An outline of community-based teaching in undergraduate medical courses within the UK
| 1 | Aberdeen (University of) | Year 1—The ‘Community Course’: including General Practice, Public Health, Mental Health, Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Health Care of the Elderly, and Paediatrics; allowing learning about the social, economic and environmental impacts on health Year 2—The ‘Community Course’ continues Year 3—The ‘Community Course’ is completed Year 4—5 week general practice placement Year 5—8-week blocks of: (1) a medical specialty, (2) a surgical specialty, (3) a general practice or psychiatry course, (4) an elective and (5) a ‘Professional Practice’ block |
| 2 | Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London | Years 1 & 2—Regular general practice placements Years 3 & 4—Work with clinical teams in the hospital and also within community placements Year 5—Clinical and community placements, including general practice surgeries |
| 3 | Birmingham (University of) | Years 1 & 2—10 days per year spent in general practice Year 3—Community-based medicine module Years 4 & 5—One general practice attachment within these 2 years |
| 4 | Brighton and Sussex Medical School | Years 1 & 2—25% of learning is clinically based including experience in primary care, community medicine and out-patient settings. Patients do two family studies: One in year 1 (‘family with a new baby’), and one in year 2 (‘the chronic illness patient’). Years 3 & 4—A year-long module on primary care and population medicine, alongside clinical placements in hospital trusts and primary care |
| 5 | Bristol (University of) | Year 1—General Practice and patient home visits Year 2—Clinical skills teaching in the primary care setting Year 3—Teaching in hospitals and in general practice Year 4—Two ‘Community Orientated Medical Practice’ modules Year 5—2 weeks in a general practice placement (within preparation for ‘Professional Practice’) |
| 6 | Cambridge (University of) | Years 1—Meet patients in the general practice. Years 2 & 3—Students meet patients through visiting community-based health-related agencies, as well as following a pregnant women and her family throughout pregnancy (year 3 project). Students also have primary care teaching in the following: ▸ Module on the ‘Clinical Method’ involves time spent in primary care, including teaching ▸ Module on ‘The Life Course’ involves time spent in primary and community care. Learning is focused on how diseases present, are managed and the patients’ perspective ▸ Module on ‘Preparation for Practice’ involves one general practice attachment |
| 7 | Cardiff University | Year 1—12 week introductory programme involving short clinical experience days in general practice Years 1 & 2—one day a week seeing patients in hospitals, general practice or other community-based service. Year 5—8 week placement in the community |
| 8 | Dundee (University of) | ‘Doctors, Patients and Communities’ course runs throughout the undergraduate medical programme, allowing early patient contact. This course includes public health and primary care. Students submit a record of clinical experience Years 4 & 5—Primary care attachments, with an option to extend the 5th year primary care attachment to 2 or 3 months |
| 9 | Durham (University of) | Years 1 & 2—Community-based teaching in: ▸ The ‘Patient Study’ module involves observing the effect of a chronic condition on a person and their immediate family in primary care and the community ▸ The ‘Family Project’ follows a pregnant woman and then the effect of having a new baby in a family ▸ The ‘Community Placement’ with a variety of health and social care agencies, observing inter-professional and inter-agency working within the community. It may involve visiting patients at home and within primary care Years 3–5—Medical programme completed at Newcastle University |
| 10 | Edinburgh (The University of) | Years 1 & 2—Student have community projects, general practice-based teaching and three student selected projects on a range of topics (can be clinical and non-medical) Years 3 & 4—‘Further clinical experience’ (clinical setting not specified) Year 5—One placement in general practice |
| 11 | Exeter (University of) | Years 1 & 2—Community placements Years 3 & 4—Meet patients at home, in general practices, in acute and community hospitals Year 5—One community placement |
| 12 | Glasgow (University of) | First 15 weeks of Year 3—Students develop clinical skills in the hospital and general practice environment Second half of Year 3, years 4 & 5—One general practice placement |
| 13 | Hull York Medical School | Students alternate between a hospital and primary care setting in all clinical placements Year 1—Half a day each week on clinical placement Year 2—One day each week on clinical placement Years 3 & 4—Clinical placements in general practice and hospitals Year 5—Medical student is treated as a junior member of the medical team. Students have a general practice rotation, in which they see patients and perform routine medical procedures under the supervision of the general practice |
| 14 | Imperial College School of Medicine | Years 1 & 2—‘The ‘Patient Contact Course’ (for chronic illnesses) involve students getting attached to one patient/family and visiting them at their homes and in the clinical setting. Learning is supplemented by general practice and hospital visits Year 3—Learning basic clinical skills and methods in general practice Year 5—One general practice and Primary Health Care placement Year 6—3 week ‘general practice Student Assistantship’ placement |
| 15 | Keele University | Year 1—Placements in general practice setting Year 2—Students select a ‘third sector’ placement from a range of community organisations Year 3—4 weeks spent consolidating clinical skills in general practice surgery Year 4—4 weeks in general practice, as well as an option of a special study component in general practice Year 5—Longer general practice placement. Students also work in small groups to identify community needs |
