MD Discovery 1: Foundation (MEDS90039)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
Contact information
February
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March
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April
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Overview
| Availability | February March April April April |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
This subject is the first in a series of four MD Discovery subjects embedded within the Doctor of Medicine course. Students will engage in 87.5 credit points of discovery-based learning in areas of interest across their course. Discovery learning allows medical students to engage in flexible, personalised and increasingly complex situational learning as they progress, providing opportunities to reflect on the professional practice of medicine in a variety of contexts and settings.
Every medical practitioner has areas in which they have a particular interest, both within medicine and more broadly. Discovery learning allows medical students to explore in greater depth an area of interest within which they would like to develop expertise, enhancing their professional practice and life experience.
Discovery learning in the first year of the Doctor of Medicine provides students with opportunities to engage with and explore their chosen area of interest at a foundational level. Learning Advisors support students in selecting their discovery pathway from a curated range of options, including complete subjects that may be substituted as well as smaller modules. The Learning Advisors will also ensure that any option or combination will meet the subject learning outcomes. Each of the options will also align with the overarching Doctor of Medicine Course Intended Learning Outcomes and are designed to enhance the student’s personal and professional growth. Students with limited prior learning in the enabling biosciences will be encouraged to choose options that address these areas, based on a learning needs analysis, although their choices will remain broad.
This subject, “MD Discovery 1: Foundation” may be taken as a stand-alone learning experience or as part of a vertical thread throughout the course.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject, students should:
As a Scientist and Scholar:
- Develop a critical understanding of the relevant theory and knowledge that underpin the nominated area of interest.
As a Medical Practitioner:
- Relate their chosen topics to the medical practitioner's role, including patient assessment, clinical reasoning and partnership with patients.
As a Health Advocate:
- Draw on their learning to reflect on the role of the of the medical practitioner as a health advocate.
As a Professional and Leader:
- Effectively communicate the relationship between Discovery learning and future professional practice.
Generic skills
Students completing MD Discovery subjects will display skills in:
- Choosing educational pathways that best prepare them for professional practice
- Analysing the content of a wide variety of educational options and integrating it to their professional development
- Managing their time and clinical responsibilities in order to meet the requirements of these subjects
- Understanding health as broader concept beyond the individual clinical interaction, including, community, national and global aspects.
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Corequisites
Non-allowed subjects
Recommended background knowledge
Course advice about Discovery subject selection will be based on students’ past experiences and knowledge.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
Please see the Doctor of Medicine (MD) core participation requirements.
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Oral presentation or equivalent (10 minutes by individual, 15 minutes by pair or 20 mins by three-person group)
| First half of the teaching period | N/A |
Written assignment/s or equivalent (max 3000 words equivalent)
| Second half of the teaching period | N/A |
ePortfolio reflective piece
| During the assessment period | N/A |
Professional behaviour Hurdle requirement: Must maintain a satisfactory standard in professional behaviour, as demonstrated by observed Professional Behaviour Assessment. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Attendance Hurdle requirement: 100% attendance at any synchronous or face to face teaching sessions, clinical placements and supervisor meetings or similar. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Dates & times
- February
Principal coordinator Cate Scarff Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours This availability relates to the 'Foundations of Point of Care Ultrasound' topic Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 24 February 2025 to 30 May 2025 Last self-enrol date 12 March 2025 Census date 31 March 2025 Last date to withdraw without fail 2 May 2025 Assessment period ends 6 June 2025 February contact information
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- March
Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours This availability relates to the Space Health and Translational Clinical Medicine topics Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 3 March 2025 to 10 October 2025 Last self-enrol date 16 April 2025 Census date 2 May 2025 Last date to withdraw without fail 1 August 2025 Assessment period ends 17 October 2025 March contact information
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- April
Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours This availability relates to the Death and Dying, Sexual Health and Discover Cancer topics Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 28 April 2025 to 15 August 2025 Last self-enrol date 20 May 2025 Census date 23 May 2025 Last date to withdraw without fail 11 July 2025 Assessment period ends 22 August 2025 April contact information
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- April
Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours This availability relates to the Medical Education topic Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 28 April 2025 to 22 August 2025 Last self-enrol date 21 May 2025 Census date 23 May 2025 Last date to withdraw without fail 18 July 2025 Assessment period ends 29 August 2025 - April
Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours This availability relates to the Rural Health topic Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 28 April 2025 to 10 October 2025 Last self-enrol date 30 May 2025 Census date 6 June 2025 Last date to withdraw without fail 15 August 2025 Assessment period ends 17 October 2025
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Further information
- Texts
Last updated: 4 March 2025