Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE MDS3012

 
TITLE Medicine 1 (Cardiovascular and Respiratory)

 
UM LEVEL 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 6

 
ECTS CREDITS 8

 
DEPARTMENT Faculty of Medicine and Surgery

 
DESCRIPTION The study-unit addresses basic clinical cardiology, and respiratory medicine integrated with pathological and therapeutic correlates and is aimed at medical students in their early phase of clinical training.

The detailed lecture programme of the specialties in this teaching programme had its annual review and update in April 2011.

Study-unit Aims:

1. To introduce clinical cardiology and respiratory medicine to students who would have already acquired proficiency in clinical anatomy, clinical physiology and general pathology;
2. To present an integrated approach involving the practice of clinical cardiology and respiratory medicine pathology and clinical pharmacology as a mirror of actual day-to-day clinical practice;
3. To provide guidance for the acquisition of knowledge and its application;
4. To provide an order of priority and a theoretical complement to the acquisition of clinical skills;
5. To introduce clinical pharmacology and therapeutics;
6. To provide a sound understanding of the principles underlying the actions and uses of the various classes of drugs in the clinical setting in relation to cardiovascular and respiratory conditions;
7. To use formal lectures and tutorials to enhance case based learning and to provide an understanding of drug safety in relation to cardiovascular and respiratory conditions;
8. To provide details on the mode of action and clinical use of various classes of drugs specifically antimicrobial drugs in relation to cardiovascular and respiratory medicine conditions;
9. To explain the clinical use of drugs used in cardiovascular and respiratory conditions.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. apply scientifically reliable evidence to clinical practice;
2. access information sources and carry out an appropriate literature search;
3. critically appraise published medical literature;
4. use information technology including hospital based electronic sources such as iSoft, PACS and census databases;
5. recognise the importance of understanding the mode of action and clinical use of drugs in relation to cardiovascular and respiratory conditions;
6. list the clinical principles involved in the selection of these classes of drugs to the individual patient in relation to cardiovascular and respiratory conditions;
7. predict the effects of these classes of drugs in specific patients in relation to cardiovascular and respiratory conditions;
8. outline the concept of individualised drug therapy in use of these classes of drugs in relation to cardiovascular and respiratory conditions;
9. describe the aetiology, risk factors, pathogenesis and morphology of ischaemic heart disease and morphology of pulmonary infections, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis and lung and pleural malignancy and renal diseases;
10. outline the clinical consequences and complications of ischaemic heart disease, pulmonary infections, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis and malignancy and renal diseases;
11. describe the types of laboratory tests available for clinical diagnosis of heart disease, hypertension and respiratory diseases.

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. carry out a basic consultation with a patient;
2. seek appropriate additional information and advice, to arrive at a working diagnosis;
3. devise and discuss the rationale and practicalities of a basic management plan;
4. discuss the theoretical aspects of diagnosis, possible complications and management options;
5. show an understanding of the knowledge of the mode of action of drugs to specific clinical scenarios in the use of specific classes of drugs specifically antimicrobial drugs and drugs used in cardiovascular and respiratory conditions;
6. explain the selection of differing drug therapies in these drug classes for the individual patient in relation to cardiovascular and respiratory conditions;
7. interpret common symptoms and signs in terms of possible underlying pathology in ischaemic heart disease and in pulmonary infections, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, lung and pleural malignancy and outline a differential diagnosis;
8. correlate the use of simple diagnostic laboratory tests with clinical and morphological features of disease;
9. choose the appropriate laboratory tests to confirm diagnosis and interpret the result;
10. choose the appropriate management for haematological diseases;
11. choose the best antibiotic therapy for microbiological infections.

It is expected that the student will have the following specific clinical competences:

1. Communicate with a patient by taking a focused and structured medical history;
2. Carry out a basic physical examination;
3. Assess a patient’s mental status;
4. Match appropriate drugs to a specific clinical context;
5. Communicate with colleagues in a medical context;
6. Assess psychological and social factors and the impact of illness.

More specific details of learning outcomes are found in the proforma logbook of the Department of Medicine.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Textbooks as suggested for the whole three-year teaching programme in medicine:

1. Clinical Medicine. Parveen Kumar & Michael Clark, Saunders, 8th Edition, 2012.
2. Macleod's Clinical Examination. Graham Douglas, Fiona Nicol, Colin Robertson. Churchill Livingstone. 12th Edition, 2009.
3. Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine. Murray Longmore, Ian Wilkinson, Edward Davidson, Alexander Foulkes, OUP. 8th Edition, 2010.

