Year 2 - Medicine in Society - Student Handbook 2019/20

1. Module Outline

Introduction to Medicine in Society Year 2

The Year 2 Medicine in Society module begins in October and will run for 12 days (Tuesdays) through the academic year.  It consists of two 6 day placements, one of which will be in a mental health setting, the other in another clinical speciality.  Students who start in mental health will spend their first 6 placement days in this setting and then swap to another placemen for a further 6 days.  Students who start in another speciality e.g. palliative care, care of the elderly medicine, diabetes will spend their first 6 days in this setting and then swap to a mental health setting. 

Students are assessed  by the placement tutor.  There are two elements in the summative assessment of the unit assessment –  a case presentation, and project report. In the first setting students will present their case presentation; in the second a project report

There is a prize for the best project report; any report getting a mark of 15 or 16/16 is automatically entered.  If a report gets a mark of less than 15 a student can self nominate or be nominated by their tutor. 

Academic and Administrative Contacts

2. Timetable 2019/20

Medicine in Society Year 2 course dates 2019/20

Medicine in Society Year 2 course dates 2019/20

3. Aims and Learning outcomes

Aims for Medicine in Society Year 2

The aim of Medicine in Society in Year 2 is to introduce students to the patients’ experience of chronic ill-health, and the healthcare systems that are responsible for providing the care and management for those individuals and their families.

Learning outcomes for Medicine in Society Year 2

By the end of the unit, students should be able to:

•  Appraise the impact of chronic illness on the patient and their family
• Identify common themes in the management of chronic conditions
• Recognise the role of patients in caring for themselves and identify and learn from patient expertise, particularly in dealing with chronic conditions.
• Explain the roles played by different members of the multi-disciplinary health care team (MDT) and how the patient’s care is optimised by effective team working  
• Discuss the different roles that may be played by the doctor in working with the MDT to care for the patient e.g. clinical leader, patient advocate, team manager, teacher.
• Reflect on the doctor’s role as leader and the prerequisite skills to lead.
• Demonstrate the taking of a social history from a patient
• Distinguish the roles played symptoms from that played by social factors (such as housing, education and employment) on the  impact of illness on the patient and their family
• Debate the impact of issues relating to equality and diversity i.e. disability, race, gender, sexuality on access to services, and on health behaviours and outcomes.
• Identify and evaluate the health promotion interventions provided by your service for its client group
• Describe the impact of public health measures on population health in your service area and specifically related to your patient and their illness
• Identify interventions made to ensure services are accessible to all client groups with respect to equality and diversity.

4. Assessment

Attendance

Student attendance is recorded at each placement. Tutors must inform us at the time of any non-attendance.

Placement tutors are responsible for student assessment.  There are a number of tasks that students should complete and get signed off while on placement.  If it is not possible to complete some of theses tasks in your particular clinical area tutors should substitute equivalent tasks and sign them off when students have completed them e.g. if it is not possible to interview a carer or relative of a patient students might interview a patient advocate or a member of the team looking after the patient about their role in supporting the patient.  

A case presentation and one piece of written work, the project report, will form the end of course assessment. Students will keep a reflective log of learning activities, but this will be for their personal use, and not for assessment.

4.1. Interprofessional learning

Preparing to meet/shadow a health care professional

During your MedSoc2 placement you will have the opportunity to meet and shadow other members of the multidisciplinary team providing care to your patient/s.  This experience will broaden your knowledge of the doctor’s role within the team, and help you to achieve the MEDSOC learning objective “explain the roles played by different members of the MDT and how the patient’s care is optimized by effective team working”. 

Another important aspect of this experience is to develop your skills in interprofessional communication.   One of the GMC requirements for new graduates is to be able to communicate clearly, sensitively and effectively with colleagues from the medical and other professions (GMC 2009, Tomorrow’s Doctors Outcome 15a).  Developing your skills in quickly establishing a professional rapport with other members of the MDT will help you to become an effective member of the interprofessional teams you will meet in your future clinical role.

To prepare for each shadowing experience:

i)                   Reflect on what you already know about the role of the professional you will be shadowing, and what you would like to find out.  For example, you might consider finding out about their training, professional regulation, work and shift patterns, range of patients/conditions worked with, patient referral routes, screening and assessment processes, interventions carried out, and how they interface with the MDT.  Consider also whether you hold any preconceptions about the type of person who is a member of that profession(professional stereotypes), and what these preconceptions are based upon.

Identify three questions about this profession that you want to answer through this shadowing experience, and write them down.

ii)                 Consider what the professional needs to know about you and your learning needs prior to the shadowing experience, and how best to communicate this with them in a professional manner.

iii)               Contact the professional in advance (or on the day if the shadowing has already been set up for you) to introduce yourself and negotiate the shadowing arrangement.  You should take account of the professional’s workload and work patterns, and be prepared to be flexible.

Assessment

Following each shadowing experience you should complete a Multi-disciplinary Team Shadowing Report (a proforma is provided for this).

a)     At the end of each 6 day placement you must show one shadowing report to your placement supervisor

b)     You must upload two multi-disciplinary Team Shadowing Reports to QM+  during the year, one at the end of yoru first 6 day placement, the second at the end of the 2nd placement .

