2. Introduction

The curriculum at Barts and the London has been developed in accordance with the GMC’s Outcomes for Graduates (2018). This included recommendations that in all medical school curricula should:

• place a greater emphasis on teaching outside the lecture theatre, hospital and laboratory, in community settings
• enable a broader understanding of public health
• include a greater degree of “vertical” integration of clinical and non-clinical subjects throughout the medical curriculum
• ensure the principles of professional practice form the basis of medical education.

Aims

The overall aim of the Medicine in Society Year 1 unit is to introduce students to patients and the patients' experiences of health and ill health over the course of their lives.

Learning Outcomes 

By the end of the course students should be able to:

• explain how patients are affected by their condition/s
• recognise how cultural diversity and health inequalities affect patients' and communities’ experiences of health and healthcare services
• list the public health influences that affect the development of ill-health and the restoration of health
• describe the roles of different members of the primary health care team
• develop, good communication skills with patients, healthcare professionals and between peers
• identify the consultation skills of healthcare professionals
• reflect on their own learning in terms of personal and professional development.