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Medicine at University of Plymouth - UCAS

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Course summary

Do you want to make a difference? With patient experience and student satisfaction at its heart, this hands-on, forward-thinking degree will give you the knowledge, skills and confidence to become an outstanding doctor primed for tomorrow’s healthcare needs. Nurturing critical thinking and a caring approach to your medical practice, we’ll help you develop the clinical and communication, teamwork and leadership skills for a top career in medicine.

  • Gain meaningful and immediate clinical experience with placements starting at the beginning of Year 1.
  • Benefit from close relationships with our principal NHS hospital partners.
  • Develop communication, teamwork, leadership and management skills essential for modern medical careers and high-quality, empathic patient care.
  • Use the latest in inclusive anatomy models, enhanced visualisation tools and Anatomage tables in our Life Sciences Resource Centre.
  • Make a difference to community health through hands-on, real world advocacy and quality improvement projects.
  • Explore medicine in different social and cultural contexts through a medical elective and unique Special Study Units such as ‘Medicine in Society’.
  • Practise your clinical and communication skills in specially designed, high-specification replicas of hospital wards, emergency rooms and simulated patients in our Clinical Skills Resource Centre.
  • Your learning will follow best practice at the cutting edge of medical knowledge, delivered by internationally renowned teachers and researchers.
  • Take part in expert and student-led discussions integrating clinical case studies, medical science breakthroughs and ethical issues.
  • Share knowledge, experience and support with your peers through a variety of small group teaching approaches and a host of vibrant student societies.
  • Acquire skills from other disciplines through our Intercalated degrees programme.
  • All students spend years 1 and 2 in Plymouth. In years 3-5, students will normally spend at least one year in either Taunton or Torbay in addition to Plymouth, also travelling to GP practices from these main hospital sites. This provides you with diverse placement opportunities and learning experiences across our NHS partners.
  • Equip yourself for success in postgraduate Foundation training and beyond. We consistently excel in the General Medical Council survey of Foundation Doctors’ Preparedness for Practice.

Modules

In the first two years, you’ll learn the core scientific foundations of medicine within a clinical context. We’ve structured our curriculum around the human life cycle, so in the first year you’ll study human physical and psychological development from conception to old age. You’ll learn from real-life clinical case studies and experience healthcare in a range of community settings, meeting patients and service users, and learning from health and social care professionals. In the second year, you’ll revisit the human life cycle, this time with an emphasis on disease, pathological processes, and the human and social impact of illness and disease. You’ll do a series of placements in a single general practice, enabling you to learn about long-term health issues and see teamwork in action. In your third and fourth years, you’ll learn more about clinical practice and spend more time in a patient-centred learning environment. Completing a series of hospital and general practice-based community placements, you’ll gain valuable experience in a wide range of clinical settings and see first hand how the NHS works as a team to deliver patient care. Year three focuses on three ‘Pathways of Care’: Acute Care, Ward Care and Integrated Ambulatory Care. You’ll continue working and learning in hospital and general practice settings, further developing your communication, clinical, problem-solving and analytical skills. The three ‘Pathways of Care’ continue in year four with a focus on: Acute Care, Palliative Care/ Oncology and Continuing Care. You’ll now be all set to apply the knowledge, skills and confidence you’ve acquired over the first four years by working ‘on the job’, as part of a healthcare team in action, based in either Derriford or Torbay hospital. You’ll become more assured when dealing with clinical situations, and develop an in-depth understanding of the principles of practice in the NHS. Supplementing your independent learning with a portfolio of indicative presentations, you’ll also have the opportunity to do an elective in a different social or cultural context. The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry.


How to apply

Application codes

Course code:
A100
Institution code:
P60
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

The entry requirements above apply to you if you completed your GCE A levels, or equivalent qualifications, within five years of the start of the application cycle. Seven GCSEs are required at grades A-C/9-4, including English Language, Mathematics and either Single and Additional Science, or Biology and Chemistry. Applicants applying with overseas qualifications should contact the Admissions Team at [email protected] prior to submitting an application through UCAS

Additional entry requirements

Admission tests

Criminal records declaration (DBS/Disclosure Scotland)

Health checks

Interview

Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT)

This test can be taken if your current suite of qualifications do not meet those published for school leavers or it has been more than five years since achieving them.

University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)

This test must be taken by direct school leavers, i.e. those whose school leaving qualifications are within 2 years but have not entered onto the second year of a degree programme


English language requirements

All teaching at our School is in English, so if English is not your first language and you do not have a GCSE or IGCSE pass at grade A in English language, you must have one of the following qualifications: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) band 7.5 or above with at least 7.0 in each of the speaking and listening sections, taken within 12 months prior to entry IB score of 6 in English B at the standard level.


Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
90%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
95%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

Channel Islands £9250 Year 1
England £9250 Year 1
Scotland £9250 Year 1
Wales £9250 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9250 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

* 'Islands' - refers to fees for both the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. **Please note fees are subject to change - for all information about tuition fees, please visit our fees and funding web pages.
Medicine at University of Plymouth - UCAS