Warwick Medical School

Warwick Medical School is the medical school of the University of Warwick and is located in Coventry, United Kingdom. It was opened in 2000 in partnership with Leicester Medical School, and was granted independent degree-awarding status in 2007.^[1][2] Warwick Medical School is one of only two solely graduate-entry medical schools in the UK (together with Swansea Medical School).^[3]

The school comprises three institutes: the Institute of Clinical Education (ICE) which co-ordinates undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, the Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI) and the Clinical Sciences Research Institute (CSRI).^{[citation needed]}

History

The Medical Teaching Centre

The school was established as a collaborative venture with the University of Leicester. Professor Ian Lauder was appointed Dean of the joint School. The first students to study at Warwick arrived in September 2000. The School had temporary headquarters on the main University of Warwick campus until the Medical Teaching Centre was completed in August 2001 and was formally opened by the Secretary of State for Health in 2002. In 2003 Professor Yvonne Carter was appointed as Vice-Dean, before taking on the role of Dean of Warwick Medical School the following year. ^{[citation needed]}. After Professor Carter's premature death in July 2009, she was succeeded as Dean by Professor Peter Winstanley (formerly University of Liverpool).

The first MBChB students graduated in 2004, the same year that the old Mathematics and Statistics building at Gibbet Hill was refurbished and renamed the Medical School Building. The Medical School Building is now home to the Dean’s Office, the Warwick Clinical Trials Unit and HSRI. The Clinical Sciences Research Institute was opened on the site of University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire in 2005, by Sir Graeme Catto, President of the General Medical Council. In 2006, the School opened a Biomedical Learning Grid for students. This study resource is equipped with up-to-date IT equipment, interactive white boards, plasma screens and PCs as well as more traditional learning materials such as reference texts and anatomical models.^{[citation needed]}

Following an intensive period of assessment in 2006 by the General Medical Council, Warwick was formally recommended to receive independent degree-awarding status. This was enacted on 2 May 2007 when the Medical Act was amended by Her Majesty the Queen in the Privy Council. Independent degree-awarding status came into effect on 6 June 2007. MBChB graduates in the summer of 2007 were the first to receive University of Warwick medical degrees.^{[citation needed]}

Teaching

University Hospital Coventry, which is home to the clinical services activities of Warwick Medical School.

The Warwick MBChB

Warwick offers a four-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) to graduates.^{[citation needed]} Applicants must have a good (upper second and above) degree or equivalent.

The course features some early involvement with patients and developing both clinical and communication skills from the beginning.^{[citation needed]} The course has two phases: Phase I lasts for 18 months and accounts for the bulk of academic learning^{[citation needed]}. As well as attending lectures, students work in small learning groups, guided by clinicians or academic staff^{[citation needed]}. The format of the MBChB course is currently being redeveloped^{[citation needed]}.

Phase 2 is largely based around 11 clinical blocks of 8 weeks duration and a 6 week elective attachment^{[citation needed]}. The majority of the clinical placements are in three hospitals; University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW), Warwick Hospital and George Eliot Hospital with some in Reditch, Rugby and Worcester^{[citation needed]}. Placements are also provided in primary and community care settings, ranging from GP practices to outreach projects and mental health services in the local area.^{[citation needed]}

The admissions procedure for the MBChB course begins with an application through UCAS. Prospective students must also take the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) in the year preceding their application. A proportion of applicants are invited to a selection centre which involves an interview and some team and written exercises^{[citation needed]}. Successful applicants are then selected based on their performance at the selection centre. For 2008 entry over 1400 applications were received for 178 places.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) The school has more than 2,000 postgraduate taught students enrolled on CPD courses. It offers Postgraduate Awards, Postgraduate Certificates, Postgraduate Diplomas, Masters Degree, Short Courses and Undergraduate Level and Non-accredited Courses. Subject areas include Child Health, Chronic Disease Management, Dentistry, Diabetes, Public Health and Occupational Health. Warwick also offers a taught Postgraduate programme in Medical Education designed to provide health care professionals involved in the delivery of teaching and training in the health care environment with appropriate pedagogic skills.^{[citation needed]}

Research Degrees The school offers a three year full-time or five year part-time PhD or a two year full-time or three year part-time MPhil. Postgraduate students can also choose to study for an MSc by Research, one year full-time or two years part-time, or an MD (Doctor of Medicine) which is a two year full-time or three year part-time course of study.^{[citation needed]}

