Why Host Medical Students - School of Medicine - The University of ...

Enhance Your Practice and Your
Practise with Medical Students!
A Quick Guide to Medical Student Teaching in the
Community with the University of Manchester
For further details please contact
Philippa Cunningham
Community Based Medical Education Team
Manchester Medical School
The University of Manchester
Stopford Building
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PT
Tel: (0161) 275 1878
Email: philippa.cunningham@manchester.ac.uk
Website: www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/cbme
OR YOUR LOCAL CONTACT ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE

Local Contacts / GP Education Facilitators
Health Education Zone
(HEZ)
Base Hospital Contact
Associated GP Facilitators
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust HEZ
Associate Community Dean
Dr Neil Smith
neil.smith-2@manchester.ac.uk
Ann Pearmain
Dr Mike Powell (Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre)
(01772) 528 134
michael.powell@manchester.ac.uk
ann.pearmain@lthtr.nhs.uk Dr Steve Cottam (Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre)
stevecottam2001@yahoo.co.uk
Dr Janine Riley (Blackpool Fylde and Wyre)
capecod47@btinternet.com
Dr Sumantra Mukerji (Preston and Longridge)
sumantra.mukerji@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Paul Blake (Chorley and South Ribble)
paul.blake@manchester.ac.uk
Dr David Webborn (Burnley, Pendle and
Rossendale)
david.webborn@nhs.net
Dr Neil Smith (Blackburn with Darwen)
neil.smith-2@manchester.ac.uk
University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust HEZ
Associate Community Dean
Dr Judy Ream
judy.ream@manchester.ac.uk
Elaine Abbott
Dr Ravi Arya (South Manchester)
(0161) 291 5787
raviarya50@hotmail.com
elaine.abbott@manchester.ac. Dr John Kelly (South Trafford)
uk
jkelly@nhs.net
Dr Chris Barratt (Central Cheshire)
christopher.barratt@manchester.ac.uk
Dr David Riley (Stockport)
david.riley-2@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Hayley Willacy (East Cheshire)
hayley.willacy@manchester.ac.uk
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Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust HEZ
Julie Smith
Dr Arthur Finke (Salford)
(0161) 206 3179
arthur.finke@manchester.ac.uk
julie.smith@srft.nhs.uk Dr J Kirby (Bolton)
angus.kirby@nhs.net
Dr Bill Russell (Ashton, Wigan and Leigh)
bill.russell@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Jeff Schryer (Bury)
jeffrey.schryer@manchester.ac.uk
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust HEZ
Lisa Williams
Dr Andrew Thornley (Tameside & Glossop)
(0161) 276 4964
andrew.thornley@manchester.ac.uk
lisa.williams2@cmft.nhs.uk Dr Enam Haque (Central Manchester)
enam.haque@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Raj Khiroya (Heywood, Middleton,
Rochdale and Oldham)
raj.khiroya@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Peter Dixon (North Manchester)
peter.dixon@manchester.ac.uk
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• Fun
Why have Medical Students in the Practice
• Interesting, allows you to give something back
• Challenging, a learning opportunity for you
• Helps your appraisal
• Helps in your personal development
• Students can be useful e.g. audits
• Prevents ‘burnout’, promotes fulfilment.
• You get paid (see the website for payment details
www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/cbme/feeguide)
• Grow your own future GPs – recruitment
• Enhances status of general practice
• Enhances perception of practice by patients, staff and future potential
partners.
• Training is provided (see the training and events page on the website)
Early Clinical Experience
In years one and two: An introduction to the primary care clinical setting; putting
communication skills into practice.
Third YearThird Year
Developing proficiency in history taking, clinical skills and forming differential
diagnoses
Fourth YearFourth Year
History taking, examination, differential diagnosis and learning how to manage
different conditions and presentations
Student Selected Components ( SSCs) and Project Options
A student selected area of healthcare to investigate in detail.
Fifth Year – The GP Apprentice
Putting it all together, developing competency and proficiency, learning to critically
evaluate one’s own care and that of others; preparing for practice
Learning should always be active and not just observation!
