What Does A Typical Week Look Like At Three Counties Medical School?

Admissions Lead Dr Kay Mohanna outlines a typical week for a Three Counties Medical School student at phase one, and year three.

A Typical Week During Phase One

When you join Three Counties Medical School you’ll begin at phase one, where each week will begin with reading the Study Guide. This is important, because it outlines what the key learning opportunities and outcomes will be for the week ahead, so it focuses your studies.

Focusing Your Learning

Your first lecture of the week is ‘Map Reading’, where your Tutor will outline the learning journey that you’ll experience this week. You’ll find out what you will see, where you’ll go, and what you’ll bring back home.

PBL Lessons

Three Counties Medical School uses Problem Based Learning, so you’ll have PBL lessons each week in phase one. You’ll be split into groups of about eight and work with a facilitator, who’s usually a Doctor and there to listen and support.

During these PBL sessions, you’ll discuss two or three presentations of realistic patient scenarios that a Doctor could encounter. This is when you’ll identify what you know already – and what you don’t. These will be closely linked to the week’s required learning, which means you’ll be tasked with a number of learning outcomes to fill the gaps of what you don’t understand.

Clinical Simulations

The next step in Three Counties Medical School lessons is the consultation between Doctor and patient. You’ll either talk to a simulated patient, or perform a physical examination on your colleagues.

Expanding Your Knowledge

The goal for the rest of the week is to be able to answer the questions raised in your PBL groups. Sometimes you’ll learn about normal and abnormal structure and function in a carousel lesson, and this can involve using anatomical images or models. Sometimes you’ll study applied physiology and procedural skills, so that you’re learning the right skills and procedures to carry out something like a venipuncture to take a blood sample. Everything you do will be linked back to the week’s learning goals.

Placements Every Three Weeks

Every three weeks you’ll get to do a placement in primary care. You can expect to meet patients with similar problems to the ones you’ve discussed in your PBL lessons, and you’ll get to observe your progress with Year-Long Case Studies.

Reviewing What You’ve Learned

Each week will conclude with a wrap-up session that looks back at the Map and highlights how much has been learned. This is always followed by a PBL session to discuss what you’ve learned, whether you now understand the presentations, and if there’s anything you still don’t know. It will be followed by a final session on the earlier consultation.

A Typical Week In Year Three

Your week will be much more varied when you reach year three at Three Counties Medical School, because you’ll be on clinical placements and led by the patients.

Some typical things you could do during a week include:

• Observe at a GP surgery
• Consult under supervision
• Attend a specialist clinic in the local hospital
• Attend an endoscopy session in the local hospital
• Spend an evening and a night on acute paediatric admissions
• Perform a ward round on patients in the community hospital with student members of other healthcare staff
• Spend time with the psychiatric ‘crisis team’
• Get your consultation skills observed by your educational supervisor and receive feedback on them
• Take part in a ‘communications master class’
• Join a webinar

Find out more about what it’s like to study Graduate Entry Medicine at Three Counties Medical School on their website.