Medicine with a Foundation Year BMedSci and BMBS

This module considers aspects of medical genetics. You will consider many issues in genetics including genetic variation, inheritance, mutation, human karyotyping, dominance and co-dominance, cloning and gene therapy.

You will consider human inherited conditions such as cystic fibrosis, colour blindness, sickle-cell disease and others. For this module you’ll have a combination of taught classes, completion of workbooks and e-learning.

This module considers the particulars of cell and tissue biology. You will explore a number of topics including: prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure and function, organelles, biological membranes, cell division, transport across membranes, and tissue types.

For this module you will have a blended mix of taught classes, laboratory practicals, independent study exercises and e-learning.

This module is concerned with biological molecules. The content covered in this module includes: water, carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, protein, nucleic acids, vitamins, and minerals.

For this module you will have a mix of taught classes, laboratory practicals, completion of workbooks, e-learning and self-directed learning.

This module begins to introduce the process of personal and professional development of future doctors by requiring regular reflection, action planning and documentation of their progress through the Foundation Year. It also comprises an introduction to the areas of basic communication and clinical skills and professionalism through exploring lifestyle factors and their influence on health, the NHS and topical medical and ethical issues, health psychology and health promotion. The module develops research and study skills, academic writing, building resilience, communication and counselling skills, clinical skills, record keeping and information governance.

This module is concerned with body structure. You will be introduced to anatomy, organs and organ systems including alimentary canal, blood vessels, brain and spinal cord, heart including changes that occur at birth, kidney, liver, and lungs. You’ll also be taught about the peripheral nerves, reproductive organs, and the skeleton and muscles. For this module you will have a blended mix of taught classes, completion of workbooks, e-learning and self-directed learning.

This module is concerned with biochemical processes. For this module you will consider proteins including primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure and function, enzyme structure, enzyme function and activity, DNA replication, protein synthesis, and cellular respiration. For this module you will have a combination of taught classes, laboratory practicals, completion of workbooks and e-learning. 

This module is concerned with body processes. You will cover topics including: absorption, filtration and reabsorption in the body, chemical digestion, gaseous exchange, immune response such as the innate and acquired immunity, muscle contraction, and nerve impulses and how they are transmitted and their coordination. In this module you will have a combination of taught classes, laboratory practicals, completion of workbooks and e-learning.

This course will provide an introduction to basic microbiology. It will cover fundamental aspects of the structure, growth, replication and significance of major groups of microbes with emphasis on bacteria and viruses. Nutritional and physical requirements for growth, propagation and measurement of growth as well as procedures for killing microbes will be dealt with. Students will also be introduced to the topics of infectious disease and the significance of microbiology to industry. In practical sessions students will learn aseptic technique, routine light microscopy, basic skills in handling, growing, isolating and identifying bacteria, and general safe laboratory techniques.

This module contributes to developing an understanding of the scientific and professional basis of medicine.

In particular the module aims to develop knowledge and understanding of fundamental biochemical, physiological and anatomical concepts and their relation to disease processes.

The theme-based content will include:

• Cells
• Biochemical Basics
• Tissues of the Body
• Muscle
• Nerves
• Pharmacology
• Blood and Infection
• Reproduction
• Inflammation
• Metabolism

Students will also be taught the basic knowledge, skills and attitudes required for the assessment and management of patients. Students will be introduced to the patient as a whole person. They will be asked to consider challenging ethical scenarios and will receive an introduction to ethical frameworks as well as considering issues such as information governance and confidentiality.

The module will provide students with some basic clinical skills and introduce them to theoretical and statistical approaches to understanding health. They also will receive training in first aid for mental health. This is delivered by lectures, popular topics, directed reading, private study, workshops, e-learning, practical classes and hospital and general practice clinical visits to both primary and secondary care.

This module provides an introduction to the basic anatomy and physiology of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, cancer biology and the musculoskeletal system, together with fundamentals in haematology.

The module teaches physiological control mechanisms, the pathophysiology and pharmacological approaches to treating common disease states. It also aims to develop knowledge and understanding of cancer biology and the anatomy of the neck shoulder and upper limbs.

In terms of professional development and communication, health beliefs and culture and communicating with people who are distressed are taught as well as how to interpret and communicate risks and screening and diagnostic testing. Students will be introduced to the concept of randomized controlled trials.

This module is delivered by lectures, seminars, practical classes, podcasts, directed reading, private study, workshops and clinical visits.

This module enables development and assessment of the student’s capacity to integrate knowledge across all body systems to assess patient and symptom presentation permitting differential diagnosis.

The module will include understanding of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology as well as clinical testing and patient communication and treatment and will build upon knowledge and skills obtained from the case studies that overarch each week.

