Module overview
The Personal and Professional Development 2 (PPD2) module runs throughout year 2 and is the second of three related modules with PPD1 in year 1 and PPD3 in Final year. The personal and professional development highlighted in these modules is based upon the General Medical Council (GMC) Good medical practice, 2024, the GMC Outcomes for Graduates 201, and the GMC MLA Content Map 2026. This includes ethical guidance and standards of practice in order to help students recognise the central responsibility of patient care and to demonstrate an understanding of all the elements of the professional attitudes, skills and behaviours expected of doctors in the NHS.
Through a series of whole group plenaries, small group seminars, independent study and placements, PPD2 requires students to consider, learn and demonstrate professional behaviours including self-organisation, and effective and timely communication with their peers, healthcare colleagues, external families/ patients and all staff.
It builds on earlier professional development learning and focuses on developing professional identity, integrity and accountability, helping students understand what it means to practise safely and responsibly as a medical student within the NHS. Communication skills are further developed, particularly around teamwork and working effectively within multidisciplinary teams. The module also addresses aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion by encouraging students to reflect on their own biases, and deliver respectful person centred care.
Attention is given to supporting students in developing personal strategies for resilience and identifying when to seek appropriate support especially in a placement context. Learning activities encourage critical reflection on experiences in clinical and educational settings, helping students link theory to practice.
A distinctive feature of PPD2 is its strong experiential learning component through two types of clinical placement:
•Time for Dementia placement visits and follow up. This is continued where possible with the same family from year 1 to gain a longitudinal appreciation of the impact of dementia on a person and family living with dementia.
•Twenty-four hours working as Healthcare Support Workers (HCSW) as part of a hospital team to gain experience of interacting with patients and the multidisciplinary team (Some students with similar significant prior experience in acute NHS environments may be offered the opportunity to co-facilitate and share in reflective tutorials with their peers. This will need to be evidenced).
Details of these placements will be provided on Blackboard
This module is not delivered in isolation, and students should consider how their learning links to all their other modules, including but not limited to PPD1, the Clinical Practice modules, and Medical Humanities.