Medicine and Surgery MBChB

Key information

  • Course length: 5 years
  • UCAS code: A100
  • Year of entry: 2020
  • Typical offer: A-level : AAA / IB : 36 / BTEC : Not accepted in lieu of A levels
Medicine and Surgery MBCHB banner

Please note: An overview of what qualifications may be required is given on the Entry Requirements tab of this section but students applying to our Medicine programmes must also read for our full guidelines.

We aspire to create capable, confident and caring doctors equipped to practice in a 21st Century Healthcare Environment.

The Liverpool MBChB curriculum aims to:

  • Ensure graduates have the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to safely and ethically practice medicine.
  • Ensure graduates meet the outcomes set out in the GMC's Promoting Excellence: standards for medical education and training (2015)
  • Equip graduates with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for a career in academic medicine.
  • Enable graduates to become lifelong learners committed to their own professional development.

The curriculum framework is based on the three main outcomes of Tomorrow's Doctors (GMC 2009): the Doctor as Scholar and Scientist, the Doctor as Practitioner and the Doctor as Professional. Each of these outcomes has a series of vertical themes to create a truly spiral curriculum. Four horizontal themes cut across the vertical themes to provide stage appropriate coverage of these important themes within each vertical theme. See "modules" tab for more information on these themes.

For more information, see the School of Medicine website.

In the interests of public safety, in accordance with Tomorrow's Doctors, and in your own best interests, information pertinent to your educational achievements and to your fitness to practise may be shared by Liverpool Medical School with training providers, employers, regulatory organisations and other medical schools. The MSC Excluded Students Database has been created to record students who have been excluded from a medical school on the grounds of fitness to practise. Thus in the interests of patient and public safety, the School of Medicine may share some of the information provided in your application form with the MSC in order to verify your fitness to practise. Any offer for the medical programme will be conditional on applicants having disclosed any previous fitness to practise findings against them and their consent being given to this use of information.

Please note: Graduates applying to the A100 programme are subject to different entry criteria. You are currently required to have taken GAMSAT. For further details please see www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses

Please note that individuals applying to our Medicine programmes must consult our full guidelines. An indication of what qualifications may be required is listed on the Entry Requirements tab of this section.

Years One and Two

In Years One and Two, students will focus on basic and clinical sciences, but will also have early clinical contact with patients.

The vertical themes which run throughout the curriculum are: The Science of Medicine, Research and Scholarship, The Chronically Ill Patient, The Acutely Ill Patient, Patient Safety, Leadership and Management and Professionalism. The four horizontal themes that are integrated into each vertical theme are: Psychology and Sociology as Applied to Medicine, Population Perspective (Public Health, Epidemiology and Evidence), Communication for Clinical Practice and Therapeutics.Subjects are taught using a systems approach. Each system will include:

  • Physiology
  • Biochemistry
  • Anatomy lectures and practical sessions
  • Clinical skills sessions where students learn how to examine the systems studied
  • Small group teaching and case based learning.

Communication skills training prepares students for hospital clinical placement weeks which start towards the end of Year One, increasing in length during Year Two.

Years Three and Four

In years Three and Four students develop an increasing understanding of clinical assessment and management.

Students learn to recognise health problems, develop the skills needed to diagnose illness and disease, and to manage patients. Students rotate through a variety of hospital and community-based placements. These provide numerous opportunities for interaction with real patients in a variety of healthcare settings.

The placements are complimented in Year Three with teaching weeks spent at the University and clinician led small group teaching in Year Four, which ensure students make the most from each placement experience.

Year Five and beyond

The final year, Year Five, is spent gaining intensive clinical experience in hospitals and the community to prepare students for their career as a doctor.

Successful graduation at the end of year five requires satisfactory completion of all academic components of the course and the demonstration of a good approach to medical professionalism. Graduation leads to a Primary Medical Qualification (PMQ). This entitles student doctors to provisionally register with the General Medical Council. Only provisionally registered doctors can practise in approved Foundation Year One posts.

To obtain a Foundation Year One post students apply during the final year of the undergraduate course through the UK Foundation Programme Office selection scheme, which allocates these posts to graduates on a competitive basis. The School of Medicine team support students through this process.

Following successful completion of the Foundation Year One programme you will be eligible to apply for full registration with the General Medical Council. This full registration with a licence to practise is needed before you can undertake unsupervised medical practice in the NHS or private practice in the UK.

GMC information for medical students

The modules listed above are illustrative and subject to change. Please refer to the department site for further information

The vertical themes which will run throughout the duration of the curriculum are The Science of Medicine, Research and Scholarship, The Chronically Ill Patient, The Acutely Ill Patient, Patient Safety, Leadership and Management and Professionalism. The four horizontal themes that will be integrated into each vertical theme are Psychology and Sociology as Applied to Medicine, Population Perspective (Public Health, Epidemiology and Evidence), Communication for Clinical Practice and Therapeutics.
For more information, please visit the School of Medicine website.

Please note: Graduates applying to the A100 programme are subject to different entry criteria and there is currently the requirement for you to have taken GAMSAT. For further details please see www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses

Department Key Facts

Number of first year students

324 Year One undergraduates in 2018

Graduate prospects

99% are employed or in further study within six months of graduating (Destination of Leavers from Higher Education 2016/17)

Department resources

Excellent facilities both on campus, and with our many local partners, including internationally recognised institutes such as Alder Hey Chlidren's Hospital, the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals and the Walton Centre.

Why this subject?

Prepare for your future medical career with a core foundation in basic and clinical science

With an emphasis on early clinical contact combined with applied science, you will experience expert teaching, equipping you with the building blocks of clinical
practice.

Learn through innovative use of technology

Our Virtual Learning Environment provides access to all course learning materials and e-learning packages, offering lecture capture, interactive feedback and electronic clinical portfolios. Our use of virtual reality offers a truly immersive learning experience, enabling you to visualise a range of different clinical situations in real time.

Experience enhanced learning opportunities

Our unrivalled Human Anatomy Resource Centre allows you to develop an understanding of the human body that will underpin your future skills, while our Clinical Skills Resource Centre will help you practise in a safe environment using manikins, augmented reality, videos and podcasts.

Access some of the best specialist clinical units in the UK

We offer a comprehensive placement network with nationally recognised centres of excellence including Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and the Walton Centre – the UK’s only specialist hospital trust dedicated to neurological services.

Benefit from GP-led small group teaching sessions

Regular sessions throughout Year Three and Four provide a link between primary and secondary care, helping you to gain an understanding of how illness and disease presents in different settings and how chronic disease is managed within the community using a team approach.

Join a supportive community and build lifelong relationships

Join an active and holistic learning community consisting of academic advisers, a peer mentoring scheme and dedicated careers advisers.

Our Wellbeing and Student Support team also provides pastoral care to students experiencing personal and/or academic-related difficulties, as well as offering advice for maintaining good mental and physical health.