Curriculum

The curriculum is innovative and builds on the major advances in medical education that have occurred internationally over recent decades and the latest research in the field. This includes such things as student-centredness, interactive small-group teaching, technological innovations, vertical & horizontal integration across the basic and clinical sciences and community orientation.

Years 1 – 3

In the first three years, emphasis is placed on contextual learning with learning outcomes linked to weekly scenarios or cases which are increasingly clinical in nature. The scenarios/ cases provide context that puts focus on the learning outcomes of the week and illustrates their relevance to practice. The discussion and analysis of these scenarios/ cases, in small group settings, is the basis of the learning week in the first three years. There is early clinical exposure with a longitudinal clinical placement starting at the beginning of the second year of the programme.

The first Pre-medical Basic Sciences year is designed to provide a solid grounding in the basic sciences that underpin the practice of medicine. The year focuses on genetics and molecular biology, development and functional histology, biochemistry and metabolism and the basis of physiology and pharmacology. These key courses are supplemented by two projects covering critical appraisal of literature and data analysis providing the basis for training in critical inquiry and evaluation of evidence.

In the second year, the learning of the basic sciences remains the focus but this becomes integrated and system-based and covers sequentially the cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, urinary, endocrine, musculoskeletal, neurological and reproductive systems as well as growth and development in childhood. Small-group learning continues as the backbone of the learning week and teaching in clinical and communication skills is introduced for the first time and follows the topic of the week as much as possible. Clinical placements are introduced and comprise longitudinal, once-weekly attachments in a range of clinical settings with the emphasis being on primary care facilities. The aim of the clinical attachment at this early stage is to give increasing confidence to the students in taking histories and conducting clinical examinations using skills learned in the simulation laboratory as well as to provide the necessary clinical context for the weekly cases. In addition to the horizontal integration of the learning week, Year 2 courses provide opportunities for spiral learning and vertical integration as is the case between molecular genetics in Year 1 and clinical genetics in the Reproduction, Growth and Development course of Year 2.

In the third year, the basic structure of weekly cases continues, but the topics become more complex and address multiple systems. Longitudinal clinical placements, similar to those described in Year 2, also feature in the first semester and the first course of the second semester with the focus on providing opportunities to the students to practise their clinical and communication skills and to provide a broad clinical context for the learning in these courses. Year 3 courses are excellent opportunities for spiral learning and vertical integration of system-based physiology and pathophysiology as well as clinical and communications skills with a strategy that is no longer restricted by a body systems approach. The final course in Year 3 is Polymorbidity and the emphasis here shifts from a once-weekly clinical attachment to learning primarily in the clinical environment. The aim of this is to consolidate students’ skills in taking a clinical history, conducting a clinical examination and formulating a basic differential diagnosis as well as having a broad understanding of patient management. This course is designed to prepare students for the clinical training in Years 4 and 5 of the programme.

Year 4 -5

In Years 4 and 5, learning takes place in the clinical environment. Curriculum delivery in Years 4 and 5 utilizes both horizontal and vertical integration. Medical and surgical disciplines are integrated horizontally, for example, Medical and Surgical Gastroenterology; Nephrology and Urology; Rheumatology and Orthopaedics. Vertical integration is utilized to build on previous knowledge, including formal structured revisiting of the basic sciences. Students revisit the conditions encountered in the earlier years, as well as less common disorders. Whereas the focus in earlier years is on reaching a diagnosis e.g. through history, examination and appropriate investigations, in Years 4 and 5, students are expected to place increasing emphasis on patient management. During the senior clinical years, the level of responsibility is gradually increased through revisiting topics previously encountered, which culminates in assistantship-type attachments in Year 5, in preparation for the first year of clinical practice.

Students remaining in Cyprus for clinical training will need an appropriate knowledge of Greek so that they can better communicate with patients. The Medical School provides free Greek-language lessons to prepare students for this requirement.

Curriculum Streams

In addition to the courses that run sequentially through the academic year, key components of the curriculum are organised to run both horizontally and vertically across the years of the programme. These curriculum components are represented by streams as opposed to dedicated courses and examples include Health Psychology & Sociology, Health Law & Ethics, Global Health, Public Health, Populations & Epidemiology, Cultural Competence and Patient Safety. These represent indispensable curriculum elements aimed at equipping the graduates with the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies in order to practise safely and effectively. For example, they provide detailed insights into the complex manner in which patients and their families experience illness, the nature of the doctor-patient relationship, the ethical dimension of medical practice and the associated challenges and the promotion of health and prevention of disease in entire populations.

Educational methods

The educational methods used in the delivery of the programme are based on modern educational principles and both well-established and innovative trends in medical education, as these relate to the teaching and learning of knowledge, skills and professional competencies. These principles include experiential learning, social cognitive theory, adult learning, self-directed learning, situated learning and learning in communities of practice.

The overall approach is based on the need to deliver education to more mature learners and is characterised by a clear shift away from the more traditional, didactic forms of teaching and towards interactive learning. A backbone of small-group activities in various forms (mainly case/problem-based learning) underpins the educational strategy of the programme. This is appropriately complemented by some directed delivery in selected key topics, interactive large group sessions including flipped classroom and team-based learning, directed self-learning, computer-assisted learning, project work, practical & laboratory skills sessions, clinical & communication skills sessions, role playing, workshops, debates, journal clubs, interprofessional learning opportunities and education in the community and the clinical environment.

The learning of skills required to practise medicine includes instruction in history taking, communication, examination and the performance of procedures in a safe simulated environment and in a well-structured and educationally stimulating format. In keeping with our focus on innovation, ultrasound skills are taught alongside clinical skills in a manner that gives students increasing confidence in the use of this modality. The learning of these skills is carried over into the clinical environment where students are closely and appropriately supervised and where workplace-based assessments are integral components of clinical training. Other important components of education in the clinical years of the programme are clinical demonstrations and clinicopathological conferences, designed to enhance the integration of the basic and clinical sciences by ensuring that the theoretical knowledge acquired in the earlier years continues to be relevant and applicable in the clinical environment and in the context of patient care. In terms of the various settings, these include a wide array of community, medical centre and hospital environments. In the community, beyond primary care and other outpatient facilities, students learn, for example, in community centres, old people’s homes, rehabilitation facilities, hospices, patients’ homes, remote communities through the School’s mobile clinic, schools and refugee centres. In terms of hospital settings, students receive training across the full range of secondary and tertiary referral facilities.

Projects

Projects in the form of electives and selectives are also key components of the programme’s educational philosophy and methodology. These allow the students to develop their critical thinking, creative and presentation skills through an array of activities including working with and critically appraising literature, data analysis and handling, formulating research proposals, investigating topics in depth, preparing posters, presenting to peers and faculty and essay and report writing.