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Early Clinical Experience (Years One and Two)
Students attend practices on six half days scattered over their first two years at
medical school. You can opt to do just one half day or as many as you wish..
There is a menu of dates for you to choose from and information about your
availability will be requested well in advance. The dates will be matched to a
specific activity (see information about visits below).
You can take one pair of students or up to a maximum of 4 pairs on any half day.
Please indicate on your availability form if you are able to take more than one pair
of students.
Taking early experience students should not prevent you taking students from
other years. No additional space is required in the surgery, and training is
available (see the training and events page on the website).
You will need to arrange the following:
Visit 1: An orientation to your practice plus opportunities for students to spend
some time with different members of staff to learn about their roles within the
team.
A pregnant patient (or a new parent) who is willing to be interviewed by the
students at the surgery.
Visit 2: Allow students to sit in a surgery to see, and take histories from patients
who have presented acutely / have ‘book on the day’ appointments.
Visit 3: Allow students to sit in clinic with a Practice Nurse to observe and discuss
her role in chronic disease management within the practice.
A patient with CHD who is willing to be interviewed by the students at the surgery.
Visit 4: A patient with a chronic disability who is willing to be interviewed by the
students at home.
Visit 5: Students each interview a patient with diabetes.
Visit 6: For you to observe each student as they interview a patient with an acute
problem and provide them with feedback on their communication skills.
Learning should always be active, not just observing, involving students in taking
histories and examining patients as much as possible.
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Early Clinical Experience
Overall aim: To provide the students with authentic human contact in the primary
care setting that enhances learning of health, illness or disease and the role of the
health professional.
The particular activities included in each visit have been designed to integrate with
the students other learning, including knowledge and skills, particularly
communication skills, and promote their professional development.
For each of the visits it is suggested that a GP, or other member of the practice
team, oversees the students’ activities. This should include briefing the students at
the start of the visit so that they, and you, are clear about what they are supposed
to be doing. They should have a debrief meeting at the end of the visit to help
them think about what they have learned.
The first visit is for students to learn something about how general practice
works. They need some time allocated to meet and sit with different members of
the team, e.g. receptionist, practice manager, GP, practice nurse etc. You
shouldn’t need to lengthen surgeries for this as on this occasion students are
there simply to observe. Also during this visit you need to arrange for a pregnant
woman, or new parent, to come into the surgery to be interviewed by the
students. The patient will need to be briefed to expect to be in the surgery for up
to an hour.
The second visit requires the students to sit in on a surgery with you, preferably
an acute surgery, or one which is booked on the day. (Students need to see and
talk to patients with acute problems).
The third visit requires the students to sit in a clinic with your Practice Nurse.
They need to see her dealing with patients with chronic diseases. Also during this
visit you need to arrange for a patient with CHD to come into the surgery to be
interviewed by the students.
The fourth visit requires you to arrange for the students to visit a patient with a
chronic disability in their own home, e.g. patients with multiple sclerosis,
rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, learning disability, patients who are deaf, visual
impairment, stroke, severe COPD etc.
The fifth visit requires each student to interview a patient with diabetes. The
students watch each other and feedback on their communication skills.
The sixth visit requires each student needs to be observed by you taking a
history from a patient in an acute surgery. You will provide them with feedback on
their communication skills. Visits 5 and 6 may be done on one full day.
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Heart,
Third YearThird Year
Lungs and
Blood
Students attend the practice for a fixed day each
week for (usually) 14 weeks in each semester, i.e.
28 days per year (in some areas this is done in a Nutrition,
continuous block of varying length). The students Metabolism
can attend the practice on a day you choose but the and
main demand is for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Excretion
Fridays for most areas. A pair will normally attend
for 6 or 7 weeks then a second pair for the following 6 or 7 weeks.
Nutrition,
Metabolism
and
Excretion
Heart,
Lungs and
Blood
During NME students also go to alternate placements with hospices, podiatrists,
pharmacists, opticians, dermatologists and small group work with GPs. Each pair
therefore spends 7 days with you and 7 days on alternate placements during
NME.
Each time students attend your surgery, they should be active participants in at
least 8 surgeries (NOT just sitting in and observing, they need to sit in the hot
seat, interview patients on their own, examine them, propose differential
diagnoses and management plans etc.!) Surgeries need at least 30% additional
time or 30% reduction in patients.
