| University of Limerick |
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University of Limerick, Graduate Entry Medical School BM BS Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (Graduate Entry) Course Outline The University of Limerick’s BM BS Graduate Medical Programme (GMP) is open to graduates from any discipline. It has a highly innovative curriculum which offers students the opportunity to complete undergraduate medical training in four years in an environment specifically designed for graduate students. During your four years of study, you will be taught all of the basic medical and clinical sciences necessary to form the basis for postgraduate training and for a career in one or other branch of medicine. Programme of study The curriculum is taught in a traditional academic year, starting in September. Years 1 & 2 are taught on campus and consist of 33 teaching weeks per year. Years 3 & 4 consist of clinical training, where students rotate through the major clinical disciplines in affiliated hospitals and training General Practices. The curriculum has three main modules or domains: Knowledge of Health & Illness Clinical and Anatomical Skills Professional Competencies These three modules run concurrently and are both vertically and horizontally integrated. They are designed to ensure that all aspects of the skills required to be a doctor are addressed, from the sciences underpinning a rational approach to diagnosis and management, to an awareness of the importance of personal development.
How you will be taught Years 1 & 2 The first two years of the course are structured around problem-based learning (PBL). The ‘problems’ are highly structured hypothetical clinical cases, each of which takes a week to work through. This is backed up by a small number of lectures, which will be as interactive as possible. There is also structured Clinical Skills teaching and Anatomical Skills teaching. Teaching in the Professional Competencies takes the form of lectures, tutorials, workshops and seminars on topics such as biostatistics, psychology, public health, health law & ethics and medical sociology. All teaching and learning sessions are focused towards the topic of the week, exploring it from different perspectives including the scientific, sociological, public health, legal and patient experience. This means that everything you learn is done in the context in which you will use it when you practice as a doctor.
Early Patient Contact Programme During the first two years, you will be allocated two real patients and will be expected to follow their progress and life experiences over time. One patient will be a person with a chronic and possibly progressive medical problem (e.g. diabetes, arthritis, asthma). Over the two years, you will be expected to come to know your patient first and foremost as people. You will also be expected to be involved when they interact with health care services (e.g. you might accompany them when they visit their GP or hospital out-patient clinic; you might visit them in hospital etc.). The other patient will be an expectant mother whose progress you will monitor through pregnancy and early childhood. The aim of the programme is to help students to understand both health and illness and how each is managed from the patient’s perspective. You should also come to appreciate the strengths and deficiencies of health services. Above all, you should gain some insights into the relationship between the providers and the consumers of health care.
Years 3 & 4 In Year 3, all students will be located in the General Practice/Primary Care setting in one of five Primary Care Teaching Networks (PCTNs) for a full 18 weeks. For the remainder of Years 3 and 4, students will undergo hospital-based clinical training in Obstetrics/Gynaecology, Paediatrics and Psychiatry, Medicine and Surgery. This will involve rotations through a number of affiliated hospitals.
Special Study Modules (SSMs) Special Study Modules allow students to study in depth areas that are of particular interest to them. In total, students undertake four SSMs, one in each of Years 2 & 3 and two in Year 4. Students have considerable choice over the subject of these projects, but the format for assessment is prescribed. Each student will have a dedicated tutor to help guide their projects and to ensure they stay on track. Some students might choose to go abroad for their SSM and UL is happy to help with this – e.g. by facilitating student exchanges.
Methods of Assessment The emphasis will be on regular assessments with detailed feedback throughout. The format of the assessment will include Continuous Assessment, Short Answer Questions (SAQs), Extended Matching Questions (EMQs) and/or Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs), Anatomy Spotters and OCASEs (Objective Clinical and Anatomical Skills Examinations). The OCASE is a modification of the traditional Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) to include the assessment of knowledge of Anatomy.
Entry requirements EU Entry Requirements Candidates must hold a minimum 2.1 (second class honours, grade one) result in their first honours bachelor degree (NFQ Level 8). For candidates who meet this requirement GAMSAT (Graduate Australian Medical Schools Admissions Test) will then be used as the sole instrument to select students for the programme (www.gamsat-ie.org).
Non-EU Entry Requirements Candidates must hold a minimum 2.1 (second class honours, grade one) result in their first honours bachelor degree (NFQ Level 8). For candidates who meet this requirement GAMSAT (Graduate Australian Medical Schools Admissions Test) or in the case of North American applicants, MCAT will be used as an instrument for selection. Non-EU applicants must also attend for interview as part of the selection process.
Fees Fees for 2010/11 are yet to be set. As a guideline candidates should note that the fees in 2009/10 remained the same as 2008/09 and were as follows: EU: €12,780 per annum (The actual tuition fee is €26,625. The Higher Education Authority contribute €13,845 towards this fee leaving the student liable for the balance of €12,780) Non-EU: €38,500 per annum
EU Application Process Applications must be made through the CAO. Information about applying through the CAO is available at www.cao.ie. The course code for the Graduate Medical Programme is LM101. Please note that this is a restricted course so the deadline for application is February 1st. Non-EU Application Process: Applications must be made directly to the University. Application forms are available from the website: www.ul.ie/internationaleducation and must be returned to: International Education Office, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland. North American applicants should apply through Atlantic Bridge http://www.atlanticbridge.com/med/index.htm.
Funding/Scholarships: UL has worked with its banking partners to establish a comprehensive financial support scheme for EU students of the UL medical programme. This scheme has been developed to deliver innovative financial solutions that will ensure that all students enrolling in the programme have access to lending facilities to enable them to participate fully in the medical programme. Details of the Student Loan Scheme are available on the School’s web site. With the generous support of the Atlantic Philanthropies the University commenced a scholarship scheme in 2008. This scheme provides financial assistance to socio economically disadvantaged EU students applying for the Graduate Medical Programme. Details of the scholarship scheme are available on the School’s web site. Contact Details: UL Graduate Entry Medical School E1025 Email:
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Phone: +353-61-233740/+353-61-233756 Fax: +353- 61 233778 Web address: www.ul.ie/medicalschool |