External summary

Internal Medicine is a vast and increasingly complex arena, encompassing all of the major hospital medicine specialties. A good foundation in the primary disciplines of Internal Medicine is essential for any physician, whether practising within a hospital setting or in primary care.

The Internal Medicine programme is an online, distance-learning course, completed part-time over three years. This programme is primarily designed for doctors who are early in their career and want to commit time to enhancing their existing qualifications alongside clinical training. Aimed at early postgraduate and junior doctors, this course is for those keen to become practising physicians. The programme is also suitable for other speciality doctors such as General Practitioners who wish to expand their general medical knowledge and learn about other healthcare areas such as teaching, informatics and medical ethics. The programme gives students the opportunity to be taught by experts in their field, and to join a supportive, global, online community of like-minded people.

Educational aims of programme

For early-career doctors, the course will provide key and timely knowledge, enabling the transition from junior doctor to specialty trainee, and will complement the syllabus for the MRCP examinations. Doctors further on in their careers can update their skills and knowledge with teaching from our expert tutors.

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

Students will develop an understanding of the basic principles of pharmacology to guide prescribing in a general medical setting. Students will revise the anatomy, physiology and pathological processes that are important for the common diseases encountered in general medicine. A sound understanding of the laboratory techniques used to aid in the diagnosis of common general medical problems will be taught, along with a good understanding of the principles and practice of clinical radiology.

Later in the course, students will develop a deeper level of knowledge and understanding in specialty areas of their choice. Individual specialty tutors will use increasingly complex clinical case studies to broaden knowledge and will guide students to appropriate seminal publications in the specialty.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in research and enquiry

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal and intellectual autonomy

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal effectiveness

The emphasis is on self-directed learning, with adequate support from the programme’s academic team. Students will develop effective time-keeping and prioritising skills.

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

Programme structure and features

The programme has been divided into a sequence of inter-related modules, a mixture of compulsory and elective options. The first two years contain a series of taught 10 and 20 credit modules and are followed by a dissertation for completion at master’s level. The credit allocation is as follows: 60 points for successful completion of year 1 (6 x 10 credit modules or 4 x 10 credit modules and 1 x 20 credit module), equivalent to a certificate; an additional 60 points for 6 more 10 credit modules to achieve Diploma level; and a further 60 points gained on completion of the dissertation, i.e. 180 points in total.

Progression on the programme is dependent on satisfactory performance at each level of the award. Students may choose to graduate after one year with a Postgraduate Certificate (60 credit points), or after the second year (120 credit points) entitling them to a Postgraduate Diploma.

Year 1: During the first year, the student is required to complete (to the satisfaction of the Board of Examiners) all compulsory modules, with the option of replacing the Science of Medicine course with two elective modules from year 2. On satisfactory completion of year 1, students may leave the programme with a Certificate in Internal Medicine, or progress to the second year.

In order to be awarded the certificate, students must pass (>40%) at least 40 credits and attain an average of at least 40% for the 60 credits of study. Students who attain this can either leave the programme with a Certificate in Internal Medicine or progress to the second year of study.

Individuals failing to attain this grade will be deemed to have failed the programme.

Year 2: During the second year, students must complete 2 compulsory modules, and choose 4 other 10 credit elective modules (more information an available electives can be found further on in the handbook).

In order to be awarded the diploma, students must pass (get a mark of 40% or more) 80 credits and attain an average of at least 40% for the 120 credits.

In order to progress to the final year of study, students must score at least 50% for 80 credits (in each of the courses that make up the credits) and attain an average of at least 50 % for the 120 credits.

Students who fail their second year will leave the programme at this point with the award of a Post Graduate Certificate in Internal Medicine, having attained sufficient credits for this award during their first year.

Year 3: Students who achieve 50% or more in the Masters Dissertation will be entitled to graduate with a Masters Degree. Individuals who fail to achieve 50% will leave the course with the award of a Postgraduate Diploma in Internal Medicine, having attained sufficient credits for this award during their first 2 years.

Students who achieve an average mark of 70% or more on all courses on the programme will be awarded a Masters with Distinction in Internal Medicine.

Teaching and learning methods and strategies

Teaching will be delivered in variety of ways:

• Pre-recorded eLectures, which students can view in their own time

• Interactive online modules

• Discussion boards relevant to that week’s teaching

• Clinical case discussions

• Lecture notes: Text-based document covering specific topic

• Various reading materials will also be deposited in the classroom or can be found through the University library (see later section on Library Facilities). 

• Live online tutorials

• Videos

• Links to relevant online resources

Assessment methods and strategies

We employ a variety of assessment methods. In the first year, we use online MCQs to assess the progress of the students. Participation in discussion boards, group work or short written assignments will contribute in part to their overall module grade and is taken to represent a formative assessment of their learning.

In the second year, written assignments in the form of review articles journal reviews or case reports will be set. Students will get feedback on their writing skills.

In the third year of the programme, the students will complete a 15,000 word dissertation in the form of an extended clinical audit, a laboratory-based project or systematic review in an area of their choice. Local supervisors will guide students in this work.

Career opportunities

All of our students are practicing clinicians. Post-graduate training in Internal Medicine is competitive, and the experience gained on this programme will be invaluable in future training. Medical graduates have a duty to keep their skills and knowledge up-to-date, and this programme offers an opportunity for on-going training and education on a part-time basis, allowing our students to continue to work. The learning is flexible, to complement busy working lives and shift patterns.

The elective modules that are available in the second year of the programme will allow students to tailor the programme to their needs and career aspirations, and will demonstrate a commitment to their chosen clinical specialty.

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