The course relates closely to what is being covered in students’ PBL sessions.
Students are learning medicine in a community setting; they are not learning
‘general practice’ at this stage.
Students attend the practice in pairs for full days. They should have no other
hospital commitments on their community days.
Each week students have specific objectives related to their PBL sessions, and
particular types of cases to see. There is clear guidance on the areas which you
should aim to cover each week and the types of patient students will benefit from
seeing are listed in your full handbook.
These follow a set order which whenever possible should not be varied.
The first session with students requires the careful planning of what cases need to
be organised (this might be in the surgery, at the patients home or another
community location)
We will provide training for you so you know what to do (see the training and
events page on the website).
Learning should always be active and not just observing.
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Third YearThird Year
Third Year Students attend for one day a week for
two blocks of 14 weeks (in some areas this is done
in a continuous block of varying length). Your
students will do one of ‘Nutrition, Metabolism and
Excretion’ (NME) or ‘Heart Lungs and Blood’ (HLB)
in each semester.
There are only ever two students in your practice per
Heart,
Lungs and
Blood
Nutrition,
Metabolism
and
excretion
Nutrition,
Metabolism
and
excretion
Heart,
Lungs and
Blood
week (unless you have volunteered for more). Students change over every 7
weeks in NME and HLB. Students in NME spend half their time in general
practice and half their time on alternate placements in the community related to
NME
It is possible to have more than one pair on one day, or to have a pair on several
days of the week. Just ask!
The course is delivered in a specific order. Please follow this, otherwise students
lose the course integration and will end up studying one subject in PBL and
hospital and another in the community. Students will be able to advise you which
case they need for the following week.
Students spend full days with you. This doesn’t have to be all day in surgery but
should include at least one surgery session per day where students are seeing
some patients, taking histories, presenting their histories, having their clinical and
communication skills observed, forming differential diagnoses and developing
management plans.
In addition to active surgery sessions, some examples of other activities which
students may be involved in are listed below (all with supervision):
• Induction to the practice.
• Planning learning for the attachment, examining the needs of students and how these
might best be met by the practice.
• Evaluating students’ performance.
• Helping students prepare for examinations.
• Student-led tutorials to meet student learning objectives.
• Running chronic disease management sessions with practice nurse.
• Attending baby clinics, giving vaccinations.
• Taking blood from patients.
• Reviewing incoming pathology results and proposing actions.
• Reviewing repeat prescriptions.
• Involvement in audit projects within the practice.
• Seeing their case of the week at home or in the surgery.
• Accompanying you on home visits.
• Medication reviews.
• Spending time with members of the extended team, e.g. health visiting and district
nursing teams.
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Fourth YearFourth Year
Students attend the practice for a fixed day each
week for 14 weeks in semester 1 and 14 weeks in
semester 2, i.e. 28 days per year. The students can
attend the practice on a day you choose. The
greatest demand is for Monday community
attachments for Mind and Movement.
Mind and
Movement
Families
and
Children
Families
and
Children
Mind and
Movement
In each 14 week block students should be active
participants in ‘teaching’ surgeries (NOT just sitting in and observing; they need
to sit in the hot seat, interview patients on their own, examine them, propose
differential diagnoses and management plans etc.!) Surgeries will need at least
30% additional time or 30% reduction in patient numbers.
The course relates closely to what is being covered in students PBL sessions. For
Families and Children there is one main PBL case each week while in the new
revised Mind and Movement there are several PBL cases related to the same
subject area each week and students also receive supporting lectures and other
on line resources.
Students attend the practice in pairs for full days. They should have no other
hospital commitments on their community days.
Each week students have specific objectives related to their PBL sessions, and
particular types of cases to see. There is clear guidance on the areas which you
should aim to cover each week and the types of patient students will benefit from
seeing during each of the modules are listed in your full handbook.
These follow a set order which should not be varied; students will be able to
advise you at which point they are starting the cycle and what case they will need
for the following week.
The first session with students requires the careful planning of what cases need to
be organised (this might be in the surgery, at the patients home or another
community location)
We will provide training for you so you know what to do (see the training and
events page on the website).
