Abstract
This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. This paper describes practical tips and tools for delivering life sciences teaching, it is based on the authors' experiences at Norwich Medical School (NMS), which opened in 2002 at the University of East Anglia. The inaugural medical curriculum, including its ethos and how it is perceived by staff and students, have all been described previously.⁽¹⁻³⁾ Our 5 year medical degree at NMS is a modular, systems-based programme that integrates theory and clinical practice from the beginning. We use problem based learning (PBL) but teaching is also delivered via clinical placement; structured and simulated patient teaching; and via formal lectures and workshops. Core social science themes and life science themes run longitudinally through the course and spiral delivery of learning outcomes allows students to re-visit our themes, and particular topics, with increasing complexity. We offer ten tips here, about delivering the curricula for genetics, pharmacology, and prescribing. One challenge that we face, with a modular degree programme, is that we meet our students intermittently and throughout their years of study, and our science curriculum has been developed in response to this.
Highlights
This paper describes practical tips and tools for delivering life sciences teaching, it is based on the authors’ experiences at Norwich Medical School (NMS), which opened in 2002 at the University of East Anglia
The suggestions that we offer map to some of the roles presented by Harden and Crosby in their appraisal of the good teacher in medical education[4]; the information provider and the resource material creator
For the genetics and pharmacology strands at NMS, we have found that we can still offer opportunities for learners who seek advanced knowledge or research attachments by using student selected components (SSCs)
Summary
The suggestions that we offer map to some of the roles presented by Harden and Crosby in their appraisal of the good teacher in medical education[4]; the information provider and the resource material creator. In pharmacology and genetics there have been national initiatives and research efforts to define the core undergraduate curriculum for some time(6−9)and they have led to the development of useful linked resource libraries that can be shared. In NMS SSCs are used to help students to develop a range of research skills.[10] 5 To encourage their engagement with the wider scientific community, you can introduce your learners to leading scientists in your field and to the journals and learned societies that you all subscribe to by following them via social media platforms such as twitter. The academic lead for prescribing has created the tool called MathaMedic in response to this challenge; it was the first drug calculations app designed for medical students This educational resource is available for free download via two app-store sites (please see https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uea.mathamedic&hl=en and https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/mathamedic/id992471981?mt=8 ). Harden and Crosby defined the good teacher very as, "a teacher who helped the student to learn".(4) These practical tips were written to share our ideas and experiences about popular and helpful teaching strategies used at NMS
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