How would you describe the teaching style at UNSW medicine, because I know it’s not PBL, is it just an integrated course? I can’t seem to find the information on their website despite having looked at it a couple of days ago.
Here’s some extra info from a UNSW student (not me) on the first 8 weeks at UNSW that you may find useful.
“Subject Code/Name: MFAC1501: Foundations
Workload: per week: 10 x 1hr lectures (varies by week but usually a 9-11 lecture on most days) + + 2 x 2hr SG (Scenario Group--> I'll expand on what you do in this this further down)
Assessment: Three assessments (1X Group and 1X Individuals) with weighting of 0%. I.E. you ARE able to fail this (although try not to because you have to justify this later in your portfolio. However, nothing in this course contribute to your WAM. 1x End of Course Exam: 100% (Just a pass/fail exam)
Recorded Lectures: Yes, found on ECHO360 with the ability to ask questions etc. from home (Although not all lectures will read them). UNSW medicine has really developed this well particularly due to the fact that there is also now a Port Macquarie campus who watch the lectures live from their campus and so often you'll see lecturers ensuring that all information is able to be seen for those not watching in the lecture hall.
Past exams available: Yes, numerous past paper resources are available. Ask your mentors in the first week on how you can get them! They are really useful for practice. (For reasons you will see when you do your end of course
) Trust me do all of them.
Textbook Recommendation:
- For this course, honestly you don't really need textbooks. The lecture notes are quite sufficient in order to cover you in the test (at least for foundations). I would recommend you buying textbooks if you're struggling with a particular series (e.g. biochem) then you can buy a textbook for that but for now I'd just hold off buying. (You can also get some decent online versions of PDF's by using the online library. Pretty much all of the questions in the EOC came from lecture slide info.
Lecturer(s): There's really a lot of lecturers depending on the subject but they mostly stay the same within the particular course.
Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2018
Comments:
I'll be honest starting off here, starting off in medicine is a lot more work than I (and more people) thought. Sometimes "I'd have more questions than I have answers"and this can be overwhelming for a lot of people (including myself). Going from high school where we you get complimented every 5 minutes, to being with a bunch of people either just as good or better than yourself can be intimidating but it's important to remember that you got a place in UNSW medicine! And that means you DESERVE to be here, so don't be afraid of "not being smart" or so. Anyway, on to the course content.
UNSW Medicine is basically set on the pillars of eight graduate capabilities (basically traits that the faculty want to develop and instil in to yourself over the next 6 years in order to become competent clinicians. A lot of your work in this course will be reflective of that (particularly assessments). These qualities are:
- Basic and Clinical Sciences
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- Reflective Practitioner
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Structure of Classes:
Scenario Groups: This is probably a very new concept to many of you and so I'll begin with this. Scenario groups basically involve you being put in to a class with another 11 people (plus a facilitator) and being guided through activities in order to . Hones My special advice to make this more fun is to set up a food roster! That way you can study and eat during the 2 hours.
Assessments:
There are three assessments that you'll face throughout your Foundations course. There are four grades that you can receive for an assessment. P+ (high distinction/distinction), P (Credit) , P- (Barely passed) and F (Fail). All of your assessments (other than the End of Course) will have two focus capabilities that the assessment is focussed on. For example, this might be Basic and Clinical Sciences and Reflective Practitioner. These and a few other of the graduate capabilities will be given one of the four grades based on what the marker thinks you have done to satisfy each criteria in the assessment. By the end of 2 years, you should be aiming to have at least a pass in all the graduate capabilities.
1) Individual Assignment: This usually varies throughout the years but it's often regarding the Medical Hero, where you're given a list of those who have made a significant contribution to
2) Group Assignment: Now I know what you're thinking, group assignments are definitely not everyones favourite thing to do, but you should at least know how to work in one well because you're going to be doing that as a doctor
Advice:
- Get your vaccinations, police checks etc done WHEN you get given the interview even if you don't know you're getting an offer yet. Quite a large number of people didn't do this and it was very stressful for them because = they ended up being non-compliant and only became so a few days before our first hospital placement. Be organised!
- If you're not sure about a particular concept or have questions that you didn't get to ask during the lecture due to time constraints, feel free to email the lecturers. They are always more than happy to help you out and guide you on the right path.
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FAQ:
Will I need clinical equipment?
No, you're not required to own anything for the time being. Although most do buy their own stethoscopes, you don't really do anything with them in this course so it's fine if you don't own one for now. (But this is the best thing to have if you want to tell everyone you're doing med
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Can I still work a part time job?
I know quite a number of people who managed to juggle a part time job while studying at UNSW med so it's no problem. Just know that if you plan on attending lectures you won't be able to work from 9-11 most days (and a lot of the days lectures have
What's the best way to study?
There isn't really one best way to study for the exams. I'd say it's a good idea to find which way works best for you (particularly since you don't need absolutely amazing marks in Foundations since it's giving you a bit of a trial and doesn't contribute towards your WAM).
What if I didn't do as well in an assessment as I planned to?
Honestly, the Foundations course doesn't count for anything. It gives you an opportunity to see how you study and learn best and really just introduce you to studying medicine. I know a number of older students who failed the assessments (not the EOC--> you can NOT fail this).”
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