Learning should always be active and not just observing.
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Fourth YearFourth Year
Fourth Year Students attend for one day a week for
two blocks of 14 weeks. Your students will do one
of either Families and Children (F & C) and Mind
and Movement (MM) in each semester.
Mind and
Movement
Families
and
Children
Families
and
Children
Mind and
Movement
The course is delivered in a specific order which it is
important you stick to. Otherwise students lose the
course integration and will end up studying one
subject in PBL and hospital and another in the community. It is much better for
their learning if they study the same subject from different angles at the same time
in PBL, community and hospital.
When student numbers exceed placements then students attend practices
alternate weeks, i.e. two pairs attend a practice for 7 weeks each. (Note: there
are only ever two students in your practice in any one week.) It is possible to take
a greater number of students e.g. by having more than one pair on one day, or by
having a pair on several days of the week. Just ask!
Students spend full days with you. This doesn’t have to be all day in surgery but
should aim to include one surgery session per day where students are seeing
some patients, taking histories, presenting their histories, having their clinical and
communication skills observed, forming differential diagnoses and developing
management plans.
Examples of other activities which students may be involved in are listed below (all
with supervision):
• Induction to the practice.
• Planning learning for the attachment, examining the needs of students and how these
might best be met by the practice.
• Evaluating students’ performance.
• Helping students prepare for examinations.
• Student-led tutorials to meet student learning objectives.
• Running chronic disease management sessions with practice nurse.
• Attending baby clinics, giving vaccinations, going on home visits.
• Taking blood from patients.
• Reviewing incoming pathology results and proposing actions.
• Reviewing repeat prescriptions, medication reviews.
• Involvement in audit projects within the practice.
• Seeing their case of the week at home or in the surgery.
• Spending time with members of the extended team, DN, HV etc.
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Student Selected Components (SSCs)
These short attachments are FUN and can both stretch and motivate yourself and
your students. Students normally attend singly.
(SSCs) are blocks (3-4 weeks) after each of the regular attachments in the third or
fourth year. Each student does one community SSC. These could be an
opportunity for tutors who want to 'try out' having a student, or appreciate a break
from the regular teaching.
Students should look at the resources the practice has to offer and negotiate
learning that challenges them beyond the normal curriculum, e.g. an SSC might
involve an in depth study of a group of patients cared for by a GP with a special
interest, perhaps starting an audit.
To extend breadth of learning, the scope is clearly wider.
A student could look at problems like drugs and homelessness, sports or police
medicine. To look at General Practice as a career option, students might want to
try to develop communication skills using narrative methods, or even stand back
and use the humanities to gain another perspective.
Feel free to experiment with new interests or questions yourself! Although you are
asked to assess a short report we can guide you on this and you can plan the
attachment to fit with demands on the practice and the student's need to travel.
About 2 sessions a week of 'protected surgery' and an hour’s supervision are
necessary.
Please consider offering any one of these four short blocks: You can review your
availability or topics annually.
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Project Options
These are extended SSCs currently running for eleven weeks at the end of Year 4
(May to July). Experienced tutors are encouraged to supervise; however funding
is limited and forward planning is essential – particularly for ‘Research’, both
because it is usually a team exercise (academic contacts below) and because of
regulation.
The Options are Research, or ‘Non research’ – the latter usually a combination of
critical appraisal and audit. Students in both should consolidate an ability to
critically review literature, and understand methodologies including basic statistical
analysis where appropriate.
Non research supervision is a rewarding opportunity to learn more about an
aspect of your practice that the QOF ‘doesn’t reach!’ - (past audits in Rusholme
have included: quality of care of chronic hepatitis; vitamin D deficiency; reporting
of adverse events; use of interpreters). If you are considering planning innovations
in your practice e.g. new clinics or services, we could even pilot a course that links
students into teaching in business skills, needs assessment / project planning.
Your practice should offer an average of 1-2 hours contact time each week. Unlike
an SSC you don't need to offer 'protected' teaching time in surgery, but students
may well value some patient contact. You assess a report at the end. We can
advise and can arrange for second marking. One downside is that there is an
overlap with the last Y3 SSC period so you might want to opt out of that. Please
let us know if you need help to cover holidays during the period.
