Suggestions for Agenda Student Selected Components (SSCs) in Scottish Medical Curricula Ninewells Hospital, Dundee 27th April 2007
1. Terminologies – SSCs; SSMs; ‘options’ [SR - perhaps these need to be just briefly clarified / defined] 2. Learning outcomes - Consensus and differences? Discuss reaching a consensus on what we are consistently trying to do across our programmes e.g. (a) research skills eg critical appraisal, data handling and statistics, informatics; (b) professional skills including teamworking, communication, with (c) personal development including career awareness. Differences – use of clinical attachments for clinical skills development? SSC projects may be staff driven vs onus on student (‘elective’ vs ‘option’?). By altering the onus of responsibility, how does this alter personal development gains? 3. Assessment methods More challenging to assess wide range of professional skills and personal development, rather than core knowledge or clearly defined clinical competencies. What systems are we using for appraising reflective diaries’, teamworking; Peer appraisal – have we measures of validity/robustness? 4. Ethical assessment arrangements what and how are we doing for student ‘educational research’ ethical assessments of SSC projects 5. Using the Scottish Doctor website? Use it for providing information on our own schemes; consensus/differences on learning outcomes; contact details; other items? 6. Sharing SSCs between our institutions? Dundee and Glasgow permit students to do SSCs at other institutions, with a supervisor at the host, but examined at home; Edinburgh very occasionally permits a ‘collaborative’ project but this needs the agreement of a home supervisor and it must be a project requirement. What are the benefits/disadvantages? Is it possible to more formally offer sharing of SSCs?– timetabling would seem to be a major issue? 12 Tips for Organising a Student Selected Component (SSC) programme – for the Scottish Doctor website and as a manuscript for ‘Medical Teacher’ Bring together a working draft 7.