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Health Sciences
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Module 2: Laboratory and investigative medicine
Aims:
n
To expand and deepen the understanding of the role of
microbes in the causation of human health and disease
n
To consider in detail how disease processes affect the cell
and consequently disrupt function at organ, system and
organism levels
Module 3: Principles of surgical practice and Module
4: Principles of medical practice
Aims:
n
To provide a safe, structured clinical environment in which
to apply the skills, knowledge and attitudes developed in the
earlier years
n
To facilitate the practice of effective, patient centred,
evidence-based medicine
n
To provide the student with experience of practice in the
hospital setting
n
To develop the student’s capacity to reflect and self-assess
accurately and to appreciate the need to do clinical audit
n
To encourage and provide opportunities for multi-
professional teamwork
n
Clinical team attachments begin with a general introduction
in the first week of September. Students are team attached
in groups of two.
Students are also advised to do at least
one elective in either July or August which may be spent
in any discipline or area of their choice in any location
worldwide
Module 5: Advanced clinical and professional
practice
Aims:
n
To further develop, at first in a laboratory setting, the
technical skills essential for the delivery of a safe effective
service to patients. Students learn a range of practical skills
including taking a clinical history, performing an examination
and interpreting simple investigations
n
To practice the range of skills necessary to ensure that
students have rational and empathetic interactions with
patients, in particular excellent listening and communication
skills
n
To further assist the development of the student as a
member of a multidisciplinary health care team
Module 6: Principles and practice of evidence-based
medicine and elective practice 1
Aims:
n
To ensure that students gain experience in searching the
scientific literature and obtaining appropriate material
n
To develop a critical approach to published material
n
To learn to prioritise aspects of their findings
n
To learn to collate information and to deliver a succinct and
factual report of their findings
n
To learn to present their material verbally to their peers in a
structured and meaningful way
n
To have an opportunity to explore at some depth and with
guidance, a topic that impacts scientifically or clinically on
the current practice of medicine
n
To understand the importance of teamwork and the problems
that arise during group collaboration and the ways in which
they may be managed
In these group projects, students are offered a choice of project
titles by the various departments in the medical school. Students
select the project of their choice and, following a meeting with
the staff project leader, they work in groups of 10 to review the
literature and draw up a written report. They also make a verbal
presentation to the class.
Medical Moderatorship and Intercalated
M.Sc. in Biomedical sciences
After completing year three successfully, you may be permitted
to take a year out from the medical course to undertake a
moderatorship in science in an approved subject. This is subject
to the availability of places and the agreement of the head of
department concerned. An intercalated M.Sc. in Biomedical
sciences is also available to medical students who successfully
gain a 1st or 2:1 in third-year modules. The M.Sc. is a one-year
full-time programme. The subjects undertaken are molecular
medicine, neuroscience and bioengineering. Both courses offer
students the opportunity to gain experience in scientific research
if you are interested in the possibility of a career in academic
medicine.
The fourth and fifth medical years
During these two years the emphasis is on continuous
enhancement of the skills and attitudes acquired in the first three
years of the course. There is, of course, some acquisition of
important new knowledge and most of this is achieved through
interaction with a wide range of consultants and mentors
both on the wards and at various hospital conferences. The
undergraduate student becomes an integrated member of each
team to which s/he is attached and is expected to participate
fully in all aspects of that team’s activities. This expectation will
inevitably involve some early morning and late evening work.
The duration of team attachments vary from two weeks to two
months so that each student is exposed to a wide range of
general and specialist areas. There are excellent library facilities
available on both of the major teaching hospital sites. There is a
range of special structured tutorials included in the final year to
ensure comprehensive cover of important areas for all students.
The majority of hospital attachments take place in St. James’s
Hospital in Dublin and the Adelaide and Meath Hospital
incorporating the National Children’s Hospital in Tallaght;
however some training also takes place in regional hospitals
around Ireland and in hospitals dedicated to particular areas of
medicine.