If you have anyy queries about this  interprofessional activity please contact Dr Celia Woolf, Senior Lecturer in IPE - c.a.woolf@qmul.ac.uk

Failure to complete either of these requirements will be considered a matter of professionalism and may incur professionalism points.

4.2. Formative assessment: Student Logbook

Student Logbook

Students must complete nine ‘logbook activities’ – three patient interviews, one interview with an ‘expert patient’, one interview with a relative/carer and one presentation of a social history - while on placement with you.  They must also complete use the template provided to prepare to meet and shadow a health care professional, they should complete three of these during the year.  Tutors do not need to mark these only to check that it has been done.  Tutors should monitor these logbooks through the year and ensure students have completed the tasks by the end of the placement.  On the mark sheet tutors should indicate whether or not the logbook has been completed.  You do not need to return the logbook.

 Attendance is compulsory on each placement day.  Tutors must keep a record of attendance.

Medicine in Society Year 2 Log Book

Each student has a logbook; each activity must be completed and signed off while on placement.  If a particular activity is not achievable at your placement please suggest an alternative and annotate the student’s logbook.

Student Name:

Placement:

 Lead Tutor:

4.3. Case Presentation (50% of total marks)

A 20-30 minute case presentation (students in pairs) describing a clinical condition, the effect of the condition on a patient’s life, and the social factors affecting the patient’s ability to respond to their condition i.e. personal relationships, family support, employment history, educational history etc.  Students should also consider the health promotion interventions both at an individual and societal level for that condition and the role of the multi-disciplinary team in caring for the patient.

The presentation should include:

• A comprehensive account of the clinical aspects of the case, demonstrating understanding, rather than regurgitation of clinical and pathological details
• Discussion of the patient’s and carer’s perspective
• Evidence of understanding of the health promotion aspects of the case
• An account of the multidisciplinary care provided for the patient
• Appropriate use of information technology and presentation skills

For example on a psychiatry placement a student may choose to focus on a patient with chronic depression.   The case presentation should include the patient’s diagnosis and treatment and their history of illness, a discussion of the mental health promotion strategies at individual, community and policy level that affect that patient. 

They should present the patient’s view of their condition and how they perceive it impacts on their own and their family’s life.  They should include an account of the multi-disciplinary care provided for this patient and how this compares with other care options for patients with this condition e.g. are there other models of care for patients with this condition?, are patients with this condition sometimes hospitalised? etc.

Cases should be chosen by day 2.   The presentation should be assessed by the placement tutor; some/all of the placement team and also peer assessed (graded) by other students in the group.  The presentations should be made and feedback given to students on day 6.

Case Presentation assessment marking sheet

The presentations will be graded on the following areas

Students should be given a numerical mark out of 20 for the case presentation.

4.4. Project Report (50% of total marks)

Students must produce a 1500 – 2000 word write-up of an aspect care that you have chosen to study in depth; the choice of topic should be negotiated with the tutor.   It must be completed and handed in to the tutor for marking by Day 11.

It must also be submitted electronically to the MedSoc Project Report folder on the JISC Plagiarism Detection Website by Day 11.  Please submit the entire document including your reference list and any pictures or tables.

Any essays that are graded <8 /16 or >14/16 will be second marked and if necessary moderated.  The choice of project should be agreed no later than Day 8. The project can take a variety of forms, for example:

• an audit of some element of service provision;
• a patient information leaflet;
• an analysis of the health promotion strategies relevant to a particular condition,
• a description of one illness/condition, and an analysis of its impact on the patient, his family and their immediate community
• a description/appraisal of one type of intervention (treatment or management), including the underlying scientific principles, its acceptability to patients and their family and its effectiveness;
• a description and analysis of the work of the placement team or one particular professional group.

You can undertake projects in pairs or small groups, but each student must undertake a write-up of their project individually. 

• The project report must have a suitable structure.  Students may wish to use their own, or the following: an overall introduction; discussion and a conclusion.
• The introduction to the project should include the reason why it was chosen, the background, and an outline of the aims and objectives the student intends to cover. 
• The discussion should demonstrate and ability to look critically at the topic using references to literature to support the argument.
• The conclusion should address whether the aims and objectives set out in the discussion were met, and any further issues/questions for further study.
• Literature cited must be referenced.  Referencing must follow the Harvard or Vancouver style (See Appendix for guidelines on referencing).  Referenced material should include up-to-date journal articles as well as basic textbooks and Internet resources.
• It must be word-processed with a clear layout and neat presentation, including appropriate ‘signposts’, diagrams, graphs, tables, illustrations.
• Appendices with other relevant data (e.g. a copy of a leaflet that has been a product of the project etc.) may be added. 
• The marked report, with comments, should be returned you on Day 11.

There is a prize for the best project report in the year,  tutors can nominate students.  Students can also self-nominate.  Any project report scoring 15 or 16/16 will be automatically considered.

Project Report Marking Criteria

Each of the four sections – introduction, discussion, conclusion and presentation/referencing – is marked out of four.

Students should be given a numerical mark out of 16 for the project report. 

4.5. Formative assessment: Professionalism Assessment

At the end of each 6 day placement your tutor will complete a professionalism assessment form on each student.