1. The programme leading to the degree of Bachelor of Medicine shall be of six years' duration.
   
   
2. Candidates for admission to the programme must satisfy the following requirements:
   
   
   • Admission to, and continuation on, the programme is subject to completion of satisfactory health and Criminal Records Bureau screening. Students are required to inform the Head of School of health problems relevant to future employment as a health professional.
     
     
   • Candidates would normally be expected to satisfy two of the following:
     
     
     • First generation applicant to Higher Education.
       
       
     • Parent, guardian or applicant in receipt of a means tested benefit.
       
       
     • Living in supported accommodation, or independently of financial support apart from state provision.
       
       
     • Eligible to receive EMA (Educational Maintenance Award) or similar grant.
       
       
     • Living in an area with a postcode which falls within the lowest 20% of the IMD (Index of Multiple Deprivation) or a member of a travelling family (*this will be authenticated by the University).
       
     
     
   • Applicants would normally be expected to offer a minimum of the following as well as meeting the six-year programme's non-academic criteria:
     
     
     • 5 GCSEs grades A-C to include Mathematics, English and Double Award Science; and
       
       
     • AS/A levels at a minimum of 200 points to include passes at a minimum grade B in AS level Biology and Chemistry OR a minimum grade C in those subjects at A level.
       
       
     • Equivalents may be accepted for GCSEs, such as Key Skills Numeracy at level 3 and Communication at level 3 (as alternatives for GCSE Mathematics and GCSE English respectively).
       
       
     • Equivalents may be accepted for the 4 Advanced Subsidiary levels. These include:
       
       The Advanced Vocational Certificate in Education at grade B with Advanced Subsidiary levels at grade B in Chemistry and Biology; or
       
       The National Diploma in Health Studies with passes at Merit level in 8 units plus Advanced Subsidiary level Chemistry at grade B. These 8 units would normally include; Unit 3 Applied Science, Unit 4 Human Anatomy and Physiology, Unit 6 Psychology and Development, Unit 12 Biochemistry, Unit 13 Microbiology, Unit 17 Advanced Physiology A, Unit 18 Advanced Physiology B, plus a choice of one other; or
       
       Approved Access courses.
       
       
   • Applicants should demonstrate through their UCAS application and at interview that:
     
     
     • they have motivation and initiative;
     • they are literature and articulate;
     • they have the ability to demonstrate a commitment to becoming a doctor.
       
       
   • Applicants must sit and pass all sections of the UK Clinical Aptitude Test prior to submitting their application. All UKCAT results will be considered alongside the other academic and non-academic criteria which the School of Medicine currently asks applicants to demonstrate evidence of on their UCAS application.
     
     
3. The degree of Bachelor of Medicine may be awarded with honours.
   
   
4. Except as provided in the regulations for the Bachelor of Medicine four-year graduate entry programme and the five-year programme, in order to qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Medicine candidates must:
   
   
   1. have followed the six-year medical curriculum and have passed the four compulsory Year 0 units, the Years 1 and 2 assessments, the Intermediate examination and the Final examination and satisfactorily completed the fourth year Study in Depth; and
      
      
   2. have completed satisfactorily all practical work, clinical work and other coursework as required.
      
      
5. 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 programme, or to a requirement to repeat a year of the programme. Students undertaking Year 0 of the programme have the right to resit the assessment of each individual Unit but are not normally permitted to undertake a repeat year. Those students in subsequent years 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.
   
   
6. Students may apply for the award of the following exit qualifications if they successfully complete a proportion of the Bachelor of Medicine programme but leave the programme, for whatever reason, before successfully completing 6 years. Credit Accumulation and Transfer (CATS) points will be awarded for completion of every component of a whole year only and will not be awarded for separate components or a partially completed year (CATS points are not awarded for Year 0):
   
   

   Award	Exit Point	CAT Points
   Certificate of Higher Education in Biomedical Sciences	Successful completion of Year 1	120 lvl 1
   Diploma of Higher Education in Biomedical Sciences	Successful completion of Year 2	120 lvl 2
   Bachelor of Medical Sciences (ordinary)	Successful completion of Year 3 including the BM Intermediate examination	120 lvl 2
   Bachelor of Medical Sciences Honours	Successful completion of Year 4	120 lvl 3
   Bachelor of Medicine	Successful completion of Final Year including the BM Final examination	120 lvl 3

   
   Should the student be permitted to rejoin the BM programme 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.
   

