Transition to Practice (MEDS90025)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 43.75On Campus (Parkville)
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 (Extended) |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
Transition to Practice is the clinical capstone subject for the Doctor of Medicine. The overall aim is to draw together students’ learning in the context of contemporary health care delivery from their experiences across the course and prepare students for the next phases of their medical training (prevocational and vocational). Students are expected to actively participate and engage in the different learning activities and to be an active, contributing member of the healthcare team they are placed with.
Transition to Practice is a full-time clinical placement subject that will be delivered in four 4-week clinical placements with embedded additional teaching and learning activities. Students will achieve pre-intern competencies by being fully immersed in the clinical environment and demonstrating these competencies on placement. Teaching and learning activities will connect students’ prior learning throughout the MD program to the delivery of safe and effective practice. Teaching activities will include a variety of approaches including simulation, small group tutorials, online learning and practical sessions.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject, students should be able to:
As a Scientist and Scholar:
- Theme: Clinician Scientist (Knowledge). Apply biomedical sciences knowledge to explain the underlying mechanisms of patient presentation, response to care, and rationale for initial and ongoing management.
- Theme: Clinician Scientist (Skills). Propose a scientifically supported rationale for the entire patient course, including presentation, differential diagnosis, illness trajectory, initial and ongoing management and response to care across the age spectrum.
- Theme: Clinician Researcher (Skills) Apply the key principles of evidence-based medicine to clinical judgements and collaborative decision making, recognising the individual patient and the heath system and community context.
As a Medical Practitioner:
- Theme: Partnership with Patient (Knowledge). Appraise the elements required to establish ongoing therapeutic relationships with patients and their families and carers, that encompass shared decision-making and tailoring of treatment goals and management plans to their individual preferences and circumstances.
- Theme: Partnership with Patient (Skills). Demonstrate skilful interactions with patients, their families and carers, to establish ongoing therapeutic relationships, creating tailored mutually acceptable treatment goals and management plans being mindful of the patient's individual rights, circumstances and preferences in all health contexts.
- Theme: Patient Assessment (Knowledge). Construct tailored initial and ongoing patient focused assessments, including investigations, in all health contexts integrating knowledge of patient focused care, illness trajectories, biomedical sciences, and determinants of health.
- Theme: Patient Assessment (Skills). Select and perform appropriate and accurate initial and ongoing patient focused assessments, including gathering of information from relevant sources and demonstrating adaptations for differing physiological, psychosocial, cultural contexts and illness trajectories.
- Theme: Clinical Reasoning (Knowledge). Use clinical reasoning to develop approaches to synthesise information from initial and ongoing clinical assessment findings, population level data and patient context to formulate the differential diagnoses and inform the management plan for patients across the age spectrum.
- Theme: Clinical Reasoning (Skills). Synthesise information obtained from initial and ongoing clinical assessment findings, collateral information and investigations, best medical evidence, population level data and patient contexts, to construct and refine a coherent differential diagnosis and inform the management plan for the individual.
- Theme: Patient Management (Knowledge). Appraise the key principles of initial and ongoing management of common and serious conditions and presentations across the age spectrum including health maintenance, health promotion and disease prevention, management and advance care plans
- Theme: Patient Management (Skills). Implement initial tailored management plans based on patient assessment findings, revising these plans for ongoing management through the monitoring of patient responses, in all healthcare contexts with consideration of collaborative care and ensuring patient safety, confidentiality, and privacy.
As a Health Advocate:
- Theme: Determinants of Health (Knowledge). Evaluate how diverse global, systemic, social and individual factors contribute to health status and health inequities within patient populations.
- Theme: Determinants of Health (Skills). Advocate for better local and global health outcomes with individual patients, or patient groups, by application of the principles of equity, diversity and sustainability within their health experiences.
- Theme: First Nations Health (Knowledge). Critically analyse the Australian healthcare system's (including health care services, organisations, governing and accreditation bodies) impact on First Nations peoples' clinical presentations, service delivery and health advancement, and develop strategies for addressing inequities at a systemic level.
