Undergraduate: Course rule and topic information

All course rules are currently under review and new course rules will apply from 2011.
As a result topic details may change. Further information on the new course structures will be made available by mid-2010.

Bachelor of Clinical Sciences/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

(BClinSc, BMBS)

BClinSc/BMBS course rules are under review and are subject to approval

Program of study

INTRODUCTION
The Bachelor of Clinical Sciences/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery may be taken as a double degrees program in not less than six years full-time.

The program is offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences and requires completion of a total of 216 units of study.

COURSE AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
The course aims to:

• provide a foundation in the basic sciences;
• integrate the basic sciences with clinical disciplines and recognise the importance of exposure to the principles, practice and findings of medical research;
• provide a structured approach to the acquisition of clinical skills and competencies through laboratory and simulated learning and early patient contact made possible by the physical location of the School within the Flinders Medical Centre and the integration of patient care teaching and research in that environment;
• give students the opportunity to undertake clinical learning in diverse hospital and community environments in Adelaide, country South Australia, western Victoria and the Northern Territory;
• recognise the importance of basing medical practice on a social and community view of health and illness;
• support the advocacy of patient care and service as a central focus in medical practice; and
• ensure students gain an understanding of the professional roles and responsibilities of doctors and experience in group learning and developing collegial relationships.

Learning outcomes
Graduates of the course will be able to:

• demonstrate a thorough understanding of the fundamental sciences as an appropriate basis for the practice of medicine;
• integrate knowledge derived from the physical, biological, behavioural and social sciences underpinning medicine;
• demonstrate proficiency in basic clinical and communication skills which will enable them to practise competently, with empathy for patients and with recognition of their own limitations;
• apply skills and abilities in clinical reasoning and critical appraisal to data gathering and interpretation and in clinical problem formulation;
• understand population health patterns and distribution in Australia and internationally and the methods and process by which population health information is accumulated;
• be sensitive to the diverse cultures and contexts of the Australian and international health systems and the impact of different cultures and contexts on health outcomes and patient care;
• integrate health promotion and disease prevention with the management of illness and injury;
• recognise that medical practice should be undertaken with due regard to available resources and in a manner which encourages patients to assume increasing responsibility for their own health and to participate in decisions about their health care;
• demonstrate personal and professional behaviour which indicate development towards high standards of medical practice and patient care;
• work within the legal and ethical frameworks which determine clinical practice;
• demonstrate skills and abilities in self-evaluation, audit and quality review;
• work in teams with medical and health professional colleagues;
• perform the duties of an intern and be ready to proceed to the next stage of medical training; and
• undertake training for any branch of medicine, including medical research and show commitment to life-long learning and self-enhancement.

COURSE RULE

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must have completed Year 12 (or equivalent) and must not have a record of study at higher education level. The course is not available to international applicants. All applicants must sit the Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT). Final ranking is determined by combining scores for the test and Tertiary Entrance Rank (or equivalent).

PROGRAM OF STUDY [November, 2009]
To qualify for the Bachelor of Clinical Sciences/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, a student must complete 216 units with a grade of P or better, or NGP in each topic, according to the following program of study:

• the Bachelor of Clinical Sciences component of 72 units;
• the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery component of 144 units.

YEAR 1
36 units comprising:

BIOL1101	Evolution of Biological Diversity	4.5
BIOL1102	Molecular Basis of Life	4.5
	And either:
CHEM1101	Chemistry 1A, and	4.5
CHEM1102	Chemistry 1B	4.5
	OR
CHEM1201	Introduction to Chemistry A, and	4.5
CHEM1202	Introduction to Chemistry B	4.5
	AND
HLTH1003	Legal and Eithical Aspects of Health Care	4.5
MMED1005	How Your Body Works - Human Physiology and Structure *	4.5

And either:

Option A (Health Sciences focus) ##

HLTH1302	Introduction to the Health Professions, and	4.5
HLTH1303	Reforming Health Care: Policy, Politics and the Professions	4.5

OR

Option B (Medical Science focus) ##

ENGL1012	Professional English for Medical Scientists, and	4.5
MDSC1102	Skills for Medical Scientists	4.5

## Students who select Option A in Year 1 MUST select Option A in Year 2.     Students who select Option B in Year 1 MUST select Option B in Year 2.

* With the permission of the Course Coordinator, students with a strong background in Year 12 Science subjects may be permitted to undertake an alternative topic.

YEAR 2
36 units comprising:

BIOL2141	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology #	4.5
xxxx	Communication for Better Patient Care	4.5
MMED2927	Human Physiology 2A #	4.5
MMED2928	Human Physiology 2B #	4.5

And either:

Option A (Health Sciences focus)

HLTH1304	Communication for Health Practitioners #, and	4.5
HLTH2002	Health: A Physiological Perspective #, and	4.5
HLTH2003	Society and Health: Sociology and Epidemiology #, and	4.5
STAT2305	Statistics #	4.5

OR

Option B (Medical Science focus)

MDSC2101	Skills for Medical Scientists 2 #	4.5
	And 13.5 units selected from the following:
BIOL2121	Genetics, Evolution and Biodiversity #
BIOL2142	Disease Immunology #, or
BIOL2341	Animal Disease and Defence #
BIOL2330	Basic Microbiology #, or
BIOL2232	Foundations in Microbiology #
BIOL3132	Protein in Proteome #
CHMD2001	Drug Discovery and Natural Products #
CPES2101	Fundamentals of Advanced Chemistry #, or
CPES2111	Synthetic Organic and Inorganic Chemistry #
COMP2006	Software Engineering #
COMP2211	Application Development #
COMP2212	Web-based Systems Development #
COMP2221	Computer Programming 2 #
COMP2231	Data Modelling #
COMP2232	Network and Operating Systems #
COMP2241	Computer Mathematics #
MMED2012	Public Health Microbiology #
MMED2013	Food Safety and Health #
MMED2929	Neural Circuits #
MMED2930	Plasticity of the Nervous System #
MMED3912	Biochemistry of Human Disease #
MMED3915	Human Molecular Genetics #
NUTD2001	Food Nutrition and Health #

# Topics not currently 4.5 units or multiples thereof but expected to be changed to 4.5 units (or multiples thereof) for 2011. Topic names could change as a consequence of the move to a uniform course structure in 2011.

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

The double degrees must be completed within nine consecutive years.

No topic in the Bachelor of Clinical Sciences component may be attempted more than once.

Progression to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery component of the double degrees program is subject to a student passing all topics and gaining a Grade Point Average of 5 or better in the Bachelor of Clinical Sciences component.

A student who is not eligible to progress to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery component will be permitted to transfer to either the Bachelor of Health Sciences or the Bachelor of Medical Science.

A student who withdraws from the double degrees program after successfully completing the first three years will be awarded the Bachelor of Clinical Sciences.

Specific rules relating to Years 3-6 of the double degrees - ie the BMBS component - may be found in the BMBS course rule.