Regulations for the Degree of Bachelor of Medicine 4-year Graduate Entry Programme
  1. The programme leading to the degree of Bachelor of Medicine shall be of four years' duration.
  2. Candidates for admission to the programme must satisfy the regulations for admission to degree programmes as specified in the General Regulations, and must also satisfy the following additional requirements:
  1. The degree of Bachelor of Medicine may be awarded with honours
  2. In order to qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Medicine candidates must:
    1. have followed the four-year medical curriculum and have passed all components of the BM4 Year 1 examination, the BM4 Year 2 examination, the Intermediate examination and the Final examination; and
    2. have completed satisfactorily all practical work, clinical work and other coursework as required.
  1. Progress from one year of the programme to the next will depend upon the successful completion of the appropriate examination and course work requirements, satisfactory completion of clinical and other practical work, and freedom from health, behavioural and conduct problems relevant to future employment as a medical practitioner. Failure to achieve this may lead to a recommendation from the School Board for termination of the programme, or a requirement to repeat a year of the programme. Those students who are permitted to repeat the year as a result of previous poor academic performance will be required to demonstrate satisfactory attendance, and will be expected to pass each assessment at the first attempt in order to progress. Failure to meet these requirements will normally result in termination of the programme. Students who fail the BM Final examination at the first attempt will normally be required to repeat the final year before retaking the examination. Failure to pass the BM Final examination at the second attempt will normally result in a recommendation for termination of the programme.
  2. Students may apply for the award of the following exit qualifications if they successfully complete a proportion of the Bachelor of Medicine four-year programme but leave the programme, for whatever reason, before successfully completing 4 years. Credit Accumulation and Transfer (CATS) points will be awarded as follows:


    Year CAT Points HE Level Exit Award Exit Point
    1 120 1 Certificate in Biomedical Sciences Successful completion of Year 1
    2 120 2 Diploma in Biomedical Sciences Successful completion of Year 2
    3 120 2 Bachelor of Medical Sciences Successful completion of  Year 3
    4 120 3 Bachelor of Medicine Successful completion of Year 4
    Total 480

    Should the student be permitted to rejoin any of the BM programmes within two years of the award of the certificate, diploma or degree, the exit qualification would be converted to a BM degree following successful completion of the BM programme.


The First Year of the BM4 Medical Curriculum
  1. In the first two years the curriculum has been designed around a series of clinical topics and these form the framework for learning. Students will undertake clinical placements (mainly in the Southampton and Winchester areas), group work, lectures and practicals which directly link to each of the clinical topics.
  2. Learning will be structured around the clinical topics, which will themselves be grouped around physiological systems.
  3. During the first year, a series of topics related to the respiratory system, the cardiovascular system and the locomotor system will be followed.
  4. Each clinical topic will be learnt in relation to four levels of organisation, running from cells and molecules to the population and society, enabling coverage of the relevant aspects of anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, sociology, psychology, pharmacology, pathology and epidemiology.
  5. At the same time, clinical skills will be developed by talking to patients, carrying out physical examinations and observing clinical care.
  6. Students will also study with a range of health and social care professional students in the first Inter-Professional Learning (IPL) Unit of the Common Learning Programme (CPL). IPL Unit 1: Collaborative Learning.
  7. The end of Year 1 examination will take place in June and will include written papers and an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) covering subjects studied during the year. Candidates will also be required to pass IPL Unit 1, in-depth essays and patient studies in order to progress.
  8. An additional progression requirement will be that students are expected to satisfactorily attend all compulsory parts of the year.
  9. A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiners in any component of the BM4 end of Year 1 examination will be required to undertake a Supplementary examination in the component(s) they have failed. The Supplementary examination will be held at the end of July.
  10. Students who fail the in-depth essay(s) and/or patient study(ies) will need to resubmit a revised version by the end of June. Normally failure at the second attempt will result in termination of the programme.
  11. Students who fail IPL Unit 1 will be required to satisfactorily complete further study before the end of September in order to progress.