Research options are possible in both Primary Care and Medical Education
research. Both are relatively ‘young’ research disciplines and there should be
opportunities to join projects within Manchester. Even if you have an interest
outside the focus of the themes listed below, we may still be able to signpost you,
but it is particularly important to engage students early in the academic year!
Medical education: This might be a professional development from your own
teaching work. Current research themes are detailed at
http://www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/medicaleducation/:
• Technology enhanced enquiry learning
Researching learning processes, outcomes, and the application of education
technology to them.
• Communication education
Developing an evidence base of communication development, flexible
application, and transfer.
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• Personal and professional development
Researching medical students' personal development and how it can be
supported by education technology.
• Admission, progression and achievement
Enquiring into learners' whole pathways into and through medical education.
Primary Care: The National Primary Care Research and Development Centre,
located within the University offers four research themes: Organisations Quality
Self management Workforce Further details are at
http://www.npcrdc.ac.uk/index.cfm
If you think you could take a student or offer some suggestions on topics of
potential interest please contact Mark Perry. Other contacts are detailed on the
relevant websites.
NB To ensure your placement is funded please discuss with CBME (cbmephase2-
3@manchester.ac.uk), before you ‘sign up’ on Medlea.
For full Supervisor guidelines please contact:
Phase2.coordinator@manchester.ac.uk
Current Timetable:
September 1st – Deadline for Project Option Proposals: CBME and Medical
Education
Early December – Students 'sign up' with a supervisor
End March – Research Options: Full Ethics approval required by Medical School
April: Supervisor Training sessions - confirm dates under the ‘Booking’ link on the
Staff Development website www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/staffdev
May to July: Project Option period
13

Fifth Year – The GP Apprentice, preparing for professional life
Students attend for 4 weeks, usually for 8 sessions (4 days) each week.
There are eight blocks of fifth year students per year, four before (Blocks 1-4) the
‘exempting examination’ in January and four after (Blocks 5-8) and you can sign
up for as many blocks as you are available for. (Please try to avoid signing up for
times when you know you will be on holiday as now that the blocks are shorter, it
is vital that you are available for the whole of the block)
Students normally attend the practice singly. More than one student can be taken
in a practice at any one time but they would not normally be paired up.
Fifth year now follows the following structure
1 Community DGH Teaching Hosp. SSB*
2 SSB Community DGH Teaching Hosp.
3 Teaching Hosp. SSB Community DGH
4 DGH Teaching Hosp. SSB Community
Exempting Examination in January
5 Community DGH/TH Elective Elective
6 DGH/TH Community Elective Elective
7 Elective Support for Community DGH/TH
Students
8 Elective Elective DGH/TH Community
Final Examinations in May
Foundation Year One Shadowing Period
*Student Selected Block
All students must do a community block in the first half of the year, before the
exempting examination.
After the exempting examination students may choose to do one or more blocks
in community.
Half of the students are away on electives at any one time after the exempting
examination.
Students who fail or are expected to fail the exempting examination are to be
offered additional support in ‘student support practices’ – see below.
What will students be doing whilst in practice
In Year 5 the emphasis is on students putting all they have learned together so
that they can gain experience in not only taking histories and examining patients
but also in formulating differential diagnoses and suggesting management plans.
It is also an opportunity for them to focus on what is needed for a career in
general practice and to do everything that a GP does but under supervision.
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Students cannot make clinical decisions nor sign any prescription or sick note but
can suggest management plans; any such suggestion needs your ratification and
usually a signature, e.g. on a prescription. The management of the patient
remains your responsibility. Students need supervision for all their clinical
activities but do let them take histories, examine patients (with chaperones where
required), formulate a differential diagnosis, and create a management plan
before discussing this with you and then both of you seeing the patient together
before the patient leaves the surgery.
It is only through taking on this level of responsibility that students learn to make
sensible clinical decisions but this has to be within a safe process for you, the
student and most importantly, the patient.
