New academic regulations for the Bachelor's and Master's degree programme in Medicine have now been approved. Better coherence between the courses, changes in clinical training and greater freedom of choice for the students are the most important changes. The new regulations will come into force for the autumn semester 2020.

2019.11.12 | Mette Louise Ohana

When the next group of medical students begin in August 2020, they will study under the new academic regulations for both the Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes. Two-and-a-half years of work has led up to this, during which time the boards of studies in collaboration with the director of studies, the studies administration, the students, teaching staff and employers, have all taken a good look at all of the courses. And at what is required to ensure that the education in general lives up to the vision that was drawn up two years ago for how the medical degree programme should look in the future.

Focus on core subject areas

On the Bachelor's degree programme, the main focus will continue to be the basic scientific subjects.

"Research into medical education shows that basic scientific knowledge and understanding are essential for clinical decision-making, which is a core competence for medical doctors. However, it can be difficult to remember all the basics when you need to use them in clinical contexts later on," says Charlotte Ringsted, vice-dean for education at Health and professor of medical pedagogics.

The new academic regulations will therefore include an integration of basic courses with regard to structure and function. A number of courses will be combined, and focus will be on clinical relevance, with the students being introduced to clinical cases throughout the Bachelor's degree programme. This will also contain new courses within e.g. genetics, neuroscience and public health, which are fields of study that are rapidly developing.

"In the new academic regulations, more emphasis is placed on our students being able to understand fundamental mechanisms and principles. Purely factual knowledge alone is not enough, because such knowledge can quickly become obsolete or forgotten. The competences they need must be far more long-lasting, which is why there will also be more focus on academic skills," says Per Höllsberg, director of studies for the medical degree programme and professor at the Department of Biomedicine.

In future, students will find themselves working more with critical analysis of research results already from the first semester of the Bachelor's degree programme than previously.

"It’s important for the students to have a greater degree of learning about reading and understanding research results and to learn to think critically and independently. This is what will ensure that they can contribute to developing medicine as a subject and themselves, also long after they’ve left the university," says Charlotte Ringsted.

More student activation in the teaching

The reorganisation of the medical degree programme has given rise to a revision of forms of instruction. There will be fewer classical lectures on the new medical degree programme and instead there will be more student activation in the teaching, for example classroom instruction with project presentations for opponent groups, team-based learning, teacher-designed out-of-class activities and case-based teaching. These changes are being introduced simply because it is now known that this gives the highest learning outcomes when acquiring new knowledge.

"We will also expand the use of various tests to support learning and the memory of what’s been learnt. Different types of regular tests will contribute to ensuring that the students receive continuous feedback and are able to follow the progression in their learning," says Per Höllsberg.

Less but better clinic training

All clinical training courses on the Master's section of the degree programme in medicine have been rethought. The goal is to reduce the number of students at the departments in order to improve the opportunities for training and feedback for the individual student. At the same time, as more students are being admitted compared to before, a few weeks are being cut from the overall clinical time on the Master's degree programme. There will be fewer short clinical training periods with the third semester of the Master's degree programme being reorganised so it now includes a longer clinical training section that involves the students in the work of a medical doctor to a much greater extent than previously seen.

Future employers really wanted to see the students have the opportunity to participate in working as medical doctors, and according to Director of Studies Per Höllsberg, the new structure for the clinical training periods will result in this.

Time spent in clinical training will also have more focus on teaching students generic medical competences, such as e.g. how to take clinical decisions, communicate with patients and how to collaborate with colleagues.

"Being able to master clinical decision-making, communication and collaboration are some of the things which are essential if you’re going to be a good medical doctor. These skills are best learnt ‘in the field’ through meeting patients and colleagues," says Per Höllsberg.

One new measure to support clinical training is the appointment of pre-graduate associate professors who are responsible of education at each department. They are charged with ensuring that the students receive the right training, receive feedback on their performance and are involved in the department’s work.

More scope for theory on all medical specialities

The second semester of the Master's degree programme will be by and large theoretical. The teaching here will – together with the theoretical teaching on the first semester – cover many clinical specialities and will utilise cases, either in the form of videos or with the presentation of selected patients. The first and second semesters will prepare the students for the longer clinical training period during the third semester.

"Of course, while they’re doing clinical training, our students will get an insight into some of the specific areas of medical specialisation, but we will also ensure that the teaching outside of the clinic really gives them knowledge about the medical specialities. With the reorganisations there will also be more scope for this teaching overall," says Per Höllsberg.

"The medical degree programme must ensure that graduates have a broad and solid foundation for being able to work in junior doctor positions. However, it isn’t until after the basic clinical training that they have to choose their area of medical specialisation and undergo a long formalised further education," says Charlotte Ringsted.

On the Master's degree programme, the students will in future have much better opportunities to choose how they want to shape part of their degree programme with an individual course of their own choice within research, the clinic or innovation and management which will total 30 ECTS, including thesis. On the Bachelor's degree programme there are still 15 ECTS where the students can choose subject areas.

Teaching staff also need to alter their teaching

The new academic regulations for the Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes will be simultaneously implemented from August 2020 with carefully planned transitional provisions for students who are already enrolled on the programme.

"Now that the academic regulations have been adopted, the many good ideas must be realised in practice. During the revision process, many members of the teaching staff have got a head start and have already implemented student activation in their teaching. But there are those who will also have to change their teaching and perhaps hold exams in a new way. This will require a lot of effort from all of us. On the other hand, there’s no doubt that we will end up with a really good degree programme," says Per Höllsberg.

All teaching staff on the medical degree programme will hear more about the new academic regulations and will be readied for the reorganisation before it comes into force next year.

See an outline of the new structure for the Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes in Medicine.

Contact

Vice-dean for Education Charlotte Ringsted
Aarhus University, Health
Mobile: (+45) 9350 8222
Email: charlotte.ringsted@au.dk

Professor and Director of Studies - Medicine Per Höllsberg
Aarhus University, Department of Biomedicine
Mobile: (+45) 5136 2353
Email: ph@biomed.au.dk