Address for Correspondence: College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine Office, Chancellors Building, 49 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4SB Email: mvm@ed.ac.uk

The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine offers two undergraduate programmes leading to the Degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) and Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVM&S).

The Degree with Honours of Bachelor of Science (Medical Sciences) is normally awarded to a limited number of specially selected students after the successful completion of a year of study in one of the Honours School, intercalated at the end of Year 2. The maximum number of students able to undertake an intercalated degree in any one year is normally 90 but this is reviewed annually. The Degree with Honours of Bachelor of Science (Veterinary Science) is normally awarded to specially selected students after the successful completion of a year of study in one of the Honours Schools, intercalated at the end of Year 2 or Year 3.

Information on opportunities for postgraduate study in the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine is available`  later in this Section.

Students in Year 5 who will be continuing their studies on the previous curriculum in 2005/06, should note that the regulations in the Medicine Programme (Calendar) 2001/02 cover their final year of study (or part thereof). Copies are available in the College Office.

Applicants for admission to the programme for the MBChB degrees may apply for entry into either the six-year programme or the five-year programme depending on their entry qualifications. Applications for admission to the five-year programme will be considered by the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine in accordance with the criteria determined by the College as published in the Undergraduate Prospectus. Applicants who are otherwise well qualified but who do not fulfil the subject requirements for the five-year programme may be considered for admission to the six-year programme.

Each student is assigned to a Director of Studies, who may be consulted on personal or academic matters. A list of the Directors of Studies is available from the College Office.

Clinical Sub-Deans are appointed with special responsibility for overseeing the provision of all clinical teaching and the maintenance of its quality in the teaching hospitals in Edinburgh and to act as a link between the College, the Medical Teaching Organisation and clinical teachers. A list of the Clinical Sub-Deans is available from the College Office.

Academic Clinical Advisers are appointed to act as representatives of the College in the teaching hospitals outside Edinburgh where students are attached. They may be consulted by students and staff in the hospitals on academic matters. A list of the Academic Clinical Advisers is available from the College Office.

Students in Years 4 and 5 are required to undertake periods of residence in designated hospital or university accommodation. Guidelines from the Scottish Office Department of Health (NHS Circular 1990 (GEN)15 advises that medical students on clinical attachments who are resident in hospital should receive free lodgings but should pay for meals as taken.

There are regular assessments through each year including in-course assessment. Students should refer to the appropriate Year Study Guide for detailed information. Permission to sit Professional Examinations is normally valid for two opportunities of entering for Professional Examinations. Students registered for the Pre-medical Year in 2005/06 should refer to the 2003/2004 University Calendar for regulations governing the degree.

For further information on examination procedures please refer to the University of Edinburgh Assessment Regulations 2005/06, which may be consulted in the College Office or at: http://www.aaps.ed.ac.uk/regulations/exam.htm.

Students who have attained a sufficiently high standard in any of the Professional Examinations will be recorded as having passed that examination ‘with distinction’.

Students who have displayed special merit in the Professional Examinations over the whole degree programme will be awarded MBChB with Honours at the time of graduation.

Absence from classes for whatever reason must be accounted for to the appropriate Year Director. Students who are unable to attend classes because they are ill should inform the College Office as soon as possible by either telephone or letter. If the absence due to illness is longer than one week, or occurs at the time of any assessment which counts towards a Professional Examination, the student must send a medical certificate to the College Office for any period of absence. In these circumstances, students should normally submit a medical certificate immediately on their return.

The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine Fitness to Practise Committee assesses whether any student for the degrees of MBChB referred to it does, or does not, constitute a risk to patients and is, or is not, a suitable person to become a registered medical practitioner, in respect of health, conduct and other like matters (see Regulations 1.3.1 and 1.3.2 below).

A student may appeal against the decision of the College Fitness to Practise Committee on procedural grounds (i.e. substantial information directly relevant to the decision of the College Committee which, for good reason, was not available to the Committee when its decision was taken, and alleged improper conduct of the College Fitness to Practise Committee) to the University’s Appeals Committee.

Students enrolled for Years 3, 4 and 5 of the degrees of MBChB during the Academic Year 2005-2006 are required to attend for compulsory periods outwith the normal University academic year. Students should consult the Edinburgh Electronic Medical Curriculum (EEMeC) on http://www.eemec.med.ed.ac.uk and relevant Year Study Guides for detailed information.

On satisfactory completion of the full five or six years of study (as appropriate) students will qualify for the award of the degrees of MBChB. Students may intercalate, or add at the end of the MBChB curriculum, an additional year of study to enable them to qualify for the award of the degree of BSc (Medical Sciences) with Honours. Full details are given elsewhere in this programme.

The order of attendance at classes shown in the timetables must be followed except in special cases authorised by the Head of College or his/her nominee, after application to the appropriate Director of Studies and if supported by the Director for Student Affairs. The earliest dates at which students may appear for the Professional Examinations are indicated in the timetables.

Professional Examinations are held as follows:

The Pre-medical Year is an integrated part of the six-year programme leading to the MBChB degrees and cannot be taken as a separate programme. The subjects of study will be those specified in the 2003/2004 University Calendar unless a student has been excused from attendance on, and examination in, any of these subjects under the regulations. Where a student is excused from any of these courses the substitution of an alternative course is mandatory and requires the approval of the Director of Studies.

The MBChB curriculum is a fully integrated programme which begins with an emphasis on health progressing to an understanding of illness and its consequences, culminating in the development of the understanding of the management of illness in primary, secondary and tertiary care. The programme covers the range of medical activities from molecular biology and its impact on modern medicine to social and population based medicine and includes an increased time spent in general practice, particularly in earlier parts of the programme.

Assessment of the courses will follow the integrated and co-ordinated modules, with students achieving set milestones by competence-based assessments. These will take place regularly throughout the programme culminating in the final professional examination which will be an assessment of the student’s competence to practise as a pre-registration house officer.

Students should refer to the appropriate Year Study Guide for detailed information.

Students undertaking the Pre-medical Year should consult relevant course guides for timetable information.

Detailed timetable information for years 1 to 5 is available in the relevant Year Study Guide or via the Edinburgh Electronic Medical Curriculum (EEMeC) on

Absence from classes for whatever reason must be accounted for to the Head of School. Students who are unable to attend classes because they are ill should inform the Veterinary Teaching Organisation (VTO) as soon as possible by either telephone or letter. Records of attendance at practical classes go weekly to the VTO who pass the names of students with two or more absences to the student’s Director of Studies for action. If the absence due to illness is longer than one week, or occurs at the time of a Professional Examination or of a class examination which counts towards a Professional Examination, the student must send a medical certificate to the Veterinary Teaching Organisation for any period of absence. In these circumstances, students should normally submit a medical certificate immediately on their return.

Decisions on students who have failed to meet the requirements of the BVM&S Examination Boards, and therefore fall due to be excluded from further study in the College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, are made by the Veterinary Student Progression Committee. Students who have failed examinations on more than one occasion are advised in writing by the Head of School and given details of the timescale and procedure for submission of an appeal against exclusion.