Medicine in Society Guide 2021/22: Example timetable & learning activities

5. Example timetable & learning activities

Generic structure: this is only meant as a suggested template for a day and tutors are of course free to design and run their teaching sessions however they wish to. 

9.30 – 10.30	Intro - Outline topic/s and plan for the day Activity 1 – e.g. tutorial, which could include students presenting “homework” set at previous session
10.30 – 11.45	Activity 2 - e.g. students complete tasks in breakout groups; this could be self-directed tasks such as role-plays, case scenarios or research for debate (includes tea break)
11.45 – 12.45	Review activity 2 – students present and feedback on activity with group discussion.
12.45 – 13.45	Lunch break.
13.45 – 14.45	Activity 3 - e.g. patient encounters – virtual or face-to-face; prepare questions and/or observations
14.45 - 15.00	Tea break
15.00 – 16.00	Review activity 3 Debrief from day Plans/set homework for next session

Examples of activities that could be delivered virtually or face-to-face:

Tutorials

Student presentations
Online research
Debates
Group discussions
Quizzes/Polls
Role-plays – either in small groups or as whole group with fish bowel set-up (consider specific observation tasks for feedback and discussion)
Case-based discussions
Patient encounters –expert patients with group/small groups, students interview patients in pairs/small groups, home visits
Observing GPs and other healthcare professionals
Interviewing members of primary care team
Joining practice team, or wider MDT, meetings
Reviewing recent journal articles and media publications, especially to discuss current 'hot topics'
Community based activities –initial walkabout to create community profile and subsequent exploration of local area and its services to build on this e.g.  visiting/researching local facilities, attending local groups

Please note this list is not exhaustive.  Ideally each day would include mix of activities, prioritising any patient encounters. There may be times when the not all students from the group are completing the same activity, for example if 4 students are able to attend the practice in person they might go on home visits whilst the online group meet an expert patient and afterwards the whole group reconvenes to discuss their experiences and learning.

There are more detailed suggestions for activities that are specific to each themed day and these are listed under each day, along with the suggested preparatory work for each day.