- Theme: First Nations Health (Skills). Apply nuanced understanding of cultural safety and develop strategies for addressing inequities at individual through to systemic levels.
- Theme: Health Care System (Knowledge). Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the coordination and continuity of care that contribute to a culture of safety and improvement in the Australian health care system.
- Theme: Health Care System (Skills). Employ a structured approach to improving key elements of patient safety by actively engaging in, complying with and contributing to system improvement activities within hospital and community settings.
As a Professional and Leader:
- Theme: Professional Practitioner (Knowledge). Apply the core ethical, moral and medicolegal principles and processes for professional scenarios and experiences, and critically appraise factors such as personal behaviours, interactions with others, systems and practices that impact on outcomes for self, patients and colleagues.
- Theme: Professional Practitioner (Skills). Consistently display professional behaviour encompassing reliability, appropriate interactions with others, willingness to accept and respond to feedback, and personal behaviours in line with relevant codes of conduct and scope of practice.
- Theme: Collaborative Practitioner (Knowledge). Appraise the leadership and teamwork principles that support collaborative intra- and interprofessional practice, recognising the unique contributions of other health care professionals to improve patient and population health outcomes.
- Theme: Collaborative Practitioner (Skills). Participate effectively and respectfully as a leader and/or member of intra- and interprofessional healthcare and learning teams to contribute to better patient outcomes whilst sharing their learning with their peers and colleagues from all professions and disciplines.
- Theme: Reflective Practitioner (Knowledge). Articulate the principles and value of reflective practice for clinical practice and professional development, being aware of one's capabilities and how to seek further advice, for performance improvement.
- Theme: Reflective Practitioner (Skills). Demonstrate engagement in feedback, assessment and continuing professional development opportunities to generate learning plans and continually improve knowledge, skills and attitudes recognising one's own limits and when to seek further advice.
Generic skills
- Highly developed cognitive, analytic and problem-solving skills
- Capacity for independent critical thought, rational inquiry and self-directed learning
- Ability and self-confidence to comprehend complex concepts to express them lucidly, whether orally or in writing, and to confront unfamiliar problems
- Leadership capacity, including a willingness to engage in constructive public discourse, to accept social and civic responsibilities
- Ability and confidence to participate effectively in collaborative learning as a team-member, while respecting individual differences
- Ability to plan work and to use time effectively
Last updated: 21 March 2025
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
MEDS90042 | MD Discovery 4: Clinical Scholar | February (On Campus - Parkville) |
50 |
OR
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
MEDS90044 | MD Discovery 4: Research Scholar | Semester 1 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville) |
50 |
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 21 March 2025
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Workplace based assessments (WBA) - skill-based and global perception (supervisor reports)
| Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Procedural Skills
| Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Prescribing Skills Assessment
| Early mid-semester | N/A |
Progress Test (optional formative assessment)
| Early in the teaching period | 0% |
Reflective pieces (2 x 1000 words each)
| Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Applied Clinical Knowledge Test (2 x 2 hour papers)
| Mid semester | N/A |
Situational Judgement Test
| Mid semester | N/A |
Professional Behaviour Hurdle requirement: Satisfactory standing in professional behaviour, as demonstrated by attendance and participation in learning activities and clinical placements, Situational Judgement Test, Academic Integrity Quiz and observed professional behaviour. | Thoughout the teaching and assessment period | N/A |
Last updated: 21 March 2025
Dates & times
- Semester 2 (Extended)
Principal coordinator Louisa Ng Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Students will undertake a 4 week structured coursework program of 110 hours with a simulation centre program of an additional 8 hours. Students will also spend 8 weeks rehearsing the intern role they will be performing the following year, and 4 weeks in a supervised role with a medical practitioner or clinical team in the discipline of their choice. Total time commitment 595 hours Teaching period 30 June 2025 to 31 October 2025 Last self-enrol date 11 July 2025 Census date 1 September 2025 Last date to withdraw without fail 26 September 2025 Assessment period ends 21 November 2025 Semester 2 (Extended) contact information
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: 21 March 2025
Further information
- Texts
- Related Handbook entries
Last updated: 21 March 2025