Queen's Belfast undergraduate
Family Attachment Scheme
The Family Attachment Scheme commences at the very start of the medical
curriculum and as such does not assume any extraordinary knowledge or skills
other than those which are normally required of students before entry to the
medical school. The ethos of the course is to encourage students to learn by
doing, to enhance their powers of observation and to develop appropriate
communication skills.
Aims
In the context of the family attachment scheme the student will:
 | Observe at first hand the processes of family life and health care; |
| Begin to gain an understanding of human relationships; |
| Begin to acquire and develop good communication skills; |
| Appreciate the importance of good communication with both patients and
their relatives and with other professionals involved in their care; |
| Become aware of the organisation of the provision of, and health care in,
the community; |
| Become aware of the importance of Health Promotion in the community. |
| become aware of the ethical responsibilities involved in patient care;
|
| Begin to understand the interactions between patient, illness, social and
physical environment. |
Objectives
In relation to the specific circumstances of the family visited, the student
will be able to: -
| Describe the cultural and social environment of the families/households
visited; |
| Describe how social class, accommodation, neighbourhood, schooling, work,
and leisure pursuits inter-relate with illness and disease; |
| Construct a family tree using this to describe the household and the
broader family structure; |
| Describe the sources of social support; |
| List the family's recent and continuing illness events; |
| Describe how the family has dealt with these illness events including
occupancy of the sick role; |
| Describe the definition of illness from the standpoint of the family and
the professional; |
| List the medical and social resources available in the community; |
| Evaluate the extent to which family/household health care needs have been
met by available resources; |
| Identify why needs remain unmet; |
| Discuss how community efforts to prevent disease and promote health
impinge on the family; |
| Discuss the specific family visited in relation to the known demography,
epidemiology and psychosocial factors of illness and disease; |
| Discuss the potential impact of the student's presence on the family; |
| Discuss the difficulties and satisfactions encountered in the interaction
with the family; |
Fourth Year Course in Primary Health Care
General Statement of Aims
The overall aim of the Fourth Year course is to help you to
become a better doctor irrespective of your current career preference or
eventual career choice and specifically to assist students to recognise, adopt
and develop those clinical skills and values that are fundamental to the
practice of good caring medicine whatever the clinical setting. The purpose of
this Study Guide is to help you to gain maximum benefit from your time with us
in General Practice.
Before commencing this attachment you will have completed
at least three years of your course and will already have acquired a
considerable knowledge base, and skills and attitudes.
There are a number of areas in which we would expect you to
be competent prior to this attachment.
Pre-requisite Objectives
-
To take a relevant history from an individual using
appropriate questions and responses covering the following systems -
cardiovascular, respiratory, gastro-intestinal, genito-urinary medicine,
central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, musculoskeletal system and
skin. This would include the use of a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer.
-
To assess a patient by examining competently the
following systems - cardiovascular, respiratory, genito-urinary, central and
peripheral nervous system, musculoskeletal and skin.
-
To be able to take a midstream specimen of urine and be
able to test for and recognise abnormalities using a dip stick.
-
To recognise the normal ear, nose and throat and
distinguish a range of common conditions by history taking and examination
including the use of an auriscope.
-
To recognise the normal aspect of the eye and distinguish
a range of common conditions by history taking and examination including the
competent use of an ophthalmoscope.
-
To define a list of common gynaecological terminology and
to identify by history taking and relevant examination common gynaecological
conditions and to be able to suggest specific management options.
-
To identify children with a range of common paediatric
conditions. To state the various developmental milestones.
-
To understand the pharmacology and therapeutic uses of
commonly used drugs and be aware of the particular precautions with regard to
prescribing in young children, the elderly and those with liver and renal
disease.
Overall Course Objectives
Demonstrate the particular skills and methods required to
make a primary diagnosis and develop a plan of management appropriate for that
patient.
In particular you should be able to demonstrate the ability
to:
-
Identify a patient’s reasons for consultation and elicit
the main problems and/or key complaints.
-
Elicit relevant information from a patient, by relating
effectively to the patient and asking appropriate questions in a
discriminating way.
-
Determine the impact of a patient’s problems/complaints
on lifestyle and interpersonal relationships.
-
Define the likely underlying causes of common presenting
symptoms.
-
Exhibit a well organised approach to information
gathering.
-
Be able to do an appropriate physical examination to help
confirm or refute a working diagnosis.
-
Formulate management plans appropriate to the findings
and circumstances for acute and chronic conditions commonly encountered.
-
Identify opportunities for preventative clinical medicine
and health education in the primary care setting.
-
To outline the Primary Health Care team and the role of
each individual member.
-
To identify the communication network within this team,
between the team and the hospital and also the link with other community
health and social services.
-
Distinguish between good and bad medical records and to
understand Age/Sex registers and be able to describe their use in
epidemiology.
-
State the role of microcomputers in general practice with
particular reference to recording of clinical data, preventative medicine,
call and recall systems, practice administration and prescribing, including
repeat prescribing systems.
-
Critically appraise a scientific paper.
-
Understand Medical Audit and its application.
-
Excise an ellipse of skin and suture edges.
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