This module provides students with the background to anatomy, radiology and imaging, coupled with a basic understanding of clinical measurements (biochemical, physiological, pharmacological and numerical) that will be essential for progress in clinical medicine.

This module aims to develop knowledge and understanding of fundamental biochemical, physiological, pharmacological and anatomical concepts and their relation to gastrointestinal disease processes, endocrine physiology, the reproductive system and the kidney.

The module will provide an introduction to the alimentary system, and important aspects of nutrition and metabolism.

In addition, endocrine system teaching will provide the knowledge base for management of disease. This module will include the non-reproductive endocrine system with particular attention on pituitary, adrenal, thyroid and pancreatic function. As the endocrine system is a key system involved in whole body homeostasis, principles of control and integration of metabolism will be re-visited.

The reproductive system will cover the male and female reproductive system and pregnancy with particular attention on function of the ovary and testes, endometrial, cervical epithelial and prostate gland changes, placental physiology, problems in pregnancy and hormonal control of the reproductive system.

Renal teaching will provide descriptions of the intrarenal circulation and its relation to tubular elements, the processes located to the proximal tubule, loop of Henle, distal tubule and collecting duct, and the integration of these systems in the control of extracellular fluid volume and osmolality (including hormonal mechanisms) and in acid-base balance.

Students will be continue their general practice clinical visits. They will also be taught the skills of history taking and examination for patients with abdominal/alimentary conditions and they will be taught how to clearly explain information to patients. They will also focus on patients with an endocrine condition and will be taught diversity in sexuality and how to challenge attitudes of prejudice. Students will examine eyes and ears using an otoscope and ophthalmoscope.

Students will revisit the concept of safety, considering foresight, hazard awareness and risk. Students will also be introduced to measures of disease frequency and its relevance in clinical medicine. Physical and psychological changes and health behaviours that occur during adolescence will be explored. They will also be introduced to the concepts of systems and basic quality improvement approaches in healthcare. Further epidemiological analysis and the basis of evidence-based medicine will be introduced.

Topic specific communication skills will be explored. Having previously considered why errors occur they will explore the steps and role of incident analysis in healthcare, including Duty of Candour. They will also explore the role of nontechnical skills in healthcare with a focus on teamwork, communication, decision making and situation monitoring.

Delivery will predominantly be via lectures, podcasts, workshops, anatomical dissection classes, clinical visits, e-microscope histology and directed private study.

This module provides an introduction to the basic anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and psychology of the central nervous system.

The module aims to develop knowledge of these fundamental principles within the context of relevant weekly themes. The theme-based content will begin with a focus on depression and anxiety.

Students will be provided with a general introduction to the relevant brain anatomy followed by an in depth examination of the system physiology and pharmacology. The depression and anxiety theme will include individual sessions on the limbic system, emotion and mood, and treatment strategies. Ultimately, this will provide the basis for understanding theme based functions and the production of behaviours.

Subsequent weekly themes include:

• pain (including sessions on neuropsychology of pain, the use of anaesthetics, and pain management)
• movement disorders (including sessions on the anatomy and pharmacology of movement, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and executive function)
• dementia (including sessions on Alzheimer’s disease, neuropsychological assessment, and memory)
• sensory disorders (including sessions on the visual and auditory systems and epilepsy)
• and serious mental illness (including sessions on neurotransmission, attention, language, and schizophrenia).

Content will be delivered through lectures, podcasts, and practical classes on brain dissection, clinical neurological demonstrations and plenary lectures. Furthermore, the module also continues to consider the themes of patient safety and human factors as well as continuing with their primary care visits. Students will be expected to engage in directed reading and private study.

This module enables development and assessment of the student’s capacity to integrate knowledge across all body systems to assess patient and symptom presentation permitting differential diagnosis.

The module will include understanding of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology as well as clinical testing and patient communication and treatment and will build upon knowledge and skills obtained from the case studies that overarch each week.

This module provides students with further background to anatomy, radiology and imaging, coupled with a basic understanding of clinical measurements (biochemical, physiological, pharmacological and numerical) that will be essential for progress in clinical medicine.

This module contributes to further development of an understanding of the doctor as a professional. Students will be taught the basic knowledge, skills and attitudes required for the assessment and management of patients. Students will be introduced to the patient as a whole person.

They will be asked to consider challenging ethical scenarios and will be taught how to communicate sensitively and empathetically with different patients in various scenarios.

The module will provide students with some basic clinical skills (e.g. taking a patient history, assessing gastrointestinal function) and introduce them to theoretical and statistical approaches to understanding health.

This is delivered by lectures, popular topics, directed reading, private study, workshops, practical classes and hospital and general practice clinical visits to both primary and secondary care.

The aim of this module is to introduce the concept of evidence based medicine and review in depth many of the research methodologies, which underpin this. This will include ethical issues in animal and human research studies.