The Second Year of the BM4 Medical Curriculum
  1. Instruction in the second year of the BM4 medical curriculum will use the same learning methods as in Year 1, and will also be structured around clinical topics covering the following:

    Nervous system
    Endocrine system
    Human reproduction
    Renal system
    Gastrointestinal systems
    Student Selected Unit
    Clinical Skills
    Interprofessional Learning Unit 2: Team Working
  2. The end of Year 2 examination will take place in June and will include written papers and an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) covering subjects studied during the year. Candidates will also be required to pass IPL Unit 2, in-depth essays, patient studies and the Student Selected Unit in order to progress.
  3. An additional progression requirement will be that students are expected to satisfactorily attend all compulsory parts of the year, and satisfactorily complete all clinical attachments.
  4. A Distinction will be awarded to those candidates who show excellent performance in the Years 1 and 2 examinations at the first attempt.
  5. A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiners in any component of the BM4 end of Year 2 examination will be required to undertake a Supplementary examination in the component(s) they have failed. The Supplementary examination will be held at the end of July.
  6. Students who fail the in-depth essay(s) and/or patient study(ies) will need to resubmit a revised version by the end of June, and students who fail the Student Selected Unit will be required to undertake a supplementary assessment by the end of June. Normally failure at the second attempt will result in termination of the programme.
  7. Students who fail IPL Unit 2 will be required to satisfactorily complete further study before the end of September in order to progress.
  8. A distinction in the BM Intermediate examination may be awarded to candidates who achieve a Grade A in this examination at the first attempt.

The Third Year of the BM4 Medical Curriculum
  1. The third year of the medical curriculum shall extend over forty-four weeks and will include clinical attachments (mainly undertaken in healthcare settings in the Southampton area) in the following:

    Medicine and Elderly Care
    Palliative Medicine
    Surgery
    Obstetrics and Gynaecology
    Mental Health
    Child Health
    Primary Medical Care
    Special Study Units
  2. In clinical attachments, the focus of teaching is to help students continue to integrate the biological and social sciences into a clinical context.
  3. Some subjects will be incorporated in a topic-based, integrated course throughout the third year entitled "The Scientific Basis of Medicine" as well as within the clinical attachments. There will also be instruction in the relevant aspects of Public Health, Sociology, Psychology, Research Methods and Critical Appraisal.
  4. The Intermediate examination will be held in the summer of the third year of the BM4 medical curriculum and will consist of three components: two in-course assignments (submitted during the year), written examination and Objective Structured Clinical Examination. The written examination will consist of not more than two papers (essay and problem-solving) covering all the formal courses of instruction during the first, second and third years of the BM4 medical curriculum.
  5. Students are required to pass each of the three components of the Intermediate examination (in-course assignments, Objective Structured Clinical Examination, written examination).
  6. An additional progression requirement will be that students are expected to satisfactorily attend all compulsory parts of the year, and satisfactorily complete all clinical attachments.
  7. Candidates failing to satisfactorily pass their in-course assignment(s) will be permitted to submit a further in-course assignment, once, before the start of the Supplementary examinations.
  8. A candidate failing to satisfy the examiners in the examination in the summer will be required to undertake a Supplementary examination in the component(s) they have failed in the following autumn. Failure at the second attempt will normally result in a recommendation for termination of the programme.
  9. A distinction in the Intermediate examination may be awarded to candidates who achieve a Grade A in this examination at the first attempt.

The Fourth Year of the BM4 Medical Curriculum
  1. The fourth year of the medical curriculum will extend over forty-one weeks during which students will undertake clinical attachments in appropriate subjects in hospitals and General Practices in Dorset, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Wiltshire. The attachments shall be in the following:

    Medicine
    Surgery
    Obstetrics and Gynaecology
    Child Health
    Mental Health
    Primary Medical Care
    Clinical Student Selected Unit
    Inter-professional Learning Unit 3: Enabling Change in Practice
    Inter-professional Learning Unit 4: Inter-professional Problem Solving

    Attachments in hospitals outside Southampton will be residential.
  2. The final examination will be held in June. It will consist of clinical examinations together with written papers covering all the clinical subjects studied in the third and fourth years of the BM4 medical curriculum. Candidates may be expected to display background knowledge of other material.
  3. An additional progression requirement will be that students are expected to satistactorily attend all compulsory parts of the year, and satisfactorily complete all clinical attachments.
  4. Partial exemption from the requirements for the clinical examination may be granted to candidates as a result of satisfactory performance in clinical work during the year.
  5. Any candidate failing to satisfy the examiners in the final examination at the first attempt may present him/herself for re-examination on one subsequent occasion, i.e. the occasion immediately following a repeat of the final year. Failure at the second attempt will normally result in a recommendation for termination of the programme. Students who fail the Interprofessional Learning Units will normally be required by the Postgraduate Dean to undertake repeat study during their time as a Pre-Registration House Officer. Students who do not pass the stipulated clinical competencies will not meet the requirements to sit the BM Final examination.
  6. A pass with Distinction in the BM Final Examination may be awarded to a candidate who has shown excellence in clinical studies, including the final examination.
  7. A list of successful candidates will be issued with the names arranged alphabetically in honours and pass divisions.