[Shared] Curriculum of MBBS National University of Singapore - Yong Loo Lin School of Medcine

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.,B.S.)

The undergraduate medical programme is a five-year course leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.,B.S.).

The broad mission of the curriculum is to nurture servant leaders to transform healthcare by producing doctors who are caring, competent, safe, and professional towards patients, who will make a difference to the community and change the practice of medicine for better.

The outcome-focused curriculum establishes a firm foundation in the basic medical sciences while providing students with high quality clinical experiences. Throughout the course, the curriculum emphasises the clinical relevance the basic sciences. Beginning in the first year of medical study, students meet and interact with patients and begin the lifelong process of honing their professional behaviour, communication skills, and understanding of ethics, law and information literacy. The first year of the course emphasises normal structure and function of the human body, underscoring the clinical relevance of what is taught. Progressively in the second year, the course focuses on abnormal structure and function including principles of pharmacotherapy, general pathology including cancer biology, and the body’s defences (immunology and infection). The primary focus from the third to the fifth year is high quality clinical experience in medical and surgical-related disciplines with underpinning medical sciences. Students also have the opportunity to take local and overseas electives during this period.

Outcome-focused Curriculum

Phase I	Normal Structure and Function with clinical relevance
Phase II	Abnormal Structure and Function with clinical relevance
Phase III	Core Clinical Practice
Phase IV	Acute and Specialty Clinical Practice
Phase V	Student Internship Programme

Highlights of the undergraduate medical curriculum are:

•	Early meaning clinical exposure
•	Ambulatory and community care experiences
•	Emphasis on developing caring and ethical medical professionals
•	Significant curriculum time devoted to interactive small group teaching
•	Use of cutting edge education technology tools such as the Human Patient Simulator and the Harvey Simulator
•	Option for student electives in local and overseas institutes
•	Student Internship Programme to provide students real-life practical opportunity for clinical care

Broad-based curricular components in the M.B.,B.S. course include:

•	Core content, which includes fundamental science and clinical principles, providing a knowledge base essential for the undergraduate to become a proficient doctor
•	Longitudinal tracks, which begin in Year 1 and continue throughout the greater part of the curriculum, integrated with the biomedical science components and clinical teaching. They include Health Ethics, Law and Professionalism; Medicine and Society; and Information Literacy, Critical Thinking, Evidence-Based Medicine, and Research Methodology.
•	The Patient-Based Programme, which starts with guided patient exposure in a clinical environment in the first year, allows the further training of patient interaction and communication, physical examination and procedural skills in the second year under the Clinical Skills Foundational Programme. The clinical training is culminated in full-day clinical postings in the third through the final year. Such intensive bedside clinical instruction and experience help undergraduates to acquire clinical knowledge and skills in order to be effective house officers and proficient medical practitioners. Retrieved from http://medicine.nus.edu.sg/corporate/education/medicine/med_curriculum.aspx at 04/09/2014 2:45 a.m.