Studying medicine at Sydney Medical School
Teaching and learning objectives of the Medical Program (MBBS)
The University of Sydney Medical Program aims to produce medical graduates who are committed to rational, compassionate health care and medical research of the highest quality.
The program encourages enrolment of students from diverse backgrounds and aims to help them to become graduates responsive to the health needs of individuals, families and communities and committed to improving the health care system at all levels.
The success of the program will be measured by the extent to which University of Sydney graduates maintain lifelong, self-directed learning and the pursuit of evidence-based medical practice, and the extent to which they initiate, lead and support advances in clinical medicine, research, education and community service.
Distinctive features of the program
Graduate students from diverse backgrounds
Students enter the program as successful graduates from a diverse range of academic and life experiences, having made a singular commitment to the study of medicine.
Each individual will have made a mature decision to participate in the University of Sydney Medical Program as their preferred route for entry into the medical profession.
A four-year integrated learning curriculum
Learning in the Medical Program is integrated across disciplines and the four Themes listed above, carefully building from year to year.
A major component of the learning process in the first year (known as Stage 1) and the second year (known as Stage 2) consists of clinical problems presented in problem-solving tutorials, in which concepts of health and disease are related to the basic biomedical sciences. This ensures the knowledge and problem-solving abilities which underpin medical practice have a strong scientific foundation.
Clinical contact from the second week
From the second week of the Medical Program, students have patient contact in the various Clinical Schools at Westmead Hospital (Western), Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (Central), Royal North Shore Hospital (Northern), Concord Hospital (Concord), Nepean Hospital (Nepean), Sydney Adventist Hospital (SAH) and later at Dubbo Hospital (School of Rural Health) and at the Children's Hospital, Westmead which provide invaluable clinical experience in a variety of settings.
Clinical training is undertaken at large urban hospitals and smaller rural hospitals. This offers students a balanced view of urban and rural health care and their differences. Across the hospitals a huge range of specialisations are catered for, with paediatrics and its subspecialties being the focus of the Children's Hospital at Westmead.
Students have access to most parts of the hospitals; they are able to sit in on surgical procedures, visit wards and accident and emergency units.
Clinical Schools provide students with access to the internet, library catalogues and email as well as study and exam areas. It is not all work, thankfully, as students can relax in common rooms, swimming pools, and lounges or whip up a meal in BBQ areas and kitchens within the hospitals.
While practical clinical experience forms the basis for all learning in the latter two years of the Medical Program, it is accompanied by a structured teaching program. The balance between clerkship-based activities and scheduled sessions varies. In general, formal teaching sessions reduce in number and frequency as students move throughout years 3 and 4 of Stage 3 and are essentially withdrawn in the Pre-Internship Block.
Problem-based learning with online support
The focus on problem-solving teaches students how to define and analyse clinical problems and seek the information needed to formulate and resolve diagnostic hypotheses and identify treatment options.
This approach also encourages students to become skilled independent learners, able to identify their own learning needs and evaluate their progress. See the following website for more information:
sydney.edu.au/medicine/future-students/medical-program/admin-support/educational-theory.php.
The problem-based learning in Stages 1 and 2 is supported by a comprehensive set of online resources which are used to present an authentic clinical case and give extensive guidance for both group and independent learning.
An evidence-based approach
The evaluation of evidence from research is an essential part of clinical problem-solving and decision-making. Students learn the skills of critical appraisal in Stages 1 and 2 and practice applying these skills to the published medical literature. In Stage 3, they develop their ability to practice evidence-based medicine in their clinical encounters.
See:
sydney.edu.au/medicine/future-students/medical-program/admin-support/educational-theory.php for more information about evidence-based medicine.