Warwick Medical School
Encyclopedia
The school was opened in 2000 and is as part of the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...

. Originally linked with Leicester Medical School
Leicester Medical School
Leicester Medical School is a medical school in England establish in 1975.Part of the University of Leicester, the medical school offers five-year and four-year courses in medicine, awarding its graduates the MBChB degree...

, Warwick Medical School was granted independent degree-awarding status by the Privy Council on the recommendation of the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom. Warwick Medical Schoo together with Swansea Medical School are the only solely graduate-entry medical schools in the UK.

The school comprises three institutes: the Institute of Clinical Education (ICE) which co-ordinates undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, the Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI) and the Clinical Sciences Research Institute (CSRI).

History

The school was established as a collaborative venture with the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....

. Professor Ian Lauder was appointed Dean of the joint School. The first students to study at Warwick arrived in September 2000. The School had temporary headquarters on the main University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...

 campus until the Medical Teaching Centre was completed in August 2001 and was formally opened by the Secretary of State for Health in 2002. In 2003 Professor Yvonne Carter was appointed as Vice-Dean, before taking on the role of Dean of Warwick Medical School the following year. . After Professor Carter's premature death in July 2009, she was succeed as Dean by Professor Peter Winstanley (formerly University of Liverpool).

The first MBChB students graduated in 2004, the same year that the old Mathematics and Statistics building at Gibbet Hill was refurbished and renamed the Medical School Building. The Medical School Building is now home to the Dean’s Office, the Warwick Clinical Trials Unit and HSRI. The Clinical Sciences Research Institute was opened on the site of University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire in 2005, by Sir Graeme Catto, President of the General Medical Council
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...

. In 2006, the School opened a Biomedical Learning Grid for students. This study resource is equipped with up-to-date IT equipment, interactive white boards, plasma screens and PCs as well as more traditional learning materials such as reference texts and anatomical models.

Following an intensive period of assessment in 2006 by the General Medical Council
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...

, Warwick was formally recommended to receive independent degree-awarding status. This was enacted on 2 May 2007 when the Medical Act was amended by Her Majesty the Queen in the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...

. Independent degree-awarding status came into effect on 6 June 2007. MB ChB graduates in the summer of 2007 were the first to receive University of Warwick medical degrees.

Teaching

The Warwick MB ChB

Warwick offers a four-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) to graduates. Applicants must have a good (upper second and above) degree or equivalent.

The course features some early involvement with patients and developing both clinical and communication skills from the beginning. The course has two phases: Phase I lasts for 18 months and accounts for the bulk of academic learning. As well as attending lectures, students work in small learning groups, guided by clinicians or academic staff. The format of the MBChB course is currently being redeveloped.

Phase 2 is largely based around 11 clinical blocks of 8 weeks duration and a 6 week elective attachment. The majority of the clinical placements are in three hospitals; University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW), Warwick Hospital and George Eliot Hospital with some in Reditch, Rugby and Worcester. Placements are also provided in primary and community care settings, ranging from GP practices to outreach projects and mental health services in the local area.

The admissions procedure for the MBChB course begins with an application through UCAS. Prospective students must also take the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) in the year preceding their application. A proportion of applicants are invited to a selection centre which involves an interview and some team and written exercises. Successful applicants are then selected based on their performance at the selection centre. For 2008 entry over 1400 applications were received for 178 places.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
The school has more than 2,000 postgraduate taught students enrolled on CPD courses. It offers Postgraduate Awards, Postgraduate Certificates, Postgraduate Diplomas, Masters Degree, Short Courses and Undergraduate Level and Non-accredited Courses. Subject areas include Child Health, Chronic Disease Management, Dentistry, Diabetes, Public Health and Occupational Health. Warwick also offers a taught Postgraduate programme in Medical Education designed to provide health care professionals involved in the delivery of teaching and training in the health care environment with appropriate pedagogic skills.

Research Degrees
The school offers a three year full-time or five year part-time PhD or a two year full time or three year part time MPhil. Postgraduate students can also choose to study for an MSc by Research, one year full time or two years part time, or an MD (Doctor of Medicine) which is a two year full time or three year part time course of study.

All students have a team of two or more supervisors. The supervisory team will meet on a regular basis with the student to ensure adequate monitoring and supervision of the student. The School works in close collaboration with a number of departments within the University. This collaboration enables students to have supervisors from different departments with different expertise.

The Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI)

The HSRI specialises in community focused academic research with links to NHS trusts and is the co-ordinating centre for the Warwick and West Midlands Primary Care Research Network. The institute covers epidemiology, clinical trials, biostatistics, health economics, modelling, social sciences and psychology. Key research areas include are public mental health, emergency care and rehabilitation, cancer and primary care. There are also developing areas such as health care systems improvement.

Warwick Clinical Trials Unit

The unit was set up in 2005 within the HSRI. It is an academic clinical trials unit with expertise in the design and conduct of trials, particularly of complex health states and interventions. The trials unit has four major areas of work: musculoskeletal conditions including injury prevention and management; cancer; clinical trials methodology; and systematic reviews. The unit has grown dramatically since 2005 and a new Clinical Trials Building is planned for the Gibbet Hill campus. The Wolfson Foundation is supporting this new building with a £1 million grant.

The Clinical Sciences Research Institute

The institute (CSRI) has a modern, purpose-built facility on the site of the major regional University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) and was opened in 2005. It specialises in translational medicine, epidemiology and clinical effectiveness. There are 36 senior research academics based at the institute, which has equipment for molecular, cellular, proteomic, transcriptomic and functional studies. The institute’s research themes are consistent with the strategic areas of development at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.

Research areas at CSRI include Metabolic Health with an emphasis on obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...

 and diabetes, Cardiovascular Medicine and Epidemiology and Reproductive Health.

Student life

The medic community is brought together under the leadership of the University of Warwick Medical Society ('Warwick Medsoc
Medsoc
MedSocs are the students' unions for the 32 medical schools in the UK. It is their remit to look after the educational, pastoral, social and representational needs of the 7,000 medical students in the UK.- History :...

') who organise social events, Medics sports (so as not to clash with their busy timetables) and the yearly Revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...

 whose function is mainly to poke fun at the Medical School and the NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

.

In 2005 a student-led project initiated Medics Without A Paddle to write an e-book containing free revision notes for all the 70-odd pages of objectives that students were expected to cover during their phase II clinical attachments. The material is entirely produced by the student body and a qualified previous student oversees new entries. This project was conceived of to promote co-operation between students in spreading the knowledge and experiences gained from a variety of sources and as of 2008 was in use at both Warwick and Leicester
Leicester Medical School
Leicester Medical School is a medical school in England establish in 1975.Part of the University of Leicester, the medical school offers five-year and four-year courses in medicine, awarding its graduates the MBChB degree...

medical schools.
Site URL is: http://www.mwap.co.uk/

Since 2010, a group of Warwick Medical students have started a medical education magazine and website called Med Quarterly (http://www.medquarterly.co.uk/. Adam Zenker, Ferdinand Daley Morris, Evan Watts and Ben van Duren set up Med Quarterly in their spare time to create a free teaching resource for medical students and junior doctors across the country.
There are a number of other Warwick Medical School societies such as:
  • Friends of MSF
  • KOP Warwick
  • Marrow
  • STEP (Society for Trauma, Emergencies and Pre-Hospital Care)
  • Warwick BLS


Warwick Medical Students have also been published in national, peer-reviewed journals and have given national presentations on various topics.
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