University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2022/23 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Arts > Department of Philosophy > Medical Humanities (BA) > Specification
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Programme code | 1PHIL011U |
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Programme type | Single Honours |
Programme director(s) |
John Lee
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Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
School/department | Department of Philosophy |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 1 years (full time) |
This section sets out why studying this programme is important, both in terms of inspiring you as an individual and in considering the challenges we face. It describes how this degree programme contributes to:
This programme aims to develop the student's interest in, and knowledge and understanding of, the contribution of humanities to the accomplished practice of medicine and medical research. Grounded in the disciplines of English Literature and Philosophy, the curriculum aims to show how the humanities can illuminate the context in which medicine and medical research is practiced. It aims to impart some of the knowledge and skills of literary and philosophical analysis and apply these to a broadened conceptualisation of the suffering individual, their medical care and carers, and the historical and epistemological basis on which that care is delivered. In addition to two core units specifically related to the medical humanities, students do a more general unit in each discipline. This gives them ample opportunity to learn from and with fellow students in the Arts Faculty. In a dissertation unit they will be required to explore a particular aspect of the medical humanities theme and demonstrate advanced research and writing skills. The programme seeks to fulfill the General Medical Council's recommendations for a curriculum that is "intellectually challenging", with time for "reflection and personal growth" leading to an "understanding of the social and cultural environment in which medicine is practiced" and an ability to "critically evaluate evidence". The global aim is to produce better doctors - emotionally and cognitively intelligent, culturally aware and philosophically enquiring.
The learning outcome statements shown below for your programme have been developed with reference to relevant national subject benchmarks (where they exist), national qualification descriptors (see the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) and professional body requirements.
Teaching, learning and assessment strategies are listed to show how you will be able to achieve and demonstrate the learning outcomes.
This programme provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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All five taught units (two of which students must choose between) require students to read selected material in advance of contact with academic staff. The type and quantity of reading material will be compared across units to ensure reading demands are realistic. Given that intercalating students are entering units mainly at Level H, preparatory reading and seminars will be provided in both literature and philosophy. The emphasis will be on independent study and study skills will be fostered. Formal teaching will mainly occur in seminars of between one and two hours duration. Additionally in some units (e.g. Philosophy of Medicine and Critical Practice) there will be a course of lectures. For the dissertation unit there will be three hours of supervisory input over the course of the study period. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
Formative assessment will include, in some units, presentations to the group or essays. Summative assessment is typically by essay (or dissertation) though in the case of the Philosophy Core is by "open book" examination. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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The development of these intellectual skills underpins all seminar work within the programme. Students will get the opportunity to express ideas, learn from other students (including those doing Arts degrees) and model the intellectual capacities of their tutors. Medical students will be expected to operate on the same intellectual level as their Arts contemporaries. In the dissertation unit they will work independently under the guidance of an experienced supervisor. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
During seminars and tutorials students will be expected to demonstrate skills of critical reasoning. In essays and the dissertation, students' capacity to demonstrate the access and interpret a range of sources, critically evaluate material and present a logical argument will be assessed. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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As much as possible within the core units and dissertation unit, students will be asked to reflect on the implications of their learning on the programme for their future clinical careers. To enhance this aspect of the programme we will introduce what we term a "vocational studies group". This group's activities exist outside the formal structure of the programme – there is no "teaching", no required reading and no assessment. The purpose of the group is to a) support students in relation to the main units and help them "own" and integrate their learning b) help forge links between the medical humanities and clinical medicine and c) provide a safe forum for students' personal and artistic development. In seeking to create reflective learners (and future reflective practitioners) students will be encouraged to keep learning journals. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
Presentations will form part of their formative assessment throughout the programme . In their written assessments, and particularly in their dissertation, the links between the medical humanities and clinical medicine may be articulated. |
This section describes what is expected from you at each level of your programme. This illustrates increasing intellectual standards as you progress through the programme. These levels are mapped against the national level descriptors published by the Quality Assurance Agency.
