BSc Medical Education
The intercalated BSc in Medical Education is based at Barts and the London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry and has links with faculty at St George's and King's medical schools, calling on considerable enthusiasm and expertise across the discipline.
The creation of this degree has come about as a response to student requests, the increasing recognition of medical education pathways within MMC and medical training, and a need to invest in the future of medical schools and medical education.
The importance of medical education
Medical education is an essential speciality. It focuses on how we can help students become good doctors, and how we can help those doctors to continue to improve. Like medicine, it comprises core knowledge, skills and attitudes, and its own aspects of professionalism in practice.
This BSc aims to give you a firm grounding in the principles and practice of medical education, preparing you not only to be a good teacher, but also to become involved with designing and running courses, assessments and quality assurance programmes, and, of course, ongoing educational research.
You will leave this course with a firm understanding of educational theory and its application. Your understanding of this theory (how memory works, how groups learn, what factors affect success, how professionalism develops, how knowledge and skills can be fairly and accurately assessed, how quality can be assured, and so on) will allow you to make firm, evidence-based decisions in your own learning and teaching, and the advice that you give to others.
The course will also help you develop your teaching skills, giving you a breadth and depth of approaches, an awareness of when to use which approach, and the tools necessary to evaluate your teaching and continue to develop and improve as a teacher.
Course units and assessment
There are five compulsory course units, and a project representing three additional units. Instructional methods include problem-based learning (PBL), interactive workshops, expert sessions and application assignments.
There is a significant emphasis on guided self-directed learning and on group-work. Assessment is weighted toward continuous assessment with, additionally, two unseen written assessments at the end of each term.
Research project
With respect to the research project, the taught components will prepare you well for carrying out each step of the project, and we are fortunate that our project supervisors include some well known and widely published educational researchers to provide support and guidance.
The breadth of people involved with this BSc means that there will be a wide choice of potential projects from across London – likely to suit a wide range of interests. Of course there is always the opportunity to propose your own project.
In summary, this degree will provide an interesting, relevant and worthwhile course, covering an essential topic. It aims to prepare graduates to become tomorrow's educators – not only skilled and reflective teachers, but we hope also those who will become more deeply involved with medical schools of the future, their courses and their curricula. Don't hesitate to contact the organisers if you would like more information.
Structure and timing
| Module Title | Credits | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamentals of Education | 15 | Sept-Nov |
| Theory of teaching and learning | 15 | Nov-Jan |
| Teaching Methods, Teaching Skills | 15 | Oct/Nov/Jan-Feb |
| Assessment, Evaluation and Quality & Curriculum | 15 | Jan-Feb |
| Research methods & Research Project | 60 | Jan- May |
Summary of course units
ME1. Fundamentals of Education
Course Organiser: Viv Cook
The literature on higher education in general, and medical education specifically, is large and can be confusing; it encompasses different scientific approaches, different philosophical views, and different research methods. Educationalists may be psychologists, sociologists, teachers, doctors, basic scientists, and so on. This leads to a body of knowledge which approaches medical education from many different perspectives. This block will give you the knowledge and skills required for you to navigate through this world effectively and efficiently, making sense of any conflicts that you find.
This block has three main aims – firstly, it will provide you with a clear overview of the different frameworks with which to analyse issues within medical education, including perspectives from cognitive psychology, sociology, educational philosophy – this will provide you with a road-map for the rest of the year. Secondly, it will provide you with a head start on developing and honing your teaching skills and finally it will provide you with the skills necessary to read, analyse, and synthesise the educational literature, and to construct your own scholarly papers.
ME2.Theory behind teaching and learning
Course Organiser:Sandra Nicholson and Andy Flett
How do we learn? In which contexts do students best learn and why? How does the transition from student to doctor occur? Medical education is underpinned by a large body of research evidence, ranging from understanding the structure and function of memory, through understanding the various internal and external factors that can affect learning, and how medical professionalism develops.
You will leave this block with a clear understanding of major educational theory derived from both sociocultural and pyschological backgrounds, and how it can be applied to promote successful learning in students.
ME3. Teaching Methods, Teaching Skills
Course Organiser: Viv Cook, Jon Fuller
What is the best approach to teaching clinical skills? How can you improve your lecturing? How about facilitating small group learning or role-play? What about e-learning?
During this block you will develop the knowledge and skills to deliver a range of different teaching sessions, and to choose the most appropriate method for a given topic and situation. You will develop the tools necessary to continue to develop your effectiveness as a teacher, and to help others develop.
ME4. Assessment, Evaluation, Quality & Curriculum
Course organiser: Olwyn Westwood
How can teaching, or even a whole curriculum, be judged to be of an appropriate quality? What are the known pitfalls and biases in student evaluations? How can student learning be assessed, and what choices are there to make when choosing assessment methods?
This block covers assessment, evaluation and concepts of quality assurance, and curriculum analysis. It will enable you to choose and design appropriate assessment tools, to fairly evaluate your own and other's teaching, and to conduct a formal curriculum analysis.
ME5. Research Methods Research project
Course Organiser: Hina Taylor / Sandra Eldridge
Course Organiser: Hina Taylor / Viv Cook
This block maximises the opportunities for students to learn the basic research methodologies alongside students from the BMedSci in Health Sciences.
The block covers different research approaches (both qualitative and quantitative), different designs and various methods of analysis. This is a well established and well evaluated block.
The project can be a piece of work based on qualitative, quantitative research, or a literature review.
Examples of research undertaken include:
- comparisons of teaching methods,
- investigation of students study skills,
- investigation of effects of anatomy teaching,
- investigation of student attitudes,
- feedback from OSCEs.
The end point is a dissertation and presentation.
Contact the programme organisers
Jon Fuller: j.h.fuller@qmul.ac.uk
Viv Cook: v.cook@qmul.ac.uk
Sandra Nicholson: s.nicholson@qmul.ac.uk