

This course aims to extend medical students' knowledge by exploring some of the sociological aspects of health and illness. As an overarching aim, the course seeks to convey an understanding of the social dimensions of health-related micro-level and experiential issues and their relationship to wider, macro-level cultural and structural forces, addressing various ways in which 'personal troubles' can be connected to 'public issues', as a core endeavour of sociological thought and research. The influence of wider political and economic forces on medical treatment, professional organisation and practice is a central focus of the course.

This course is an intensive language course and you will learn Swedish by actually using it. Swedish is one of the Scandinavian languages. The course aims to introduce the fundamentals of the grammar and a basic working vocabulary of Swedish, and to give extensive practice in reading, writing, listening and speaking, so that by the end of the course you will be able to communicate at European language level A1. You will learn to interact in both dialogues and written language, and will also get some cultural insight.

By learning Swedish you acquire a new language, but maybe also a new way of thinking, and an interesting twist to your CV.

This one week taught course sets the scene for the clinical learning that students will undertake, on a rotational basis during the seven, six week long clinical blocks ahead.  It provides both whole group teaching and smaller group discussion of how to make the most of the learning opportunities in clinical areas, with a focus on learning from and through work, both signposted activities and through experiential learning.  It also discusses expectations of professional behaviour in senior clinical practice.

The Year 4 curriculum builds on the considerable breadth and depth of specialty knowledge of Years 1-3 systems-based teaching and provides the clinically based core learning required in Outcomes for Graduates (2018) for graduating doctors. Building on prior learning, Year 4 students will be able to apply their knowledge of basic physiology, anatomy, pharmacology and pathology to patients with a wide range of problems. The Year 4 curriculum is designed to ensure that students achieve the standards set by the GMC across a broad range of clinical settings and conditions. These experiences will enable students to increasingly contribute to the care of patients under supervision.

This one week taught course (the second of the Professional Practice Blocks) provides both whole group teaching and smaller group discussion regarding professional behaviour in senior clinical practice and revisiting the horizontal themes that were launched in the first the Professional Practice Block at the start of Year 4.