Issue 2 Winter 2000 Welcome to the 2nd edition of the - School of ...

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NEWS FROM YEARS 1 & 2The new academic year and my stint as Director of Studies began with the largest ever intakeinto year 1 MB ChB. Approximately 325 first year students arrived on September 18 th .Earlier in the summer, new tutors recruited from School of Biological Sciences attended ashort training programme to introduce them to the skills needed to direct group working. Theimmediate problem was to accommodate a total of 42 groups of MB ChB students meetingthree times a week for one-hour PBL sessions. The solution included a cluster of Portacabinsin the Stopford Building car park which have turned out to be surprisingly effective. I makethis judgement in the light of the small number of complaints from academic staff, and nonefrom the students. Meantime the building work on the new teaching block got underway andwe all keep our fingers crossed that it will be ready in time for the start of the 2001-2002session. Of course, the next session will entail a further increase in student numbers so thenew accommodation will earn its keep from day one.There was much additional spending over the summer. MB ChB students will benefit fromthe extensive refurbishment of the Dissection Room, which was completed before the start ofthe new session. An even bigger refurbishment of the First Floor Multiuser Laboratory waspartly finished when the students returned. We can accommodate extra students in bothlaboratories.PHOTOI am particularly grateful to Keith Burdett for organizing the induction programme that wasdelivered to the freshers during the first week. Others, including Paul O’Neill and TimDornan, made large contributions to this important event. One of my problems is to work outhow we deliver the induction programme next year.What are the tasks ahead? The first is to bring in new staff, a problem that is being tackled byBiological Sciences. The need for new staff arises both from the extra intake of students, andthe loss of some staff who have been involved in the new medical curriculum from the start.As well as Keith retiring, we have sadly lost David Evans, and others are planning to retirethis year. Some aspects of the programme in the first two years need refreshing. We havemade a start. The IT course we are currently delivering is extensively revised compared tolast year. The Design Teams that deliver the four semesters need more support. We mustrecruit some recently appointed staff to the teams. Continuing staff training that washighlighted by Keith in the previous edition of this Newsletter is a pressing need.Dr Paul SlaterDirector of Studies, Years 1&2
COMMUNITY NEWSIT Development for Education in the CommunityOver the last year Maria Regan has been evaluating the use of IT facilities by students onCommunity placements (see elsewhere in the Newsletter). She has worked with a smallnumber of practices that provide special facilities for students. These practices cover all threeyears and a broad geographical area. Questionnaires completed by 90 students and 21 GPTutors together with 42 longer interviews with students have helped us discover whatstudents and tutors need in both facilities and training.A by-product has been the writing of “An Internet-based Resource Guide for MedicalStudents and GP Tutors.” This is available in printed form and on disk. For furtherinformation about this (or the Interim report) contact Maria Regan at Rusholme HealthCentre (0161 256 3015 ext.288 or m.regan@man.ac.uk).The next stageThe second stage will consider how students actually use the facilities available, how muchtime they spend and what programmes or websites are useful. We are pleased that in doingthis we are able to collaborate with Project Connect, the NHS Information Authority’sprogramme to facilitate GP connections to NHSnet. They will help us determine theappropriate level of health authority input into GP practice infrastructure and training tosupport undergraduate medical teaching. This will be done by working with an extra 12 Year5 practices.Where is this leading?On-line learning is becoming increasingly important, especially as students are spread far andwide in the Region. Students on community placement can use on-line resources to checkknowledge: that is easier than carrying around a textbook. They can access Medline to searchfor evidence. Soon they will be able to use SkillsBase (produced by Tim Dornan and hiscolleagues) for self-assessment and to find advice on skills training. Above all they can keepcontact with their base if the placement is at some distance and for some time (as in SSM’s orYear 5). It is hoped that as practices link up with the electronic world through NHSNet (orsimilar), they will bear in mind the needs of students. We are now in a position to discussfacilities resources with the Regional Office.Carl WhitehouseProfessor of Teaching Medicine in the Community
Page 1 and 2: Issue 2 Winter 2000Welcome to the 2
Page 6 and 7: Central Manchester ReportThe Centra
Page 8 and 9: Salford SectorUndergraduate Educati
Page 10 and 11: Usage of IT Facilities at the Pilot
Page 12: Developments in the Final Examinati
Page 15 and 16: University of St. Andrews Medical S
Page 17 and 18: Undergraduate medical education at
Page 19 and 20: Web developments to support the cur

Issue 2 Winter 2000 Welcome to the 2nd edition of the - School of ...

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