"This placement was absolutely fantastic. It was well organised and there were plenty of opportunities to learn from different healthcare professionals."
"Learning experiences were very good both in the Hub and the Spoke sessions. I felt I came away with a richer and deeper understanding of both clinical and practical/ethical/social aspects of medicine from both of these environments."
- Transitional Year Students 2022/23
Welcome to the Transitional Year, MBBS General Practice Attachment
Dr Sangeeta Patel, T Year GP Academic Lead
Welcome to the five-week attachment in General Practice for students in their Transition Year (T Year). T Year comprises the third year of the school-leavers’ five-year MBBS course and the second year of the graduates’ four-year MBBS course. So far, these students will have had ‘Clinical Science’ teaching (recognisable to many of us as ‘pre-clinical) - the T Year comprises the Transition to ‘Clinical Practice’ teaching (‘clinical’); that is their first clinical year.
The feedback from students and GP tutors about the course is overwhelmingly positive. Students particularly value the exposure to the breadth of illness, the opportunities to consult with patients when they first present and the personal attention and feedback they received during this attachment.
For many students, it is their first exposure to day-to-day consulting in General Practice, and will bring to life the medical and social theory they have been taught while enabling them to integrate theory with the communication and clinical skills they have learnt. Students will be taught the diagnostic and analytic skills that practising GPs so often take for granted. Whether their future career is that of a GP or of a hospital specialist, GPT aims to provide them with a deeper understanding of the structure and context of primary care, as well as the rewards and frustrations it brings.
The attachment follows a ‘Hub and Spoke’ model. For each of the five weeks, there is a theme, covering a major aspect of General Practice. They will be given the theory at a seminar at SGUL, clinical exposure while sitting in with a GP, reflect upon and integrate that experience in small groups at their ‘Hub’ practices.
The themes reflect those areas in which GPs excel: namely in establishing working diagnoses from the first Presentation of Illness, enabling long-term Therapeutic Relationships, and helping patients find the best path through the health system, for which their doctor needs an understanding of the Context of Healthcare Delivery. Constructive feedback is built into every stage of this attachment, including the assessments and evaluation.