Foundations for Clinical Practice introduces students to the scientific knowledge and clinical skills required for medical practice. Core content covered includes foundational biomedical science knowledge and clinical communication and examination skills, as well as a focus on early professional identity formation. Throughout the year, students work towards establishing introductory level clinical competencies while working under the guidance of tutors from a mixture of scientific and clinical professions. Students are expected to actively participate in a variety of different learning activities, including webinars, tutorials, practical classes and clinical placements. Prerequisite biomedical science knowledge for the course is consolidated and small group exploration of clinically focused cases provides the context for understanding how major body system’s structure and function contribute to patient health and well-being. Clinical skills are developed through use of peer learning, simulation and longitudinal community and hospital based clinical placements. A body systems approach guides the learning throughout the year. Emphasis throughout the subject is placed on three main streams of learning: biomedical science knowledge; clinical skills; and professionalism in practice.

In Principles of Clinical Practice 1, students will build on the knowledge and skills gained in MEDS90031 Foundations for Clinical Practice, further exploring the structure and function of all major body systems. Core content covered will include bioscience knowledge and clinical communication and examination skills, as well as a focus on early professional identity formation. Learning will continue to be in the context of focussed clinical cases, using an integrated approach to understand the structure and function of the major body systems, including how these contribute to patient health and well-being. Students are expected to attend and participate in a variety of learning activities, including lectures, tutorials, practical classes and clinical placements. Mentoring to achieve early clinical competence from expert tutors from the biosciences and from the clinical professions is a feature of learning in this subject. Clinical skills will continue to be taught in small groups with simulated patients, peers and on clinical placement with a focus on clinical communication, medical interviewing, physical examination and clinical reasoning skills. Throughout the subject the three streams of biomedical knowledge, clinical skills and professional identity will be integrated. Further threaded throughout each stream will be First Nations health, populations health and patient advocacy.

The Student Conference will be delivered in a traditional conference format over four days. The aim of the Student Conference is to allow students to learn from each other, experts in various fields and other health professionals in topic areas suited to a conference format. In their first year students will attend and participate in the conference program but would not be expected to present, teach or be actively involved in the conference organisation.

The attendance requirement is 100%. Students with a genuine need to miss any part of the conference will be able to apply for a Short Leave of Absence.

The overall aim of Principles of Clinical Practice 2 is to further develop key clinical skills in a full-time clinical environment. The subject will be delivered in four terms of nine weeks. In the Foundation term students will consolidate their medical interviewing and physical examination skills in the context of the hospital and community environment. In the Medicine term students will focus on the student becoming part of hospital based medical teams to help them develop their diagnostic and therapeutic skills in the context of patients presenting with acute medical problems. In the Surgical term students will focus on the diagnostic and therapeutic issues of patients with acute and chronic surgical problems. Students will also learn the principles and basic practice of anaesthetics. In the Ambulatory Care term students will focus their attention on patients with chronic diseases followed in an ambulatory setting.

The Student Conference will be delivered in a traditional conference format over four days. The aim of the Student Conference is to allow students to learn from each other, experts in various fields and other health professionals in topic areas suited to a conference format.

The attendance requirement is 100%. Students with a genuine need to miss any part of the conference will be able to apply for a Short Leave of Absence.

The aim of Principles of Clinical Practice 3 is to build on the foundation provided by the Principles of Clinical Practice 2 to further develop key clinical skills in a diverse and complex set of clinical settings. The subject will be delivered in five clinical terms: Women’s Health (8 weeks), Children and Adolescent Health (8 weeks), Mental Health (6 weeks), General Practice (6 weeks) and Aged Care (6 weeks). In each rotation students will acquire the skills to prepare them for any form of clinical practice in that discipline.

Preparation for MD Research Project 2 – this subject involves selection of project topic and supervisor; preparation of literature review; project plan; and (if necessary) ethics approval.

The Student Conference will be delivered in a traditional conference format over four days. The aim of the Student Conference is to allow students to learn from each other, experts in various fields and other health professionals in topic areas suited to a conference format.

The attendance requirement is 100%. Students with a genuine need to miss any part of the conference will be able to apply for a Short Leave of Absence.

The Student Conference will be delivered in a traditional conference format over four days. The aim of the Student Conference is to allow students to learn from each other, experts in various fields and other health professionals in topic areas suited to a conference format. In their fourth and final year, students will attend and participate in the conference program and be actively involved in the conference organisation. Opportunities may exist for students to present or teach, based on the selection of conference themes and their experiences during the first three years of the course. A particular feature of Student Conference 4 will be the presentation of papers and posters reporting projects undertaken in MD Research Project 2.

The attendance requirement is 100%. Students with a genuine need to miss any part of the conference will be able to apply for a Short Leave of Absence.

This capstone subject draws together students’ learning in the context of contemporary health care delivery and prepares students for their next phases of medical training (prevocational and vocational). This will be achieved in three 4-week clinical placements and two weeks of face-to-face teaching and learning, as well as a series of small-group tutorials and online learning sessions.

1. ‘Preparation for Practice’ connects students’ prior learning throughout the MD program to the delivery of safe and effective practice. This will be achieved with a variety of approaches including simulation, small group tutorials and practical sessions. Some of the ‘Preparation for Practice’ content will occur during the allocated fortnight of face-to-face teaching, with the rest to take place as online learning sessions or tutorials throughout the remainder of Transition to Practice.

2. Students will rotate through three 4-week clinical placement terms:

a. Two ‘Trainee Intern’ terms provide students with opportunities to rehearse the role of an intern in a hospital-based medical or surgical unit. Students will be supported to reflect on their experiences within this term to allow a smooth and less stressful transition to internship.

b. A ‘Trainee Intern Selective’ term allows students to select a specific medical discipline for more in-depth experience working with an individual clinician or medical team.

The subject culminates in a leadership course at the end of their final rotation.

This subject is a semester-long supervised research placement predominantly located within the University and associated research institutes, teaching hospitals, and other clinical settings, with selected overseas placements for high-achieving students. Students will undertake a research project and write a report in the style of a peer-reviewed journal article.