During the evidence based medicine course students will be building on previous learning and acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes that link to aspects of the Outcomes for Graduate specified by the GMC. They will learn about the design of biomedical studies of various kinds, and the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, how to search for scientific information and how to critique biomedical studies and research papers. They will develop an understanding of the ethical considerations in medical research and the principles of academic integrity.
Students will attend lectures and will be required to engage in private study, including the reading of scientific research papers.

It will be essential to demonstrate appropriate professional attitudes and behaviour.

In your chosen area for your research, you’ll spend year three working on your Honours Year project in which you will carry out your project to test the hypothesis formulated in the research methods module. The form of the project can vary and may be based on laboratory work, audit, patient studies or an extended literature review with proof of critical engagement. A submission of around 10,000 words is expected as your project write-up. A range of optional modules related to Research Project are shown below. 

This module will help you develop your prescribing skills and understanding of therapeutics and treating infections to prepare you for the Clinical Phase.

You will spend a compulsory week in primary care developing skills to assess patients in a general practice environment to prepare you for the Clinical Phase.

This module focuses on how cancer therapies have developed in recent years, and how the long-term cardiovascular effects of these treatments in cancer survivors should be considered.

Six lectures will cover: an introduction to cancer therapy, the role of VEGF in tumour angiogenesis, anti-VEGF cancer therapies, cardiovascular consequences of anti-cancer treatment, the role of alternative splicing and molecular targeting in cancer and future strategies for cancer therapy.

This module aims to facilitate:

• an understanding of the major class of receptors in man, GPCRs, and their varied roles as drug targets
• awareness of the range of genetic polymorphisms in GPCRs and associated proteins linked with disease and drug action, backed by specific examples
• and critical evaluation of the ability to target such polymorphic variants therapeutically to deliver future medical advances.

This will predominantly be within the home base and there is a requirement for students to carry out significant private study including reading advanced texts, review articles and research papers on specialist medical science topics.It will be essential to demonstrate appropriate professional attitudes and behaviour.

The module will explore theoretical, research and clinical approaches to the understanding of theaetiology and treatment of common mental illness/disorders such as mood and anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. It will draw upon international as well as local research in these fields at the University of Nottingham.

You'll gain knowledge and understanding of the following in common mental health:

• Models and approaches that are being used to understand how mental health problems are caused and/or maintained and how they can be treated
• Link between brain and cognitive function and underlying psychological and/or clinical problems.Methods used in research and clinical practice to study and/or manage the psychopathology of mental illness.

The module 'Quantitative and Qualitative Methods for Mental Health Research' is designed so that students can acquire the concepts, skills and knowledge required to conduct and evaluate both qualitative and quantitative research in mental health and explore concepts and principles of psychiatry and applied psychology to enhance their evidence-based practice.

This module is intended to prepare students for interpreting the literature they will read as practising physicians.

This involves teaching them critical thinking skills and includes examination of three medical topics covered by the assigned papers.

These will include the following study designs:

• case control studies
• randomised controlled trials
• cross-sectional population surveys
• cohort studies

Important issues in epidemiological research such as ethics and clinical constraints, case definition, research methods, power, bias and confounding and strength of evidence will be discussed, as relevant, for each paper.

Systematic reviews and national clinical guidelines will also be studied to understand the process of how these contribute to evidence based medicine. This will provide understanding of how individual research studies are brought together, evaluated for their quality. and combined to provide the recommendations and guidance that is used by healthcare professionals in practice.

This module provides a clinical overview of cancer including:

• the molecular biology of cancer
• cancer angiogenesis
• pre-clinical modelling of cancer
• clinical trials and adjuvant treatments in cancer
• breast cancer: biology and treatment
• new biological treatments for cancer.

The module includes the following topics:

• Basic surgical microbiology revision
• Operating theatre rituals and their scientific basis (if any)
• Surgical aspects of various surgeries, for example: vascular graft surgery, orthopaedic surgery,neurosurgery, and gastro – intestinal surgery, with emphasis on infection prevention
• Scientific, pathological and microbiological aspects of the above. Identification and discussion of period of risk (different in each) and logistic/patient risk factors
• Prevention of surgical infection: identification of the problem and practical solutions. Relative contributions of hospital vs community pathogens, and of theatre vs ward sources.
• Treatment of surgical infection: therapeutic choices and their pharmacokinetic aspects

This module builds on previously taught techniques and principles that distinguish epidemiological research from true experimental research. It also provides an introduction to commonly used planning and decision making tools in public health practice.

Students will develop an understanding of how epidemiological research principles can be applied to public health medicine. Students are also introduced to statistical software packages and will learn to carryout basic statistical tests including chi-squared tests, t-tests and correlation.

They will also be introduced to advanced statistical methods such as logistic regression, multivariable analysis and meta-analysis. Students will develop an understanding of some of the core activities of public health practice and methodological approaches underpinning public health practice.

