Website: http://www.medschl.cam.ac.uk

Cambridge aims to educate doctors to become compassionate and thinking members of the medical profession.

We are interested in students who have capacity for, and interest in, a lifetime of learning about the human body and its mind, their ills and what can be done to alleviate the resultant suffering.

Standard Medical Course: The course has undergone significant review and development in the last few years. In the first two years, students take a range of courses comprising core and optional components leading to the Second MB. In the third year, a wide range of options is available offering special study in depth leading to the Tripos Part II and a BA degree. About half of Cambridge's medical students continue their clinical studies at the Clinical School in Cambridge (2 ¼ years); provision is made for the remainder to proceed to other clinical schools in Oxford and London (3 years). Clinical studies culminate in the Final MB Examinations and the degrees, Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery: MB, BChir.

Cambridge Graduate Course: This is a four-year course leading to the MB, BChir qualification for graduates from any discipline. Three of the Cambridge graduate colleges provide pastoral and academic support. The Second MB component of the course is based in Cambridge, the clinical base is in West Suffolk - in the hospital at Bury St Edmunds and in five local general practices. Special features of the course include early patient contact, handheld computers to aid learning, a clinical presentation-based curriculum, vertical strands (including Literature in Medicine) and a final year in which students can appreciate the patient journey by integrating hospital and community practice with a longitudinal view of illness.

For additional information, see www.wsufftrust.org.uk/CGC

CORE MEDICAL SCIENCES COURSE -MEDICAL AND VETERINARY SCIENCES TRIPOS (MVST)

FIRST YEAR
Compulsory Core Courses

Functional Architecture of the Body: topographical anatomy of the human body by dissection and demonstration with strong emphasis on functional, living and surface anatomy.
Introduction to the Scientific Basis of Medicine: three sets of lectures covering history and philosophy; principles of epidemiology; principles of medical statistics.
Homeostasis: physiological systems which underpin regulation of the body's internal environment and its responses to external threats; related practical classes in experimental physiology and histology.
Medical Sociology: interactions between social factors and the practice of medicine largely delivered by computer-aided learning.
Molecules in Medical Science: molecular basis of how cells and organisms work including structure, function, biosynthesis and control, metabolic processes and the ways in which the genetic information in DNA is organised, expressed and inherited; core principles illustrated, where possible, by examples relevant to medical science to emphasise the significance of this basic knowledge to clinical practice - a practical course uses a range of biochemical techniques and includes a problem-solving component.
Preparing for Patients: a course involving guided patient contact to allow students to establish an early rapport with patients, emphasise the importance of consent and confidentiality and to lay the foundations for the development of a Comprehensive Clinical Method.
Optional Course:
Principles of Cell Biology: a short course introducing basic principles.

SECOND YEARCompulsory Core Courses

Biology of Disease: the nature and mechanisms of disease processes, includes cellular pathology, immunology, microbiology, parasitology and virology - practical classes integrated with lectures.
Mechanisms of Drug Action: general principles of drug action and specific effects of some drugs; selective toxicity and effects on neuromuscular, endocrine, cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
Neurobiology and Human Behaviour: the brain and the mind; structure and function of the sense organs and CNS, effects of drugs on brain function; physiological aspects including emotion and emotional disorders (especially depression, anxiety and schizophrenia) child development, intelligence, learning and memory.
Scientific, Social & Ethical Aspects of Reproduction and Populations: the biology of human reproduction, its clinical relevance, social context and influence on demographic trends; ethical and legal principles surrounding the practice of medicine in general and reproduction in particular.
Optional Courses:
Each student chooses two from a range of about 12 options, providing an opportunity for early study in greater depth in selected topics.

THIRD YEAR

Students choose from a variety of subjects to qualify for the BA degree including:

• a single subject from Part II of the Natural Sciences Tripos;
• Part II of the Medical and Veterinary Sciences Tripos which includes a choice from a large range of biomedical courses including History of Medicine, Human Impact on the Environment and Medicine, Ethics and Law;
• a subject less obviously related to medicine such as Anthropology, Law, Management Studies or Philosophy.

Standard Clinical Course
The course is two and a quarter years, divided into three phases. Throughout, emphasis is given to the appropriate compassionate approach of the doctor to the ill person and his or her effective treatment.
Students are divided into six attachment groups which are subdivided into smaller groups for weekly supervisions with a young doctor who helps them to acquire the requisite clinical skills.
About one third of the clinical course time is spent in various hospitals in East Anglia. The rest of the time is spent in the Clinical School on the Addenbrooke's Hospital site: www.addenbrookes.org.uk/
Phase I (six months) - the basic concepts of clinical skills and the fundamentals of medicine and surgery.
Phase II (thirteen months) - students rotate through various medical and surgical subspecialties.
Elective period (7 weeks) - an opportunity for students to go anywhere in the world to see medicine practised in different cultures or to undertake research in a particular area of interest.
Phase III (six months) - consolidation of clinical skills in senior medical and surgical attachments as well as attachments in General Practice and some of the important medical subspecialties.
Final examinations in Pathology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medicine and Surgery take place in March and December of the final year.
The MB/PhD Programme
The Cambridge Clinical School also offers the opportunity to intercalate a three-year research programme intercalated with the standard clinical education.
Applying for the Core Medical Sciences and Cambridge Graduate courses

For a prospectus and further information, contact:

Cambridge Admissions Office (CAO)
Fitzwilliam House
32 Trumpington Street
Cambridge
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Applying to the Clinical Course

UK quota Medical Students interested in applying for direct entry to the Clinical Course should write to:

The Clinical Dean
University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine
Addenbrooke's Hospital
Hills Road
Cambridge, CB2 2SP
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