Module overview
Professional Practice is designed to enable you to understand and experience the practice of medicine through a combination of observational, clinical placements and classroom based sessions.
The classroom based professional studies sessions will help you evaluate and reflect on your placement experiences, introduce you to aspects of health sociology and psychology as applied to medicine and to apply current literature to professional practice in medicine.
All the information you will gain from the placements and professional practice sessions will provide much of the material needed for writing your portfolio. Further details will be provided on Blackboard.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Evaluate the effectiveness of recent reorganisations, especially in relation to improving quality standards and access to appropriate care
- Demonstrate understanding of the values and ethics of the health professions and assess how ethical challenges are addressed by health professionals
- Access and use a range of resources in both electronic and paper format
- Identify and evaluate methods of effective communication in health care settings and discuss the role of the media in medicine
- Demonstrate understanding of different roles of health professionals, and evaluate the rationale and issues of health professionals working together
- Discuss the role of the media in medicine
- Demonstrate a concern for the interests and dignity of patients and identify possible ethical issues in health care
- Analyse the interaction between factors that influence health and illness
- Demonstrate a broad overview of the organisation and funding of health care
- Describe and apply concepts of the social, psychological, biological and environmental factors which influence health and illness
- Reflect on experiences and link experiences to current literature
Syllabus
The module is designed around 6 projects;
1. The roles of health care professionals
Definitions and models of health. The relevance of sociology and psychology to the study of health and illness. Indicators of good health individually and nationally. Roles and training of different professionals and trends in health care. Medicine as a profession and challenges to the medical profession. Interprofessional working and effective team working.
2. Communication in health care
Modes and importance of communication and effective communication in health care contexts. Doctor patient interactions and inter-health professional interactions. Patient adherence and health behaviours. Health promotion as a government strategy. The relationship between health promotion, prevention and education.
3. The media and medicine
The range of media engaged in medical issues. Advantages and disadvantages of media engagement in issues and the implications for health care professionals and their training. Implications of media engagement on patients’ expectations, knowledge and understanding and issues such as stigma.
4: Ethical Issues in Health Care
Codes of conduct, “duties of a doctor”. The principles of medical ethics. Patient confidentiality. Informed consent. Ethical issues of end of life decisions. Social and ethical implications of “The New Genetics”.
5: The Organisation of Health Care
National perspectives on health and health organisations. The reorganisation of the NHS, funding and planning in the NHS. Differences in service provision, needs assessment and performance indicators. Private health care. Quality audit and quality assurance measures in practice. Organisation of primary care.
6: Factors that Influence Health and Illness
A range of causes and patterns of ill health. Range of factors that influence health and illness. Inequalities in health. Stress, illness and coping. Factors influencing mental health. Preventative medicine and education. Pain and pain management
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
The module will be taught through a range of learning and teaching strategies which will include:
- Lectures
- Tutor led tutorials
- Guided self-study
- Problem solving
- Role play
- Projects
- Group work
- portfolios
- eLearning
- Patient based learning
- Healthcare placements
- Reflective writing
- Peer and self-evaluation
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 108 |
| Tutorial | 4 |
| Lecture | 90 |
| Placement | 40 |
| Wider reading or practice | 64 |
| Completion of assessment task | 144 |
| Follow-up work | 108 |
| Total study time | 558 |
Resources & Reading list
General Resources
Please see the Blackboard module page for current resources. The full reading list for MEDI0013 is available on the Library Online Reading List at https://soton.rl.talis.com/.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
The assessment for this module is 100% coursework and comprises 2 portfolio (one to be completed in semester 1 and one in semester 2). Both portfolios must be passed (pass mark is 40%). There can be no compensation between portfolios but there can be compensation within the components of each portfolio. Students are normally required to only resubmit the failed components of the portfolio in a supplementary assessment. Written feedback is given on portfolios via e-Assignment.
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Portfolio | 50% |
| Portfolio | 50% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Portfolio | 50% |
| Portfolio | 50% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: External