Students need to take the lead, i.e. sit in the hot seat and conduct consultations
for at least 3 sessions per week. They will need longer appointment slots as well
as your close supervision. They can see patients on their own but in each case
their diagnosis and management plan needs to be closely checked.
Rapid Induction
Because the placement is only four weeks, each student will need a rapid
induction to the practice so that they can ‘hit the ground running’. Students need
to settle into a pattern of seeing patients as soon as possible. You will have just a
small amount of time to get to know the students so it is important that you sit
down together on the first day to assess the student’s capabilities and learning
needs. You may find it useful to adapt one of the induction packs and learning
needs assessment forms available on our website at:
www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/cbme/year5students/goodpractice
Shadowing Sessions
Students can be attached to a particular doctor, registrar or practice nurse for
sessions to ‘shadow’ and take part in activities and in consultation and
administrative sessions.
For example
• Dealing with normal and abnormal blood results
• Audit of aspects of care with practice manager
• Assessing markers of quality in primary care
• Shadowing practice nurse and conducting chronic disease management clinics etc
• Taking part in vaccination clinics and new baby checks
• Taking part in medication reviews
• Taking blood
• Telephone consultations (on a loudspeaker phone with supervisor present)
• Assessing the patient on a home visit, prior to arrival of the GP
• Assisting in minor surgery sessions
• Accompanying your supervisor in their out of hours work
15

• Vulnerable patient reviews and case conferences
• You should have aim to do everything your supervisor does in their day to day role as a
community doctor
• Discussing opportunities to follow a career in general practice or community medicine
Longitudinal Care: Follow up of one or two people over the 4 weeks preferably
where a team of health care professionals are involved, e.g. new baby, terminal
care, nursing home reviews. Where students choose to do a second four weeks
in general practice (after the exempting examination), where possible these
students will be placed back with the same practice so that there are opportunities
to follow up a patients progress (e.g. after a surgical intervention or a two week
rule referral) some months later.
Special Interests: Students may choose a particular practice because of a
particular interest or specialty of one of the GPs or other professional within the
practice e.g. Police surgeon, PEC board member, GPwSI in mental health etc.
There may be less time within the new four week program for such activities.
In addition to the students’ activities within the practice, there is one half day off
per week and one half day for group work.
We will provide training (see the training and events page on the website) for you
so you know what to do
(Note: not all students will choose to do a community block after the exempting
exam; you may wish to consider making yourself available for year 3 or 4 students
instead during the period after January)
16

Fifth Year – The GP Apprentice, preparing for professional life
In all previous courses, students have been using community settings to learn
medicine in general. In the fifth year course they are learning general practice as
a specialty for the first time. It is important that they understand how general
practice works as, whatever specialty they choose, in the future they will need to
communicate effectively with primary care. At least 50% of our students choose a
career in general practice.
Students choose their fifth year placement from a catalogue of available fifth year
placements. Your catalogue entry should detail what makes your placement
different from others, so that students will actively make a choice to come to your
surgery.
You need to supervise closely their time as a ‘GP’ and to provide overall guidance
and supervision for their other work.
Most practices take one student for each of the four blocks. You can however
take students for one, two, three or four blocks as you wish, or even multiple
students in each block.
Students need opportunities to do everything you do as a GP. This will include
consultation sessions, following you to work outside the practice, reviewing normal
and abnormal blood results as they come into the practice, chronic disease
management, audit, and correspondence – both making referrals and reviewing
information which comes into the practice, reviewing repeat prescriptions and all
the other activities which happen in practices. Students have a particular need to
develop skills and knowledge in therapeutics and primary care is an excellent
setting to develop this. They will also appreciate activities which help them to
prepare for their exempting examination. GP consultations make excellent ‘short
cases’ for students; your assessment of them under ‘examination conditions’ will
help them to gain confidence for their finals.
Whether or not students have passed their exempting examination they must
complete all of their work based assessments and have a minimum attendance of
80% of placements (100% attendance is expected but if for example due to illness
they are unable to attend, so long as attendance does not slip below 80% they
can be allowed to continue to the next stage of their career as foundation year 1
doctors).
17

Workplace-based Assessments
After a largely successful pilot in the Community in academic year 07/08, the
Medical School has extended the use of workplace-based assessments (WPBAs).