| 16 | King’s College London School of Medicine (at Guy’s, King’s College and St Thomas’ Hospital) | Inter-professional education is embedded in the medical curriculum throughout the duration of the course Year 1 (term 1)—Students have their first experiences of primary care (visiting general practice and interviewing patients) and hospital Phase 2 (3 terms)—Continuing clinical contact in primary care attachments and general practice visits Phase 3 (3 terms)—Students study basic skills with a general practice tutor. Each of the three placements involve community attachments Phase 4 (3 13-weeks rotations)—A ‘Community and Applied-Health Promotion Study’ is performed following a pregnant women and her family. Students also continue multidisciplinary team learning Phase 5 (final year)—One 8 week attachment in general practice and community |
| 17 | Lancaster University | Year 1—Students have a community attachment in the second term with health visitors Year 2—One day per week on community attachment for example, general practice, community clinical teaching or community-related assessment Year 3—One general practice placement with a focus on disability Year 4—One day per week in general practice Year 5—One community attachment |
| 18 | Leeds (University of) | Year 1—‘Campus to Clinic’ module (lasting half the academic year): students work in a healthcare team for 1 day per week, rotating between primary and secondary care. Medical students also arrange a community visit to a healthcare voluntary group close to their practice Year 2—‘Campus to Clinic’ module (lasting half the academic year) Year 3—5 week primary care placement Year 5—One placement (8 weeks) involves integrating teaching between primary and secondary care |
| 19 | Leicester (University of) | Phase 1 (First 5 Terms)—Community attachments are undertaken to gain experience of the social implications of medicine. Study of social and behavioural sciences supplements these placements Phase 2—Time is spent in ‘innovative community attachments’ to allow learning of the multidisciplinary team |
| 20 | Liverpool (University of) | Years 2–5—Hospital and community-based clinical experiences |
| 21 | Manchester (University of) | Year 1—Community visits Year 3—Community placements related to certain modules Year 4—Community and primary care teaching on further modules Year 5—Students work as part of the team in general practice, community paediatrics or community psychiatry, running their own consultations and seeing patients independently |
| 22 | Newcastle University Medical School | Year 1 & 2—Early clinical experience with full and half-days spent in general practices practices and hospital visits. Students also do 2 patient studies: One ‘family study project’ and one in-depth study of a patient with chronic illness Year 3—Half a day each week spent in general practice Year 5—Primary Care clinical rotation including out-of-hours calls with general practices |
| 23 | Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia | NB: No year-by-year information given. ‘Regular placements in hospital and general practice allow students to observe the full range of patient care’ |
| 24 | Nottingham (The University of) | Years 1 & 2—One morning every month spent with a GP Year 3—‘Community Follow Up Project’ (starting in year 2) is completed. Projects involves following an assigned patient for 18 months, and learning about the effects of the patients care on the patient and their family Year 4—One week community attachment during obstetrics and gynaecology placement and 1 day spent with a community midwife. Regular community visits during paediatrics attachment (general practice, Community Paediatrician, Health Visitor or School Nurse). Students are also given an option of a special study module in primary care Year 5—One 5 week general practice placement |
| 25 | Oxford (University of) | Years 1 & 2—Meeting patients in general practice Year 4—Meeting patients in the general practice (2 weeks) and a residential attachment at the general practice (1 week) Year 5—One community placement (in clinical geratology, dermatology, palliative care, primary healthcare or public/ population health) Year 6—Optional 12-week special study module in primary care |
| 26 | Plymouth University, Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry | Year 1—Weekly practical community based work throughout the course, inclusive of ‘Sure Start’ or drug clinic visits Year 2—General practice practice visits on 6 separate days Year 3 & 4—Students can see patients themselves in supervised settings in a general practice during a week-long placement, three times in each year Year 5—6 week long the general practice placement |
| 27 | Queen's University Belfast | NB: Little information on course structure is available online Years 4 & 5—Teachings in the general practice |
| 28 | Sheffield (The University of) | Years 1 & 2—Community attachments within general practices & some social services locations Two years including second half of Year 3, Year 4 & first half of Year 5—One community health placement at a general practice |
| 29 | Southampton (University of) | Years 1 & 2—Contact with patients in a variety of clinical settings, including a community engagement project Year 3—Students undertake a research study which may involve work with general practices or in the community. Students also undertake a general practice clinical placement, focusing on the effects of clinical disorders on patients and their families Year 4—Range of clinical placements (clinical setting not specified) Year 5—One general practice placement |
| 30 | St Andrews (University of) | Years 1 & 2—Regular primary care attachments in local hospitals Between 2nd and 3rd Year—Optional residential week in a range of primary clinical care placements Years 4 & 5—Medical programme completed at a ‘Partner Medical School’ in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow or Manchester |
| 31 | St George’s, University of London | Year 1—Half days of general practice and community visits Year 3—3 week general practice/primary care placement Year 5—5 week placement in general practice, 2 weeks in public health |
| 32 | University College London | Years 1 & 2—‘Opportunities for early patient contact and for meeting health professionals’ Year 4—‘Three long attachments in hospitals and associated community and general practice settings’ concentrating on community-based care, ward-based care and emergency care Years 6—4-week general practice placement |