Pathology Text Books as suggested for All Pathology teaching Year 1-5.

Recommended

Systematic Pathology (and Haematology)

1. General and Systematic Pathology, P Bass, S Burroughs, N Carr, C Way, 3erd Ed, Master Medicine, ISBN-10: 0080451292, ISBN-13: 978-0080451299, Churchill Livingstone, 2008.

Microbiology

1. Clinical Oriented Cases in Microbiology, Hilary Humphreys & William Irving, 2nd Ed, ISBN 0198515855, Oxford University Press, 2004.
and
2.Basic Concepts of Infection Control
www.theific.org.

Alternative texts

1. Robbins Basic Pathology, V Kumar, A K Abbas, N Fausto, JC Aster, 9eth Edition ISBN-10: 1437717810, ISBN-13: 978-1437717815, Saunders, 2012.

Additional Resources:

1. Pathology Illustrated, R Reid, F Roberts, E MacDuff, 7eth Edition, ISBN-10: 0702033766, ISBN-13: 978-0702033766, Churchill Livingstone, 2011.

Online resources

1. http://emedicine.medscape.com/
2. http://www.medicalstudent.com/ http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/webpath.html

Recommended List of Clinical Pharmacology text books

1. Humphrey P. Rang HP, Dale MM, Ritter JM, Flower R. Rang & Dale's Pharmacology. Churchill Livingstone. 6th Ed.
2. Grahame-Smith D, Aronson J. Oxford Textbook of Clinical Pharmacology and Drug Therapy. Oxford University Press. 3rd Ed.
3. Bennett PN, Brown MJ. Clinical Pharmacology. Churchill Livingstone. 10th Ed.
4. British National Formulary. Pharmaceutical Press.

Reference/Additional

1. Brunton L, Lazo J, Parker K. Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. McGraw-Hill Medical. 11th Ed.
2. Waller DG, Renwick AG, Hillier K. Medical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Saunders. 3rd Ed.

Lecture notes

1. Reid JL, Rubin PC, Walters MW. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (Lecture Notes). Blackwell. 7th Ed.
2. Neal MJ. Medical Pharmacology at a Glance. Wiley-Blackwell. 6th Ed.

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES Teaching Methods:

1. Classroom-based integrated teaching sessions aimed at imparting basic principles of clinical cardiology and respiratory in the context of general medicine. Whenever possible the sessions will be multidisciplinary and which form a theoretical underpinning for the acquisition of basic clinical skills. The programme of lecture/seminars is designed to address common clinical problems, disease processes and priorities in management. The lecture programme is not designed to be comprehensive but teaching sessions are structured as a basis and impetus for further study using up-to-date web-based information while encouraging clinical correlates observed in an actual teaching hospital setting.

2. Tutorials: aimed as acquisition of basic clinical, communication and examination skills using real patients and a simulator. The programme leads students along the small-group, interactive and hands-on teaching.

3. Clinical attachments: specific consultant physicians.

4. The Department of Medicine has a proforma electronic logbook that spans the last three years of the course of studies. The logbook, driven by learning objectives and expected competences.

Assessment:

General Aim: A test of both presence of knowledge and its practical application.

One two-hour paper with the objective: to assess the ability to think critically about diagnosis, pathology and management, including pharmacological aspects and to ensure that the candidate has a satisfactory base of factual knowledge. This will include 15 stem questions with 5 MCQs each which carry 30% weighting of the overall mark and 5 SAQs which carry 70% weighting of the overall mark.

The examiners shall determine and document the correct answers to both sections at the time that the papers are set. Any multiple-choice questions shall be marked on the ‘negative-marking’ principle, awarding one mark for every correct answer and deducting one mark for every incorrect answer.

The clinical skills in Medicine and Surgery are assessed through a separate study-unit, entitled Integrated Clinical Skills.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Independent Study

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
MCQ and Written Examination (2 Hours) SEM1 Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Martin Balzan
Brendan Caruana Montaldo
Cynthia Farrugia Jones
Manuel Fenech
Peter Fsadni
Caroline Gouder
Reuben Grech
Caroline Jane Magri
Gatt Kurt Magri
Matthew Mercieca
Josef Micallef
Stephen Montefort
Mark Adrian Sammut
Myra Kay Tilney
Robert George Xuereb

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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