Abstract
Background
Medical students from St Andrews graduate with a BSc Honours Degree in Medicine before completing their clinical training at a partner clinical school. The curriculum is an integrated systems-based course providing a scientific basis to the practice of medicine and requires every student to complete research dissertation.
All medical students at St Andrews complete a research project for their 3 year BSc(Hons) in Medicine prior to completing their clinical training at a partner clinical school. In order to prepare students for their research project generic research skills are introduced from year 1.
We have devised a generic skills programme to allow students the opportunity to practice the skills needed for their research dissertation. These skills are integrated into a number of elements of the curriculum to ensure appropriate coverage and integration with other professional skills such ethics, clinical skills and portfolio work.
The skills are mapped to a matrix which is categorised as follows:
• The scientific method in medicine
• Evidence based medicine
• Writing skills
• Presentation skills
• Personal development
Work done
We have a devised a generic skills programme to help students prepare for the work of their dissertation and have grouped them under headings of
• the scientific method of medicine
• evidence based medicine
• writing and numeric skills
• presentation skills
• personal development
The skills are mapped to a matrix which covers all 3 years of the curriculum to ensure appropriate coverage and integration with other professional skills such ethics, clinical skills and portfolio work.
Conclusions
Taking a systematic approach to identifying generic skills in the curriculum we were able to encourage the development of key skills such as critical thinking; communication and presentation skills; information retrieval and literature review and the understanding of scientific method.
Take home message
Mapping the curriculum for generic skills teaching has helped inform the design and content of the medical curriculum at St Andrews.
Medical students from St Andrews graduate with a BSc Honours Degree in Medicine before completing their clinical training at a partner clinical school. The curriculum is an integrated systems-based course providing a scientific basis to the practice of medicine and requires every student to complete research dissertation.
All medical students at St Andrews complete a research project for their 3 year BSc(Hons) in Medicine prior to completing their clinical training at a partner clinical school. In order to prepare students for their research project generic research skills are introduced from year 1.
We have devised a generic skills programme to allow students the opportunity to practice the skills needed for their research dissertation. These skills are integrated into a number of elements of the curriculum to ensure appropriate coverage and integration with other professional skills such ethics, clinical skills and portfolio work.
The skills are mapped to a matrix which is categorised as follows:
• The scientific method in medicine
• Evidence based medicine
• Writing skills
• Presentation skills
• Personal development
Work done
We have a devised a generic skills programme to help students prepare for the work of their dissertation and have grouped them under headings of
• the scientific method of medicine
• evidence based medicine
• writing and numeric skills
• presentation skills
• personal development
The skills are mapped to a matrix which covers all 3 years of the curriculum to ensure appropriate coverage and integration with other professional skills such ethics, clinical skills and portfolio work.
Conclusions
Taking a systematic approach to identifying generic skills in the curriculum we were able to encourage the development of key skills such as critical thinking; communication and presentation skills; information retrieval and literature review and the understanding of scientific method.
Take home message
Mapping the curriculum for generic skills teaching has helped inform the design and content of the medical curriculum at St Andrews.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2008 |
| Event | AMEE conference - Prague, Czech Republic Duration: 30 Aug 2008 → 3 Sept 2008 |
Conference
| Conference | AMEE conference |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Czech Republic |
| City | Prague |
| Period | 30/08/08 → 3/09/08 |
Keywords
- Generic skills