Teaching and Learning
Teaching and Learning
The teaching and learning methods used on the Medicine programmes take many different forms. Examples of these include anatomy sessions, case-based learning, clinical relevance sessions, clinical skills sessions, eLearning, lab sessions, lectures, placements, practical classes, self-study, seminars, and tutorials. Examples of some of these areas can be found below.
Practical Classes
In practical classes learning is ‘hands on’, and designed to allow students to apply and test the theory they have been learning.
The ‘Drugs in the Eye’ practical session for example involves the use of topically administered drugs to the eye to investigate their effect on smooth muscle, enabling students to gain a greater understanding of the autonomic nervous system.
Inter-Professional Education
The Medicine programme at Lincoln incorporates inter-professional learning opportunities at different stages to allow medical students to prepare for providing optimal patient care in a collaborative team environment.
These events and activities allow medical students to interact with, learn from, and about the role of other healthcare professionals, and explore case studies that allow them to identify how they correlate in order to achieve the best outcomes for patients.
Anatomy
Students at Lincoln are taught anatomy through pro section in our new Anatomy Suite. In addition, the Medical School also has a suite of models of human body parts as well as bones which will be used throughout the course.
There will be significant emphasis placed on surface anatomy education. Surface anatomy is the ability to relate human internal body parts to the surface of the body and is a vital part of anatomy education.
There are also a host of online learning materials such as radiological imaging and videos that will also be used to enhance the learning of anatomy.
Clinical Skills and Early Clinical Professional Development
Early insight and exploration of clinical issues as well as practice of clinical skills are important components of the early years of the Medicine programmes.
Our students can explore communication and ethical issues in medicine and can begin learning the skills of clinical practice such as history taking, examination, and assessment.
External Clinical Contribution
During the early years of the Medicine programme, medical themes are explored using case studies against which all of the different learning methods are aligned.
To enhance and add value to our students' learning, we invite members of our clinical community to deliver teaching sessions on specialist clinical subjects and co-host plenary sessions at the end of each teaching week to help assimilate all of the learning from the case of that week and respond to student questions.
"As a Lincolnshire GP, I am pleased to see students having the opportunity to directly ask questions and gain experience from a practising doctor in the early year of the medical programme. I feel this helped consolidate their theoretical learning with real life cases which I see in my daily practice.
"The case-based plenary session was an excellent way to learn about Atrial Fibrillation. I personally found the experience rewarding, the students were very engaged, and it was a privilege to participate in their learning."
Dr Yasser Chaudhry, Lincolnshire GP
Optional Modules
Optional modules are offered in addition to the core curriculum on the Medicine programme from the first year. These help to provide medical students with an opportunity to study specific topics in greater depth. Examples of previous optional modules include Global Health, History of Medicine from Antiquity to the Present, Introduction to Psychiatry, Physical Activity in the Prevention and Management of Chronic Conditions, Safeguarding, Protection and Inter-Professional Practice: Working with Vulnerable Adults, and The Science and Myths of Sleep.
Global Health
Dr Matthew Bates, module lead explains: “irrespective of their eventual specialisation, having a solid grounding in global health can prepare medical students from Lincoln Medical School to be able to work equitably in a global context.
"In a world where health service provision is not evenly distributed, we must strive to uphold the founding principles of the medical profession, the Hippocratic oath."
History of Medicine from Antiquity to the Present
Professor Anna Marie Roos, module lead explains: “this survey module (undertaken by both historians and for medical students with shared lectures and seminars), analyses how physicians, other practitioners, and the public understood the body, disease, and health from antiquity to the modern era.
"It was offered to medical students so they could understand the backstory of their profession, as well as teaching them to work with others from different disciplines to improve their oral and written communication skills, important later for their interactions with patients and colleagues."
Our First Cohort
In September 2019, our students took part in a tailored induction programme to introduce them to their course and the University as well as the medical and health challenges in the Lincolnshire region. This included a number of visits to health and emergency service providers across the county.
Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Waddington Visit
This visit focused on the emergency service response to disasters with the aim of understanding the co-ordination of services required when responding to disasters such as road traffic accidents or fires. Activities included visiting the incident command suite and having a tour of the site as well as witnessing a simulated scenario of a car accident. Students were invited to participate in the simulation and experience some of the equipment used in rescue situations.
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Visit
This visit focused on coastal communities and inshore rescue. Students had the opportunity to visit the Royal National Lifeboat Institution at Mablethorpe where they listened to talks about the services provided and various rescue scenarios. They were given a tour of the facilities, the boats, and the kit used in rescue situations. Students also managed to sample some of the local fish and chips!
Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance Visit
Our students visited the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance where they enjoyed a talk from a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Doctor about emergency service operations. This helped our students understand more about the co-ordination of services required when responding to disasters such as road traffic and farm accidents, as well as the challenges faced by emergency services when accessing remote rural areas and the impact this has on emergency medicine.