Medicine

Course detail Description

Our MBBS Programme aims to train students to become:

• Critical scientific thinkers

• Collaborative leaders and innovators

• Outstanding patient-centred clinicians

• Excellent team-players

• Educators and life-long learners

• Resilient and adaptable professionals

The course is divided into three ‘Stages’ with an intercalation year between Stages 2 and 3. Although we offer four entry routes into Medicine, all our students follow the same core MBBS curriculum.

Stage 1 provides you with a foundation in biomedical sciences and population sciences, along with the skills to begin to integrate them with clinical practice.

Stage 2 brings together science and clinical practice in blocks organised around the human life-cycle and common pathological processes. It focuses on the care of patients with common conditions in a range of clinical settings. You will also follow patients for prolonged periods of time to learn how to deliver whole-person care. This stage is underpinned by study in biomedical and population sciences.

Stage 3 is oriented towards future practice, and includes the opportunity to undertake elective study abroad. You will also conduct quality improvement projects and develop skills to transform patient and population health at home and abroad. Inter-professional training and increasingly realistic simulation are important parts of the curriculum.

The intercalated degree is a one-year BSc course which gives you the opportunity to study the subjects of your choice in greater depth across King’s and the university’s clinical partners. As a multi-faculty institution, we offer an unrivalled range of intercalated degrees from clinical and biomedical sciences to humanities subjects. The intercalated BSc is a mandatory requirement however students can request to opt-out; the intercalated BSc is taken between Stages 2 and 3 of the course.

Outcome of the programme

On successful completion of the course you will receive your MBBS degree, which is a primary medical qualification (PMQ). Holding a PMQ entitles you to apply for provisional registration with the General Medical Council (GMC), subject only to its acceptance that there are no Fitness to Practise concerns. Provisional registration is time limited to a maximum of three years and 30 days (1125 days in total). After this time period your provisional registration will normally expire.

Provisionally registered doctors can only practise in approved Foundation Year 1 posts. To obtain a Foundation Year 1 post you will need to apply during the final year of your undergraduate course through the UK Foundation Programme Office selection scheme, which allocates these posts to graduates on a competitive basis.

Generally all suitably qualified UK graduates are allocated a place on Foundation Year 1.

On successful completion of Foundation Year 1, you will be eligible to apply for full registration with the General Medical Council. You need full registration with a licence to practise for unsupervised medical practice in the NHS or private practice in the UK.

Although this information is currently correct, you should be aware that regulations in this area may change from time to time.

Teaching

We will provide you with high-level teaching from experts, which you will put into practice on your placements.

Stage

Lectures, seminars & similar

Placement

Self-study

1

33% including cadaveric dissection in anatomy

-

67%

2 (years 2 & 3)

56% including small group and case-based teaching in clinical blocks

44%

0%

3 (years 4 & 5)

8% including small group and case-based teaching in clinical blocks

81%

11%

Typically, one credit represents 10 notional hours of learning.

Assessment

Assessment is split between that which is formative (where the primary role is to give feedback to student, this does not contribute towards the overall module/degree score) and summative (where the primary role is to demonstrate competence against course standards and learning outcomes). Formative assessment occurs through the years. Of note, there is an early formative learning assessment in Stage 1 to identify those who need extra support. Summative assessment includes:

Portfolio-based summative assessment which begins in Stage 1 and continues throughout the course in preparation for professional life.

• Written examinations at the end of Stage 1, becoming progress tests in Stage 2 and Stage 3

• OSCEs (formative mid-stage, summative end-of-stage) in Stages 2 and 3

• Project assessment in Stages 2 and 3, with prior formative experience in Stage 1

There are also two external assessments in Stage 3 that are necessary to support your Foundation Year 1 training, but it is not essential to pass these in order to graduate from the MBBS course.

The GMC has decided to introduce a Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) from 2022 to demonstrate that those who obtain registration with a licence to practise medicine in the UK meet a common threshold for safe practice. Applicants should be aware that to obtain registration with a licence to practise, medical students will need to pass both parts of the MLA, pass university finals and demonstrate their fitness to practise.

Course stage

Written exam

Practical exam

Coursework

Year 1

63%

-

37%

Year 2

66%

16%

18%

Year 3

44%

47%

9%

Year 4

55%

29%

16%

Year 5

42%

50%

8%

Course accreditation
Accredited by the General Medical Council (GMC), this Primary Medical Qualification entitles the holder to apply to the GMC for registration to practise medicine in the UK.

Regulating body
King’s College London is regulated by the Office for Students.

Location
You will learn in a wide variety of hospital and community care settings. Students undertake placements at general practices and district general hospitals located in south London and south east England, currently they are mostly in Kent and Sussex. Placements outside of London offer a different and rich perspective on clinical learning, complementing the experiences gained in central London hospitals.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, all students will experience placements at London and peripheral sites during their programme

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Structure

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3
• Year 4
• Year 5

Year 1

The following Stage 1 modules are studied in years 1

You are required to take:

Required Modules

• Foundations of Biomedical Science 1 (45 credits)

• Foundations of Biomedical Science 2 (15 credits)

• Genes, Behaviour & Environment (30 credits)

• Introduction to Values Based Clinical Practice (30 credits)

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for update.

Optional Modules

There are no optional modules in Stage 1, Year 1

Year 2 Required Modules

The following Stage 2 modules are studied in years 2 & 3:

You are required to take:

• From Science to Clinical Practice 1 (105 credits)

• From Science to Clinical Practice 2 (120 credits)

• Doctor as teacher (30 credits)

The following required Stage 2 modules involve the opportunity to choose which area is studied in further detail:

• The Student Selected Component (SSC) is a required module within which you undertake projects or short courses in medical, scientific and non-medical subjects that you choose according to personal interest (15 credits)

• Scholarly projects: You will undertake a scholarly project in an area of interest selected from across the multi-faculty university (30 credits)

The Intercalated BSc must be taken between Stages 2 and 3. This is available to standard entry (A100) students but they may choose to opt out.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for update.

Optional Modules

Year 3 Please refer to Year 2 for modules studied in Stage 2 (including years 2 & 3) Required Modules Optional Modules

Year 4 Required Modules

The following Stage 3 modules are studied in years 4 & 5:

You are required to take:

• Integrated Clinical Practice 1 (135 credits)

• Integrated Clinical Practice 2 (135 credits)

• Quality Improvement & Evidence Based Practice (30 credits)

• Elective & Global Health (30 credits)

• Transition to Foundation Year 1 (F1) (30 credits)

• Career Development Module (0 credits)

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for update.

Optional Modules There are no optional modules in Year 4/5

Year 5 Please refer to Year 4 for modules studied in Stage 3 (including years 4 & 5) There are no optional modules in Year 4/5