Undergraduate Overview

1st Year - Human Development and Behavioural Science Course incorporating Medical Ethics

The Human Development and Behavioural Science Course consists of four elements:

1. Family Case Study (small group tutorials and family visits)
2. Behavioural Science (small group tutorials)
3. Human Development and Behavioural Science Lecture course
4. Introduction to Medical Ethics

The course is taught by staff from Public Health and Primary Care (Family Case Study), the Department of Psychiatry (Behavioural Science tutorials) and the Medical School Ethicists. The lecture course is further supported by the Departments of Paediatrics and Psychology and with inputs from other guest/occasional lecturers.

Overall Course Aims

• To give the student an understanding of the concepts of normality in physical and psychological human development.
• To enable the student to develop an understanding of the evolution of man and man's relationship with society and his/her environment.
• To equip the student with a thorough and integrated knowledge of normal human function and behaviour.
• To initiate the student in the study of medical ethics and help him/her to develop the skills to recognize and evaluate ethical concerns.

The course as a whole strives to give students a basic understanding of human behaviour which will inform all aspects of their future clinical practice. Information on physical, psychological and social development is delivered through lectures and small group sessions. These are incorporated with experiential learning through visits to families with young babies over the span of the year and problem based learning through behavioural science scenarios. The course will cover development from childhood through the different human life stages up to and including ageing and death.

The Medical Ethics introduction comprises both lectures and small group problem-based learning sessions. Where appropriate, aspects of the problems from the small group sessions are incorporated in the lectures. Group discussion is used in tandem with the traditional lecture format and weekly reading assignments are central. The course aims to equip students with the skills to negotiate and reflect on ethical issues which they will encounter during the course of their medical training, and to help them develop an ethics vocabulary, discursive confidence and sensitivity as part of the foundation for their futures in the medical profession.

4th Year - People, Practices and Populations course

For the more experienced medical student, the People, Practices and Populations course provides a further opportunity to study the provision of health care in the community and to examine health issues determined outside of the health sector. The course is timetabled over a two-month period, with each student attending small group tutorials in the department, and attachments to two general practices. The general practices are located over the whole island of Ireland, to provide as much demographic variety as possible.

The main aims of the course are to enable the student:

• to understand the context of primary care and general practice in the community;
• to be aware of the variety of illness seen in general practice;
• to understand the presentation and management of common problems in general practice;
• to understand the impact of chronic disease on patients and their families;
• to develop appropriate and practical consultation skills;
• to be aware of the major health problems that occur in Ireland;
• to understand the provision of evidence based healthcare;
• to understand the epidemiology of disease and the impact of socio-economic status on health and ill-health.

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