UNSW New Medicine Curriculum (2 Viewers)

[adrenaline88]

Hey everyone,
I'm a year 11 student who is really keen on studying medicine.
I've read about UNSW's new med course but I'm still a bit frazzled about it.
I understand the whole concept of PBL, but how often is it done? Is the whole of phase 1 (see I do know something about the course hehe) comprised of PBL or do you get "traditional" lectures (like biochem, anatomy, etc)??
Would really appreciate it if any 1st year UNSW Med students could private-message me to explain what life in the new course is like.
Cheers


p.s- if anyone could scan one of their old timetables so I can see first-hand what 1st yr med is comprised off, that would be REALLY helpful.

 

[Skywalker]

PBL is done throughout the entire new course. If you look at the pics I've posted up, you'll notice we still have separate lectures and/or tutorials for each discipline.

 

[Skywalker]

Oops, I just figured out there's a limit for attaching images. Check these links instead:

Timetable 1

Timetable 2

 

[adrenaline88]

Hey Skywalker,
Thankyou so much for the sample timetables, they are a big help!
I've read that 1st-years have clinical exposure from day one, how often does ths occur?
By the way, congratulations on your excellent HSC marks + UAI!

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

hmm skywalker.. ure timetable is like mine..
looks fun.. u got expiratory volumes work.. could hav helped me..
wat other systems u guys covered?

 

[Skywalker]

Point: We didn't do any complete systems last session, only scenarios. The physiology (lung function/volume) was related to a tuberculosis scenario. I'm not quite sure how you guys do stuff there, maybe you could give me an overview? .

m00gal: The new course is definitely controversial. Some people love it, some people hate it. My "facilitator"(an anat lecturer), who is about as old school as you can get, thinks PBL has quite a few faults. However, our communication/ethics tutors love it.

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

we covered (6 cases?) not realli confined to a single system in each but
-CV - valve incompetance, ischaemia.. but didnt do arrhythmias and more adv stuff
-resp - COPD's, carcinomas...
-intro to GIT.. -anemia, protozoal infection...

so that we dun automaticalli go "ooooo its got to be resp cos we're doing it this term" even our exams were a throw up.. lung function tests came up and I didnt cover it thoroughly.. but i crammed resp and not one single case study on it :S

by the end of first year we start on all the systems. .. lik a intro.. then its reinforced in 2nd and 3rd years.. its supposed to be like newcastle and sydney ^.~ but i dunno bout that

 

[Skywalker]

Well how do you guys do exams? We have a 2-hour exam every 8 weeks to test us on the last 4 scenarios we've covered. The questions in the last test weren't that hard either, quite a lot of the exam was about public health issues.

Off the top of my head, the questions went something like this:

1. A patient has tuberculosis and you perform a bronchoscopy to examine her resp. tract. Describe the features you would see as the bronchoscope passed from the oropharynx down. (5 marks)

2. (In a nutshell) A woman has TB and has been coughing a lot.
i) Describe the mechanisms of a cough (2 marks)
ii) Describe the features of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis that enhances its virulence. (2 marks)
iii) There must have been something else here for 1 mark, I don't know what it was.

I can't really remember the rest now, I'll post again if I can think of anything else. Did you guys get to keep your exams? Post 'em up or something if you have.

 

[inasero]

hmm...monash hasnt done any gross anatomy as of yet, will be starting this semester. *looks eagerly forward to dissecting cadavers*

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

ours are every 7~8 weeks.. only one exam in 1st year counts the yearly..

public health questions e.g
List five (5) risk factors for this high burden of CVD in Australia.
List them in the order of frequency in which they occur in the population.

a case: mr xyz is 54 yr old.. presents with SOB and non-smoker.. which has been increasing..
1)wat is the cardiac prob?
2)which 3 structures could be involved..?

if a systolic murmur is heard
3)what is the most likely DDx?
4)what else would u examine for? list 5 things

wilson- r exams at monash NGP?

 

[inasero]

for those non meddies:
CVD- coronary vascular disease
SOB- shortness of breath
DDx- differential diagnosis (worded badly, u should say "what's the most likely Dx?"
NGP- Non-graded pass...

anyhows, yeah we have two types of assessments:
formative- those which don't count towards your end of year result but help you revise anyway.
summative- those which count...

so far we have had one essay worth 10% and two exams woth 5%, we have had one formative OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) and WebCT quizzes are conduted regularly.

 

[Fosweb]

insanero, sounds like your system is pretty similar to ours, with WebCT, formative, summative and the like.

Except we have one exam every 8 weeks worth 100%, and two assignments each 8 week block, also worth 100%.

 

[+:: $i[Q]u3 ::+]

Except we have one exam every 8 weeks worth 100%, and two assignments each 8 week block, also worth 100%.

the maths works out =) we cant fail anything - ie we cant compensate for a crappy mark in one part with an uber-mark in another.

 

[Fosweb]

We compensate for a fail with an 8 week remedial course. And a fail in that is caput i guess.

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

wilson- pfft so i cant write english..no biggie.. btw shalen says hi my friend from skool

ours is only one summative.. :|.. the yearly

the rest are formative.. and must be satisfactory..
and a minimum of 6 credit points in 1st year for non-med stuff :S

*alvin sees ...100% + 100% = 100% ..gets confused.. collapses*

 

[Fosweb]

*alvin sees ...100% + 100% = 100% ..gets confused.. collapses*

Well. Each 8 week block has an Assignment (Individual), Project (Group), and Exam.
You must pass all of these in order to pass that 8 week block. So whether you fail one and do extremely well in the other two doesnt really matter.

 

[Lexicographer]

Hey guys,

A lot of this stuff would be really handy for the other people in Medland (under University - General). Do you think I should have the thread moved, copied, or none of the above?

 

[McLake]

Hey guys,

A lot of this stuff would be really handy for the other people in Medland (under University - General). Do you think I should have the thread moved, copied, or none of the above?

I redirected it for you. If you want to move it back then feel free.

EDIT: I'm being proactive. Plus, if I don't move it now I may forget about it.

 

[Lexicographer]

Heh, I guess I got that question answered for me! Thanks Mike.

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

back to the topic.. does UNSW hav rural placements? for every year? cos i got placements everyyear for the next 6 years.. from 1 week to 1 month..