These include: 2 case based discussions (CBDs), likely to be completed in the
pre-exemption period as part of group work; 4 mini-clinical examinations (U-CEX),
at least 2 of which must be taken in blocks 5-8; and Essential Clinical Skills,
assessed in the form of Undergraduate Practical Skills Assessments (U-PSAs) by
suitably qualified personnel, who may be medical or paramedical. These WPBAs
can be undertaken during any of the placements in year 5 and can be signed off
online by appropriate individuals who will be provided with passwords via the
Medlea system, wherever they are based. Students will be encouraged to obtain
signed hard copies for inclusion in their portfolios as a back up measure. In the
community, the main workload is in the area of U-CEXs, which will remain very
similar to the pilot, but will be completed electronically.
These WPBAs are an important part of the Final Year Assessment process.
Students will not be able to graduate if they do not successfully complete all of
them. We hope this will help to prepare them more effectively for their F1
placements.
Students needing additional support
The exempting examination takes place in January and if students pass this exam
they are exempted from sitting finals in May.
Some students may be struggling and need additional help and support during
Year 5 in order for them to be ready for finals. Your practice may be approached
to undertake some additional training in order to become a ‘student support
practice’. The criteria to be a student support practice are stricter than those for
year 5 placements in general. If you would like to support a student who is facing
difficulties in a placement in your practice please contact cbmephase2-
3@manchester.ac.uk who will put you in contact with your local GP education
facilitator.
Please note that there is an assessment of your suitability to be a support practice
and it does require additional training. Once approved you will be asked from time
to time to take on students with particular needs which may be related to their
knowledge, skills or attitudes. The additional requirement is recognised in an
additional payment to practices who take on this responsibility.
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How do I get started
If you’ve not had learners in the practice previously we recommend you start with
Early Experience or an SSC, then, once you have built up some confidence and
attended some training sessions, add 3 rd or 4 th years to your repertoire. Finally
you may want to continue on to take fifth years or vary which students you take
year by year. Some larger practices take all students from all years and employ
additional GP time (partnership or salaried) from the income generated. We
would encourage you to approach student placements as something which is
done ‘instead of’ routine practice rather than ‘as well as’. Of course you will still be
seeing patients but the day does need some reorganisation and additional
allocation of time, e.g. longer appointment times. Trying to do this as a ‘bolt-on’ in
addition to what is already a very busy day in practice just does not work.
However, having reorganised your time you can look forward to a day in the week
which is different and stimulating both for you and for your students. The funding
is really to support you in making those changes to create the extra time required
in the day.
What about training
A useful place to start is with your GP facilitator whose details you should find at
the front of this document (if there is no GP facilitator for your particular PCT,
please contact the GP facilitator closest to you, they should be able to help). They
can talk you through what will be involved in the course and some of the
philosophy behind the curriculum at Manchester.
There may already be a training course available to meet your training needs
(check the training and events page on the website); if not, then your GP
education facilitator may be able to provide something tailored to what you
require.
We run training courses at regular intervals throughout the year both centrally and
closer to your location. Details of all training is available on our website at:
www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/cbme/aboutus/trainingandevents
You don’t have to have completed a course in order to take on students in
the practice, you can learn as you go along and your GP facilitator will
support you. However once you have started teaching students there is a
commitment to attend two half day training sessions per year as part of your
contract with the University.
Are there any other benefits
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Yes! You will have membership of the University of Manchester Libraries which
includes electronic access to and extensive range of journals, databases and
books.
How do I sign up
Contact Philippa Cunningham on 0161 275 1878
philippa.cunningham@manchester.ac.uk or speak to your GP facilitator (as
shown on pages 2 and 3) and we can enrol you in our next student intake, or have
a look on our website for further information
www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/cbme
In Conclusion
Teaching medical students is a fun, challenging activity which has the potential to
rejuvenate and stimulate your work in primary care. I encourage you to get
involved for your benefit, for the benefit of students and to ensure we have a
medical workforce in the future who are equipped to work in a primary care led
health service.
Dr Sarah Smithson, Clinical Senior Lecturer & Lead for CBME
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