All students have a team of two or more supervisors. The supervisory team will meet on a regular basis with the student to ensure adequate monitoring and supervision of the student. The School works in close collaboration with a number of departments within the University. This collaboration enables students to have supervisors from different departments with different expertise.^{[citation needed]}

Research

The Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI)

The HSRI specialises in community focused academic research with links to NHS trusts and is the co-ordinating centre for the Warwick and West Midlands Primary Care Research Network. The institute covers epidemiology, clinical trials, biostatistics, health economics, modelling, social sciences and psychology. Key research areas include are public mental health, emergency care and rehabilitation, cancer and primary care. There are also developing areas such as health care systems improvement.^{[citation needed]}

Warwick Clinical Trials Unit

The unit was set up in 2005 within the HSRI. It is an academic clinical trials unit with expertise in the design and conduct of trials, particularly of complex health states and interventions. The trials unit has four major areas of work: musculoskeletal conditions including injury prevention and management; cancer; clinical trials methodology; and systematic reviews. The unit has grown dramatically since 2005 and a new Clinical Trials Building is planned for the Gibbet Hill campus. The Wolfson Foundation is supporting this new building with a £1 million grant.^{[citation needed]}

The Clinical Sciences Research Institute

The institute (CSRI) has a modern, purpose-built facility on the site of the major regional University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) and was opened in 2005. It specialises in translational medicine, epidemiology and clinical effectiveness. There are 36 senior research academics based at the institute, which has equipment for molecular, cellular, proteomic, transcriptomic and functional studies. The institute’s research themes are consistent with the strategic areas of development at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.^{[citation needed]}

Research areas at CSRI include Metabolic Health with an emphasis on obesity and diabetes, Cardiovascular Medicine and Epidemiology and Reproductive Health.^{[citation needed]}

Student life

The medic community is brought together under the leadership of the University of Warwick Medical Society ('Warwick Medsoc')^[4] who organise social events, Medics sports (so as not to clash with their busy timetables) and the yearly Revue whose function is mainly to poke fun at the Medical School and the NHS.

In 2005 a student-led project initiated Medics Without A Paddle^[5] to write an e-book containing free revision notes for all the 70-odd pages of objectives that students were expected to cover during their phase II clinical attachments. The material is entirely produced by the student body and a qualified previous student oversees new entries. This project was conceived of to promote co-operation between students in spreading the knowledge and experiences gained from a variety of sources and as of 2008 was in use at both Warwick and Leicester medical schools.

Since 2010, a group of Warwick medical students have started a medical education magazine and website called Med Quarterly.^[6]

There are a number of other Warwick Medical School societies, including:^[7]

• Warwick Wilderness Medicine Society
• Friends of MSF
• KOP Warwick^[8][9]
• Marrow
• Warwick Trauma Medicine Society
• Warwick BLS^[10]
• Peer Support
• Warwick Intensive Care and Anaesthetics Society

Warwick Medical Students have also been published in national, peer-reviewed journals^[11][12][13] and have given national presentations on various topics.^[14]

References

v t e University of Warwick Academics Schools and departments Warwick Business School Warwick Manufacturing Group Warwick Medical School Warwick Mathematics Department Other Manifold Modern Records Centre Pli Warwick Prize for Writing University Campus Gibbet Hill Campus Halls of Residence Main Campus Science Park Warwick Arts Centre Westwood Campus History Coventry College of Education Horticulture Research International National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth People Academics Alumni Chancellor: Richard Lambert Vice-Chancellor: Nigel Thrift Commercial activities jobs.ac.uk The National B2B Centre Research Warwick Accommodation Warwick Conferences Other Academic dress Coull Quartet Lord Rootes Memorial Fund Student life The Boar Radio Warwick Boat Club Students' Union Symphony Orchestra Warwick International Development Summit Warwick Student Arts Festival (WSAF) Affiliates AACSB Association of Commonwealth Universities Association of MBAs EQUIS European University Association Hospital of St. Cross, Rugby Russell Group University Hospital Coventry Universities UK Warwick Hospital Category Commons

Coordinates: 52°22′28″N 1°33′10″W / 52.3744°N 1.5527°W / 52.3744; -1.5527