Durham University School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health
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Durham University School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health was founded on Teesside in 2001 as a partner with the
Newcastle University Medical School Newcastle University School of Medicine is the medical school at Newcastle University in England. It was established in 1834 in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and served as the College of Medicine in connection with Durham University from 1851 ...
to educate medical students in the first phase of their medical education (Years 1 and 2). On 1 August 2017 it was transferred to
Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...
, becoming part of Newcastle's Faculty of Medical Sciences and relocating to Newcastle. The School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health was located on the Queen's Campus of the
University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...
, with students being members of one of the two colleges on this campus -
John Snow John Snow (15 March 1813 – 16 June 1858) was an English physician and a leader in the development of anaesthesia and medical hygiene. He is considered one of the founders of modern epidemiology, in part because of his work in tracing the so ...
and George Stephenson College. In July 2016 it was announced that the school would be fully transferred to Newcastle University to "ensure a coherent and sustainable regional medical education provision for the future". The Queen's Campus will remain in the ownership of Durham University. Pharmacy students are transferring to Newcastle for the 2017/18 academic year while the 2016/17 MBBS intake will be taught out at Stockton in 2017/18.


Admissions

The yearly intake quota for medical students at Durham was 102, 95 home student places and 7 Overseas places. The conditional offer given to a student taking
A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
examinations was AAA, to include
Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
and/or
Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
at A-Level, and whichever may be missing at AS-Level. Since October 2007 entrants must take the
UKCAT The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is an admissions test used in the selection process by a consortium of universities in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand for their medical and dental degree programmes. Launched in 2006 as ...
prior to applying, an exam aimed at facilitating choosing between similarly high-achieving applicants, akin to the
BMAT The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) is an aptitude test used as part of the admissions process for Medicine, Biomedical Sciences and Dentistry in some universities in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Spain, Malaysia, Thailand, Hungary, Croatia a ...
. As with all UK medical students, successful applicants must have proof of immunity or non-infectivity against Hepatitis B,
Diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...
,
Polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
,
Rubella Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...
,
Tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...
, Varicella and
Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. Without complete immunisation, offers may be withdrawn.


Case-led curriculum

At Durham, students had the traditional medical sciences taught alongside their clinical relevance. For example, just before learning the
physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
of the lungs, a case was presented about a girl admitted to an
Accident and Emergency An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...
department with shortness of breath and other symptoms of
asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...
. Once the topic had been taught, a "case round-up session" was held, where formative questions were asked, some with more clinical relevance. The
curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
also meant that while, for example, learning the physiology of the lungs, their anatomy and embryological development were also taught by other departments (
anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
and
embryology Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, '' -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos and ...
respectively). The curriculum was broadly taught in the following strands, with some departments spanning many, for example, anatomy and embryology: *Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Renal Medicine (CVRR) *Medicine in the Community (MiC) *Personal and Professional Development (PPD) *Life Cycle (LC) *Foundation Case (CF) *Clinical Sciences and Investigative Medicine (CSIM) *Thoughts, Senses and Movements (TSM) (Formerly known as Neurological and Skeletomotor Systems) *Nutrition, Metabolism and Endocrinology (NME) *Student Selected Component (SSC) The Foundation Case was only taught in the first three weeks of the course in the first year, and its aim was to integrate the fundamental parts of preclinical medicine. During this time, a sufferer of the disease studied,
cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...
(hence the abbreviation CF), paid a visit to the medical school and students posed questions of the disease's impact on the individual and their family. This integrated curriculum also had implications for the students, in that they had very early patient contact, some within weeks, in the form of the Family Project, where students followed a pregnant woman through her
pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...
and into the first few months of life of the newborn in groups of two or three, and also in the form of hospital visits.


Staff

APS Hungin OBE was the Dean of Medicine & Head of the School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health, and JC McLachlan was the Academic Director. Each strand of the course had a strand leader, and many of those that lecture to the undergraduates were either not from the School for Health (generally Biological and Biomedical Sciences or
Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
, both of whose courses span both campuses) or were from outside the University (e.g. clinical lecturers were practising clinicians in NHS
hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
s).


Progression from Durham

After completing the two-year preclinical course at Queen's Campus, the vast majority of students joined their University of Newcastle contemporaries in one of four base units in the North East of England for their clinical teaching: * Teesside * Wearside *
Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...
*
Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
Students had the chance to assign preferences for stage 3 (phase 2) base units, with Newcastle University providing randomization and assignment based on student preference, and their place in the generated list. Options were provided to swap assigned base units with another student of the same stage if both parties were willing. It was not possible to go to the same base unit for stage 3 and stage 5 unless a case was presented to Newcastle medical school for this requirement. There was the opportunity to intercalate a BSc after the second year, either at the University of Durham or the University of Newcastle. The possibility also existed after the 4th year to complete a master's degree at Newcastle University, or, if permission was given by Newcastle University, at an external institution. After successful completion of Phase 2 (Years 3-5), the University of Newcastle conferred the degrees MB BS (Medicinæ Baccalaureus and Bachelor of Surgery) upon students


UDQC MedSoc

UDQC (University of Durham Queen's Campus) Medsoc (Medical Society) played an integral role in the lives of students on Queen's Campus, organising nights out to Durham and Newcastle, but also raising money for charities lik
Marrow UK
It also had many sports teams, which, despite the small size of the medical school (both in terms of numbers of years and yearly intake) were on par with many, much larger, medical schools. MedSoc also produced an alternative welcome pack for 1st years before they arrived in October, which also gave a student's perspective of the recommended texts.


References


External links

* *http://medical.faculty.ncl.ac.uk/ {{Authority control Medical schools in England Durham University