PAPER 13/PC/35
MBChB YEAR 3 REPORT APRIL 2014
1/ STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC YEAR
Year 3 consists of module based teaching in Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Gastroenterology and
Locomotor. Each module has bedside, ward based teaching supported by a lecture programme,
taught over a 7 week period, and includes an end of module assessment (formative). New for 201314 is that the end of Module exams (summative) are held twice a year, rather than at the end of each
module.
The Year 3 Synoptic exam covers content of all four modules and includes communication skills,
resuscitation, practical skills and programme themes. The exam is in 2 parts including an on line SBA
exam + 8 OSCE stations.
Programme theme teaching is taught in 2 one week blocks during the year.
2/ STUDENT NUMBERS & RELATED ISSUES
There are currently 264 students in Year 3 (263 in 2012-13). Students enter Year 3 from a number of
different routes including: - Directly from Year 2 (53%), Intercalating students (39%), Transfer
students (8%), and a few students repeat Year 3 after successful appeal against exclusion.
Transfer student programme has evolved over the years and now includes a language test in view of
communication issues picked up by tutors early in the module teaching. There were 36 transfer
students 2013-14.
Student numbers are currently static after an increase in student numbers in 2011/12. Further
increases in student numbers would need to be supported by an increase in tutors as the quality of
bedside teaching cannot be maintained above bedside groups of greater than 6.
3/ QUALITY OF TEACHING

standard appendix 1 - (compiled by K Wylde)
4/ QUALITY OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE

standard appendix 2 - (compiled by N McCormick)
5/ QUALITY OF ASSESSMENT in-course & end-of-course
6/ TEACHING INNOVATIONS
1. Question writing days
Years 3 held 2 question-writing days in May and June 2013, in order to increase our question bank.
We developed formative MCQ questions with extended answers for the pilot formative exam run in
2013/14, and replaced poor performing questions in each module.
2. Formative MCQ pilot for Year 2013/14
We discussed this new innovation to improve student feedback at the year 3 meeting in March 2013.
There was general agreement that such a development would help to address some of the issues
relating to student feedback. A pilot was agreed for each module, with extended answers, and we
enlisted the help of James Teirnan, one of the Teaching fellows, to co-ordinate the project.
Question writing sessions to develop formative questions were held in May/June over a 2 day period
for all modules. These were co-ordinated by Prof Cameron & Dr Rodgers and were very successful.
We were able to develop a 10 question formative exam in all modules, which has run this academic
year.
Dr Rodgers met with the Year student reps following introduction of the new formative exams. The
new exams were well received by year 3 students, and most students took the new exams (which are
currently not compulsory). The only student criticism was the lack of information about this new
innovation at the start of the academic year, which was because of the short time scales involved in
introduction and change in staff at the end of academic year 2012-13.
It is hoped that formative exams will be compulsory in 2014-15. Certainly the uptake of these exams
has been good.
3. MCQ Changes Year 2013/14
We have started to move to SBA exams from a mixture of both T/F and SBA papers. At the moment
we are in a transition year, but hope to move to SBA for all modules in 2014-15.
4. Feedback development Year 3 Synoptic assessment
The Year 3 OSCE ran over 2 days (2012-13) and has expanded to run over 3 day (2013-14), and
involves more than 120 examiners. The exam consists of 8 stations and in 2011-12 we released the
individual scores for each station to all students following the OSCE/OSCA exam, in order to improve
student feedback. In the past we had only been able to provide this for failing students due to
logistics
Delivering innovative personalised feedback for large multi-station practical assessments –
Grant awarded PTAS June 2013
In 2012-13 we gave extended feedback to all students at the end of year synoptic assessment. This
involved scanning written feedback at each station. This is part of a pilot for which we were awarded
a grant from the Edinburgh University Principals Teaching Award Scheme in June 2013.
7/ STRUCTURAL CHANGE
5. Changes to exam scheduling 2013-14
We have changed end of module summative exams to twice yearly. This does not appear to have
altered our ability to pick up failing students.
6. TRAK
Implementation has been extremely slow despite our best efforts. This was due to be implemented in
2012-13, but was not achieved until beginning of this academic year. There have been no issues of
inappropriate use of TRAK by students to date.
8/ REGULATORY CHANGE
Assessment panel reports
Formal assessment panels have been running in line with exam boards 2013-14.
Assessment panel reports have been added as a standard item to the Year 3 Exam Board.
9/ FUTURE CHALLENGES
1. Module Organisers Year 3
Year 3 has had the challenge of vacant Module organiser posts and changing module organiser posts
over the last 2 years. In academic Year 2012-13 he had a gap with no GI module organiser for the
whole year. In Locomotor, secure arrangements to cover a sabbatical were not made for 2013-14
initially; with the Clinical fellow Locomotor funding was also in doubt Dec 2013. The Respiratory MO
changed in the middle of academic year 2013-14.
This lack of continuity across 3 out of the 4 MOs has been a challenge for Year 3 in terms of
development of new exams and standard setting of existing exams for the academic year 2013-14.
Despite this we have been able to develop formative exam, some new questions for the synoptic
OSCE exam in all modules, and have a more robust standard setting procedure 2013-14.
Year 3 needs adequately time funded senior posts (Year Director and Deputy Director Posts) and
Module Organiser posts in order to develop and implement robust assessments in Year 3. A further
meeting with Prof Turner and Simon Edgar is planned in the near future to discuss development of
Clinical Fellows for all modules.
2. Funding of teaching PAs in new and existing job plans
This has been identified as an issue in Respiratory, following 2 consultant retirements in March 2013
and October 2013. Respiratory job plan have been changed from 12 PA to 9+1 and no longer
includes the 1 PA of teaching. After negotiations with Medical Director the 2 new posts had 0.5 PA for
teaching included in their job plans (Replacement job plans as 8.5+0.5 teaching (SPA+1).
Hopefully e- job planning will give more clarity to this process in the future, but it is important that
teaching is not eroded in job plans for consultant replacement posts.
3. Question bank
Year 3 has put a lot of work into developing new questions in the last 12 months, including learning
outcomes and standards for individual questions. However, although new questions have been
tagged and standard set, there is no way pulling individual tagged questions for an exam from a
question bank.
4. Programme Theme Teaching weeks
Attendance has been an on-going problem over a number of years. This year, we looked at
improving the information given to students about sessions, but attendance has still been a challenge.
The Year 3 committee discussed this issue and feel that an academic should take over the running of
this programme.
Helen Rodgers
April 2014