This module will provide you with a conceptual framework relevant to embryonic, foetal, neonatal, childhood and adolescent growth and development. You’ll be introduced to the pervasive concept of human development as a programmed evolution in structure and function of the brain.

You’ll explore the need for development in human neuroscience with reference to brain embryology; pre-term birth, brain tumours; and epilepsies, and other current clinical research areas, from new-borns to teenagers.

This module uses colorectal cancer as a paradigm of neoplastic disease and covers the molecular basis of cancer, the clinicopathological manifestation of disease and translational research.

You will be build on previous learning and acquiring knowledge to extend and deepen your understanding of molecular and cellular aspects of innate immunity and gain knowledge and understanding of the mechanistic basis of inflammatory diseases.

This will also enable you to appreciate the development of novel forms of therapy for inflammatory diseases.

The module will cover the following topics:

• Introduction to neuroglia cells including historical perspectives and description of roles of neuroglia (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglia) in CNS physiology
• The role and potentialuse as clinical targets of neuroglial cells in the following conditions will be described: insulininduced hypoglycaemia, demyelinating diseases, brain tumours, epilepsy and CNS regeneration

The course focuses on the clinical knowledge and basic research approaches to investigate:

• Asthma
• Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disease
• Interstitial Lung Disease
• Lung cancer and infection.

Kidney disease is relatively common and its incidence is increasing because of the ageing population and increases in the incidence of obesity, diabetes mellitus and hypertension.

This module focuses on the pathology and treatment of kidney diseases. This will predominantly be within an overview of renal structure and function, the clinical features of, and diagnostic tools used in, kidney disease, the pathology,assessment and management of kidney diseases such as glomerular disease,vascular disease, nephrotic syndrome, and chronic kidney disease.

This module considers:

• the epidemiology of harm in healthcare
• theories of what safety means in healthcare
• models of how errors and harm occur
• the role of investigation in reducing harm
• the evidence for safety initiatives
• the role of human factors in delivering safe healthcare

This module will provide an overview of normal haematopoiesis and current concepts in normal and cancer haematopoietic stem cell biology.

It will also:

• enable students to develop an appreciation of the causes, pathogenesis and molecular mechanisms of haematological malignancies
• provide an insight into the laboratory tests important in the diagnosis, stratification and prognosis of specific malignant haematological conditions
• provide an overview of the diagnosis, treatment and management of haematological malignancies
• develop an appreciation of the rationale behind the national leukaemia trails
• give students an overview of the principles of stem cell transplantation
• demonstrate the new research findings (drugs, mutations, biomarkers etc) in malignant haematology which are improving management and outcome of patients and allowing the advancement of targeted therapy.

This phase provides students with the opportunity to acquire and develop professional knowledge, skills, values and behaviours through experiential learning in primary care settings, outpatient clinics, operating theatres, the emergency room and patients’ homes. This is combined with seminars and simulation-based learning.

This phase will comprise of an introductory week followed by five sets of six-week placements in medicine, surgery, specialty skills, mental health and community-based medicine.

Placements are integrated to allow students to maximise their learning in each setting. After two placements there will be a formative assessment week, and at the end of the five placements students will have summative assessments. Students will progress to a 12-week block involving a two-week junior assistantship and 10 weeks of two or four-week Student Selected Modules (SSMs). Students will choose from a wide variety of SSMs from across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

This final phase of the course is divided into two components: Advanced Practice 1 and Advanced Practice 2.

This part of the course is intended to prepare students for the transition to working as a Foundation doctor and enable appropriate preparation for the GMC Medical Licensing Assessment.

Advanced Practice will consist of an introductory week followed by a series of clinical placements including a formative assessment mid-way through between Advanced Practice 1 and 2. Topics covered will include: Health Care of Later Life; Leadership and Management training; Intermediate Medicine including Rheumatology; Cancer and Palliative Care; Child Health, Obstetrics and Gynaecology; Advanced Primary Care; Critical Illness; Advanced Medicine and Surgery. Upon completion of these clinical placements, a revision week will be held followed by the final summative examinations.

The Transition to Practice programme is embedded in within the Advanced Practice phase. This is completed with a final 12-week period incorporating a six-week elective and a six-week senior medical assistantship.

The elective period is an opportunity for you to gain insight into medical practice in a different setting within the UK or anywhere in the world. The elective holds an exciting opportunity that will provide you with a chance to expand your skill set and overcome new challenges.

During the medical assistantship you will apply previous learning to the practical assessment and management of patients by workplace based learning. You will be expected to attain the level of practice of an FY1 doctor at the start of their employment being assessed by portfolio and logbook review. It will include shadowing a Foundation Year 1 doctor, and provides an excellent preparation for your own Foundation Year training.