MBBS - Semester 12 (Information for GPs and Practice Staff)

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The General Practice term is a core subject taught in Semester 12. Similar to the Medicine and Surgery terms there is a set curriculum with learning objectives for this rotation achieved through placements in local practices and in group tutorials and lectures. This ensures that each student is prepared adequately for the final examinations covering this curriculum and for work in their intern year.

Students are allocated to an urban or rural general practice for a 5 week rotation.  They are required to attend full day sessions at the practice; a consulting day is divided into 2 sessions - morning and afternoon, and some practices also have evening/weekend sessions available for their participation.  They are required to attend the compulsory orientation program on the first two days of the rotation at the General Practice and Primary Health Care Academic Centre in Parkville. They are expected to attend the remainder of the days at the practice and encouraged to have some experience of weekend work. Students must also attend weekly tutorials during the rotation at a time arranged by their tutor; if the student is placed at a practice that is more than 1 hour’s travel time from the tutorial location they will need to teleconference into the tutorials.

 

Learning Objectives

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Core learning objectives of the GP block of Semester 12

• Clinical problem solving: Demonstrate the necessary skills in diagnosis, management, organisation, critical appraisal, ethics, knowledge and communication to enable clinical decision-making and competent management of a range of common presentations in general practice.
• Health promotion and preventative care: Be aware of opportunities and strategies for health promotion and preventative care in general practice
• Context of care: Understand the context of care in general practice, especially the social, family, cultural, geographical and psychological influences on health.
• Role of the GP: Understand the central role of the GP within the health care system
• Clinical organisation and practice management: Demonstrate competency in basic clinical organisation. Have a basic knowledge of the regulations governing general practice. Understand basics of general practice management
• Personal and professional development: Develop strategies for self-appraisal, reflective practice and continuing education

 

Rotation Dates 2012

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Rotation 1:  23 July – 24 August
Rotation 2:  27 August – 28 September
Rotation 3:  1 October – 2 November

 

Orientation

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Students will attend a 2 day orientation program at the beginning of the rotation, commencing in their practice on the Wednesday of the first week.

 

Attendance and PIP

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Students must complete the attendance form for their placement and this must be signed off by the GP Supervisor or Practice Manager.  Completed attendance forms must be submitted to the General Practice and Primary Health Care Academic Centre, 200 Berkeley St, Carlton, 3052, at the conclusion of the placement. This form is used to generate the PIP form which is then sent to practices for signing and forwarding to Medicare. PIP can be claimed for all sessions the student attends the practice and is supervised by the GP or a clinically qualified delegate. PIP cannot be claimed for time the student spends at tutorials.

Tutorial attendance must not be included on this form. The student’s tutor will have an attendance list and record their attendance at tutorials.

100% attendance at clinical placements is a hurdle requirement.
75% attendance at lectures, pracs, and tutorials is a hurdle requirement.

If the student is going to be absent from their placement for any reason, they must let their practice know as soon as possible on the day of absence. Absences must be accounted for with a medical certificate or other supporting documentation and attached to the attendance form.

Spare copies of the attendance form are available in the student section of this website. 

 

Leave of Absence

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Patient consent must be obtained for all medical placements; either written or verbal (as a minimum).
Practices will be provided with a sample patient information and consent form.  Additional copies can be downloaded from the forms and resources section of this website.
Practices can use this document and attach to the patients file. Practice staff need to tick which type of student will be seeing the patients.

 

Tutorials

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Students must attend four tutorials during the rotation, in weeks 1, 2, 4, and 5. The tutorials will run for approximately 90 minutes and are facilitated by experienced GP tutors. If the placement is located in a rural area and more than 1 hour’s travel time from the tutorial location students will be permitted to phone in to the tutorial and teleconferencing phone numbers will be provided. GP tutors can be used as an independent mentor and can be contacted by the students if they have concerns during the placement.

If you are interested in becoming a tutor please contact the Department of General Practice.

 

Assessment

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Principles

Semester 12 is assessed as Pass/Fail.

All Semester 12 assessment, except the student supervisor mark, mini-CEX’s, and review of the learning planner, will be at the end of the semester.

The learning planner is a hurdle requirement and will be reviewed in each block by learning planner supervisors. In the case of the GP rotation this is the GP tutor.

Students are expected to demonstrate evidence of clinical practice experience, and of clinical knowledge, skills and attitudes at a level appropriate to a newly graduated intern.

There are no written examinations.

Learning Planner for GP Rotation Semester 12 (Hurdle)

The hurdle requirement of the learning planner in the GP rotation is fulfilled by the completion of four General Practice cases appropriately documented and covering one GP management plan, one health assessment task, one referral letter and two observed Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercises (Mini-CEX’s)

1.         A GP Management Plan or Mental Health Plan

2.         A Health Assessment

3.         Write a referral letter to a medical specialist for a patient with a complex condition.

4.         Students will undertake at least two (2) observed Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercises to a satisfactory standard during the General Practice term. The Exercises will take the form of an observed clinical encounter with a patient they have interviewed and examined. The assessment form is provided in their Learning Planner and must be filled in by the GP Teacher.

If the student is unsure about these tasks, they may ask their GP Supervisor if they can observe someone else doing one. Students should ask the Supervisor for assistance in finding appropriate patients, and arrange to see the patient to complete the task. For a Mental Health Plan, more than one visit may be required, in which case the visit(s) prior to the visit on which the Plan is completed should be billed as item 36 (a mental health consultation > 20 minutes). The Mini-CEX’s should be assessed by the GP Supervisor. The completed assessment forms and all other completed learning planner tasks should be checked off by the GP tutor at the final tutorial.

Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise - mini-CEX (Pass/Fail)

Students will undertake six Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercises to a satisfactory standard during the semester (two each in Medicine, Surgery and General Practice). Of course, they may do more than six with their clinical teachers, but are only required to hand in six. The Exercises must take the form of an observed clinical encounter with a patient.

It will be the student’s responsibility to organize these exercises with appropriate clinical assessors, either at their clinical school or in their GP rotation. There are six copies of the form in their Learning Planner. The completed forms should be handed in to the Clinical School Office, and those exercises completed during their GP rotation should also be checked and signed off by their GP tutor.

OSCEs (Pass/Fail)

Students will be examined on 10 OSCE stations, which will be undertaken in two sequences:

a)         Five 10 minute stations conducted at a hospital other than their own clinical school.

b)         Five 10 minute stations conducted at the Medical Building at the University in Parkville (except for RCS students, who will do these in Shepparton and Ballarat)

Student Supervisor mark (Pass/Fail)

As part of the GP placement, students are expected to meet at least weekly with their GP student supervisor and monitor their progress, using the Student Supervisor Formative Assessment guidelines in the GP Supervisor handbook. At the end of the rotation, the same form will be used by the GP Supervisor to assess their performance on the GP placement.

Refer to the Student Supervisor Mark section in the GP Supervisor handbook for clear guidelines as to the criteria to be assessed.