7. Year 0 of the medical curriculum consists of 4 units which are all compulsory (two units per semester). There are no option units. Each unit consists of approximately 240 learning hours of study. Approximately one third of the study hours of each unit will involve direct tutor contact, one-third tutor-directed learning and one third self-directed study. Candidates are required to pass all four units before proceeding to Year 1. The four units are:
   
   Human Structure and Function I
   Human Structure and Function II
   Professional Practice I
   Professional Practice II
   
   The two Human Structure and Function units incorporate aspects of Biology and Chemistry and key skills. The Professional Practice units include work-based learning, key skills, sociology and psychology.
   
   Students who do not achieve D or over in each unit, but obtain a minimum of E in each unit, will be awarded a pass in the Professional Practice and Human Structure and Function units of the Year 0 University of Southampton BM6 programme without progression to Year 1 of the BM5 programme.

8. In the first year, the curriculum has been designed on an integrated, patient-focused basis. Students will cover the following:
   
   
   • Foundations of Medicine (this will include an introduction to the biological basis of medicine and to sociology, psychology and public health as well as to the themes of: Diversity, Communication, Ethics and Law and Teamworking and Leadership.
     
     
   • Nervous and Locomotor Systems
     
     
   • Cardiovascular, Renal and Respiratory Systems
     
     
   • Student Selected Units
     
     
   • Medicine in Practice course
     
     
   • Teamworking and Leadership Unit - Inter-professional Learning Unit 1
   
   
9. Learning will be structured in blocks and will cover the biochemical, morphological, pathological and physiological aspects of the different body systems alongside the disciplines and themes. Students will also continue to develop their skills of critical thinking, time management and working in teams.
   
   
10. During the year candidates will be introduced to patient care in a variety of healthcare settings, particularly during the Medicine in Practice component as well as through the use of patient cases as a context for learning.
    
    
11. Students will also study with a range of health and social care professionals in the first Teamworking and Leadership Unit - Interprofessional Learning Unit 1.
    
    
12. Throughout the year students will undertake two Student Selected Units when they will study a topic of their choice within an approved framework.
    
    
13. In-course assignments will be assessed and assessment will take place at the end of each semester which will include written papers, practicals, presentations and coursework covering the subjects studied during the semester.
    
    
14. In order to progress to Year 2, students must pass each semester as well as the Medicine in Practice course, Inter-professional Learning Unit 1 and both Student Selected Units.
    
    
15. Students who fail the assessments will have the opportunity to be re-assessed during the supplementary examination period. Failure at the second attempt will normally result in a recommendation for termination of the programme. Students who fail either the Medicine in Practice course, Inter-professional Learning Unit 1 or the Student Selected Units, or some or all of these, will be required to satisfactorily complete a repeat period of study in that course/unit(s) before September in order to progress.
    

16. In the second year, the curriculum has been designed on an integrated, patient-focused basis in which clinical cases are used to direct learning. Students will cover the following for the first time:
    
    
    • Gastrointestinal System
    • Endocrine and Reproduction Systems
      
      
    and will build on and develop their experience in the following:
    
    
    • Nervous and Locomotor Systems
    • Cardiovascular, Renal and Respiratory Systems
    • Medicine in Practice course
    • Teamworking and Leadership Unit - Inter-professional Learning Unit 2
    • Student Selected Units
    
    
17. In addition to the biological and behavioural sciences, students will continue to develop the themes of Diversity, Communication, Ethics and Law and Teamworking and Leadership.
    
    
18. Students will build on and develop their experience in a clinical setting in the Medicine in Practice course and undertake the first of the practice-based Teamworking and Leadership Units - Inter-professional Learning Unit 2. They will also undertake two further Student Selected Units.
    
    
19. In-course assignments will be assessed and assessments will take place at the end of each semester which will include written papers, practicals, presentations and coursework covering the subjects studied during the semester and if appropriate, where systems have been revisited, may include material from Year 1.
    
    
20. In order to progress to Year 3, students must pass each semester as well as the Medicine in Practice course, Inter-professional Learning Unit 2 and the Student Selected Units.
    
    
21. A distinction will be awarded at the end of Year 2 to those candidates who demonstrate excellent performance in the Year 1 and Year 2 assessments at the first attempt.
    
    
22. Students who fail the assessments will have the opportunity to be re-assessed during the supplementary examination period. Failure at the second attempt will normally result in a recommendation for termination of the programme. Students who fail either the Medicine in Practice course, Inter-professional Learning Unit 2 or the Student Selected Units, or some or all of these, will be required to satisfactorily complete a repeat period of study in that course/unit(s) before September in order to progress.
    

