UWA Handbook 2025

Unit Overview

Description

Parts A and B must be completed to fulfil the requirements of the year.

The Doctor of Medicine (MD) course is based around six themes of Professional, Leader, Advocate, Clinician, Educator and Scholar. This unit provides teaching in all of these themes within the clinical attachments and related teaching in Year 3 of the MD course. This includes eight-week duration clinical placements in surgery and psychiatry, internal medicine, general practice and ophthalmology, paediatrics and child health, and womens' and infants' health. Students undertake clinical care of patients under the supervision of experienced clinicians in a real clinical environment including ward rounds, operating theatre experience, outpatient clinics, emergency department attachments, community practices and other clinical encounters. Students engage in small group learning sessions to discuss evidence-based practice in related clinical disciplines in hospital and community health contexts. Students are expected to apply the knowledge, skills and professional attitudes gained in context within these clinical rotations.

Credit

18 points

Offering
(see Timetable)

Availability	Location	Mode
Non-standard teaching period	UWA (Perth)	Face to face

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) display professional behaviour in the educational and clinical settings, discuss challenges to professionalism in specified clinical disciplines, and reflect on professional behaviours in the clinical setting; display critical and insightful self-reflection of own personal values, wellbeing, personal difficulties and professional performance and implement effective management strategies when necessary; and comply with medicolegal responsibilities and recognise and discuss complex ethical and legal issues in medical practice; (2) outline the principles of health management including business planning, resource planning, healthcare reform and human resources; and work effectively in a team; explain the roles and boundaries of different health professions; and participate effectively in interprofessional teams; and compare the Australian and global health systems using economic methods; and explain the journey of the patient within the health system in specified disciplines; (3) discuss the role of the doctor in advocacy at an individual and organisational level in the delivery of health care; discuss how to provide culturally secure, comprehensive, multidisciplinary heath care and health services for Aboriginal people and communities; and display the ability to work in partnership with Aboriginal people; display a culturally secure clinical approach and discuss contributing factors and consequences of health inequalities; and explain health maintenance, promotion and disease prevention strategies with patients and colleagues; (4) integrate knowledge of the classification, epidemiology, aetiology, anatomy, pathophysiology, clinical and pathological manifestations, natural history, diagnostic principles and therapeutic principles with specified core medical conditions and presentations; perform an accurate, relevant and timely clinical assessment for the specified core presentations and for individual health status; and derive a prioritised and justifiable differential diagnosis or problem list; and plan a diagnostic strategy including selecting or performing and interpreting specified investigations; discuss the integration of scientific knowledge, clinical findings and patient preferences when formulating a management plan; and select and use therapies under supervision applying their evidence base to individual patients; assess and respect the patient's values, preferences, context, and perspectives, and explain the effects of these on shared decision-making, diagnosis and management; display caring, compassionate and empathetic behaviours with patients/carers/families and communicate professionally, respectfully, courteously and effectively with patients, carers, families and other health professionals; and apply a quality framework to medical practice and display a commitment to continued improvement of clinical performance; (5) demonstrate critical self-reflection skills as both a teacher and learner and capacity for life-long learning; discuss and apply effective approaches to developing mentoring and support relationships; plan and implement patient education based on the principles of patient education and counselling; implement teaching sessions that are guided by the principles of effective teaching and learning; and seek and effectively respond to constructive feedback, provide constructive feedback to others, display effective self-assessment skills; and evaluate different assessment methods and strategies; and (6) apply research-based knowledge from medical sciences as the basis for clinical practice; apply EBP strategies and tools to specified core medical conditions and presentations and clinical practice; and use clinical information and support systems and resources in a relevant, effective and professional manner.

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) in-training assessment during the clinical attachments including case presentations, quizzes, workbooks, case discussions; (2) end-of-year written examinations; (3) professional behaviour assessment; (4) MD Portfolio assessment; and (5) objective clinical skills examination. Further information is available in the unit outline.

To pass this unit, a student must: (a) achieve an overall mark of 50 per cent or higher for the unit; and (b) achieve the requisite requirements(s) or a mark of 50 per cent or greater, whichever is higher and specified in the unit outline, for the in-training assessment during the clinical attachments including case presentations, quizzes, workbooks, case discussions, end-of-year written examinations, professional behaviour assessment, MD Portfolio assessment, and objective clinical skills examination components.

Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Unit Coordinator(s)

Senior Lecturer Joanne Somerville

Unit rules

Prerequisites

IMED5311 Integrated Medical Practice 2 Part A (ID 4770)

Co-requisites

one of the following Scholarly Activity units: AHEA5801 Aboriginal Health Research and Ethics (ID 2696) SRUR5341 Rural Specialisation—Research Unit 2 (ID 7357) SRUR5342 Rural Specialisation—Service Learning Unit 2 (ID 7362) SMED5341 Research Unit 2 (ID 7359) SMED5342 Service Learning Unit 2 (ID 7360) IMED5803 Introduction to Research in Health Professions Education (ID 3322) PUBH5749 Foundations of Public Health (ID 3922)

Approved quota: 180—the MD quota less students allocated to rural clinical school

Contact hours

30-40 hours per week

Note

To pass year 3 students are required to achieve a pass in:
^ the combined written examination component of the unit mark, AND
^ the objective structured clinical skills examination, AND
^the professional behaviour and participation component,
AND ^ the portfolio component,
AND ^ the in-training assessment component.