MED5001 - Medicine and Surgery

Leader: Professor Steven Holdsworth, Professor Napier Thomson and Professor Julian Smith

Offered

Not offered in 2007

Synopsis

Medicine/Surgery is taught as an integrated discipline allowing students to understand clinical reasoning underlying appropriate diagnostic and treatment strategies. Involvement in day-to-day functioning of general medical and surgical services includes patient care by clerking patients and participation in ward rounds, and medical/surgical procedures. This is complemented by lectures, bedside teaching, group tutorials and supervision by clinical teachers, presentation of detailed case reports with relevant literature review plus combined medical-surgical seminars that provide multi-disciplinary approaches to management. Emphasis is placed on problem definition and problem-solving skills.

Objectives

At completion of the unit, each student should be able to:

1. demonstrate appropriate communication skills and interaction in the hospital environment;
2. elicit a clinical history, identify signs and symptoms and formulating a problem list and differential diagnosis;
3. perform appropriate physical examination eliciting signs relating to the presenting complaint and co-morbidities;
4. take a history and perform a physical examination relevant to the elective and emergency procedures;
5. identify the presenting signs and symptoms of medical and surgical patients;
6. demonstrate the clinical skills, including procedural skills important for patient care;
7. interpret and explain the pathophysiological basis of investigations;
8. recognise the impact of illness on the patient, particularly in psycho-social and community contexts;
9. demonstrate critical evaluation of medical literature;
10. discuss the peri-operative and day-today management of surgical patients;
11. describe the basic principles of anaesthesia and post-operative pain management;
12. describe the resuscitation and fluid management of patients; and
13. identify the resources available to facilitate early management of patients in the community.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities (clinical tasks, written and oral reports, and written and audiovisual case presentations with literature reviews - satisfactory completion required)
OSCE: 50%
MCQ exam: 50%

Contact hours

An 18-week rotation. Continuous attachment in a hospital environment.

Prerequisites

Pass at year 4 of MBBS

Co-requisites

Must be enrolled in the MBBS or MBBS/LLB

Prohibitions

This unit is not available to students in the 5 year structure of the MBBS program.