23. The third year of the medical curriculum shall extend over forty-two weeks and shall include clinical attachments (mainly undertaken in healthcare settings in the Southampton area) in the following:
    
    Introduction to Year 3
    Medicine and Elderly Care
    Palliative Care
    Surgery and Surgical Specialities
    Child Health
    Obstetrics and Gynaecology
    Mental Health
    Primary Medical Care
    Student Selected Units
    Research Methods and Preparation for the Study in Depth Week
    
    
24. The BM Intermediate examination shall be held in the summer of the third year of the medical curriculum and shall 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 (problem solving) covering all the formal courses of instruction during the first, second and third years of the medical curriculum.
    
    
25. Students are required to pass each of the three components of the BM Intermediate examination (in-course assignments, Objective Structured Clinical Examination, written papers).
    
    
26. Students failing to satisfactorily pass their in-course assignment(s) will be permitted to submit one further in-course assignment before the start of the Supplementary examinations.
    
    
27. 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 September. Failure at the second attempt will normally result in a recommendation for termination of the programme or a requirement to repeat the year.
    
    
28. A distinction in the BM Intermediate examination may be awarded to candidaates whose overall performance was of Distinction standard in this examination at the first attempt.
    
    
29. A candidate who reaches a sufficiently high standard in the BM Intermediate examination may be allowed to undertake an additional year's study in the School of Biological Sciences for the degree of Bachelor of Science with Honours. These degrees are awarded on the satisfactory completion of that year's courses and examinations, together with a related project to be completed by March/April of the following year. A candidate following this course will undertake the normal clinical elective after the third year before beginning the final year clinical attachments.

30. The fourth year of the medical curriculum shall extend over forty weeks at the beginning of which candidates shall undertake an elective clinical attachment of 8 weeks' duration in a specialty and hospital of their choice, following approval by the Elective Working Group. Candidates who are retaking the Intermediate examination, however, will be required to undertake this attachment in Southampton.
    
    
31. Candidates will undertake advanced study, including project work and submission of a project report at the end of the year in topics selected in consultation with Divisional Coordinators and approved by the Head of School. There will also be instruction in Ethics and Law in Medicine and Research Methods. A candidate whose project report is judged to be unsatisfactory will be required to submit a revised report by November of the Final year. A candidate whose performance throughout the year is judged to be unsatisfactory will normally be required to repeat the year before progressing to the final year. If a repeat year or a revised report is judged to be unsatisfactory, the School Board may recommend termination of the programme.
    
    
32. In addition to the elective attachment there will be an obligatory minimum number of clinical courses during the year in the following:
    
    Cardio-pulmonary Resuscitation
    Dermatology
    Genito-Urinary Medicine
    Head and Neck
    Neurology
    Ophthalmology
    Orthopaedics and Rheumatology
    Primary Medical Care
    
    Students who do not satisfactorily complete their clinical work or their clinical elective attachment may be required to undertake a directed elective during their final year or repeat study. In some cases, this may lead to a recommendation from the School Board for termination of programme or a requirement to repeat a year of the programme.
    

33. The final year of the medical curriculum shall extend over forty-eight weeks during which candidates shall undertake clinical attachments in appropriate subjects in hospitals and General Practices in the South of England. The attachments shall be in the following:
    
    Medicine
    Surgery
    Obstetrics and Gynaecology
    Child Health
    Mental Health
    Medicine in Practice
    Primary Medical Care
    Student Selected Unit
    Inter-professional Learning Unit 3: Inter-professional Development in Practice
    
    Normally, attachments in hospitals outside Southampton will be residential.
    
    
34. 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, fourth and final years of the BM5 medical curriculum. Candidates may be expected to display background knowledge of other material.
    
    
35. 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. Students who do not pass the stipulated clinical competencies will not meet the requirements to sit the BM Final examination.
    
    
36. Partial exemption from the requirements for the clinical component of the BM Final examination may be granted to candidates as a result of satisfactory performance in clinical assessments undertaken during the year.
    
    
37. Any candidate failing to satisfy the examiners in the BM 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 Inter-professional Learning Unit will normally be required by the Postgraduate Dean to undertake repeat study during their time as a Pre-registration House Officer (first year of Foundation Programme). A pass with Distinction in the BM Final Examination may be awarded to a candidate who has shown excellence in clinical studies, including the BM Final examination.
    

Submitted by the Secretariat
Last reviewed: 04-Feb-2008
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