Level H/6 - Honours |
These students will be intercalating usually between years two and three of the MB ChB programme. They will bring with them knowledge of the humanities drawn from units studied during the first and second year. The BA in Medical Humanities programme will build on these foundations. Students will progress from studying one unit in TB1 at level I [either Critical Issues or Critical Practice] to studying units in the remainder of the programme that are set at level H. There will some introductory seminars in philosophy before the start of TB1. Students will be able, at the end of this year, to critically appraise literature using a range of theoretical perspectives, understand philosophical argument (from original texts) and craft their own reasoned responses to these works, expressing these elegantly and coherently in writing. They will be capable of learning independently and researching competently in the humanities field. They should, in general, be able to reflect broadly on the medical predicaments of the individual and critically on the accepted orthodoxies of medical research and practice. |
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For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the undergraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
UG Workload Statement
Success as an undergraduate student depends on you being able to make the transition to self-motivated, independent learning. Programmes are designed to assist you in this development, in many cases by starting with units in which timetabled teaching, such as lectures and practical classes, provides the foundations of knowledge and skills in a subject, moving on to individual research-based work. Over time you will be expected to take increasing responsibility for your own learning, guided by the feedback on your work that you will receive. At the heart of your studies at every level there must be regular and disciplined individual reading, reflection and writing and it is this skill of independent studies, above all others, that will serve you best when you leave the University.
Most programmes use credits and a 20 credit unit broadly equates to about 200 hours of student input. This includes all activities related to the teaching, learning and assessment of taught units.
A component of this is the time that you spend in class, in contact with the teaching staff, which includes activities such as lectures, laboratories, tutorials and fieldwork. Some of this activity may be online and could consist of activity that is synchronous (using real-time environments such as Blackboard Collaborate) or asynchronous (using tools such as tutor moderated discussion forums, blogs or wikis).
In some programmes there are field courses and/or placements that will take place in concentrated periods of time.
Outside scheduled activities you are expected to pursue your own independent learning to build your knowledge and understanding of the subjects you are studying. Such independent activities include, reviewing lecture material, reading textbooks, working on examples sheets, completing coursework, writing up laboratory notes, preparing for in-class progress tests and revising for examinations.
We recognise that many students undertake paid employment. To achieve a sensible balance between work and study, you are advised to undertake paid work for no more than 15 hours per week in term-time.
Professional Programmes
Many undergraduates in the Faculty of Health Sciences will be following the professional programmes of:
For these professional programmes, full time attendance is compulsory unless absence is formally approved. Academic activities are timetabled throughout the 5-day week and student workload is around 40 hours per week on average. Where possible, students in the early years are permitted Wednesday afternoons for sport and extra-curriculum activities. This may not be available in later years of professional programmes as when a student progresses through the curricula there is an increasing exposure to clinical and professional activities. Students in clinic or on placements may need to stay later than core times of 08.00 – 18.00 or even overnight to observe out-of-hours activities. This increasing exposure to clinical activities means that students on these professional programmes often have longer term dates than the University standard. Individual years within programmes are likely to vary in length (for example because of the timings of placements) and further information on this will be found in individual programme regulations. Another important point to note is that many of the assessments sit outside of the standard University examination timetable and are likely to be more frequent meaning that students will more oftentimes be engaged in revision activities and self-directed learning.
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty Assessment and Feedback Statement for Undergraduate Students. University of Bristol access only.
There are some issues particular to this programme which are addressed in this section. The students will be coming from a science-based environment and are expect to quickly achieve the same intellectual standard as third year students from the Arts Faculty. We do not underestimate the challenge that this entails and to mitigate this we have put in place the following support:
1. Students will be provided with a general preparatory reading list – with introductory texts in the philosophy of science, history of medicine and literary criticism. In addition the main works of the units will, in the main, be established before their departure for their summer vacation.
2. At, or shortly before, the start of Teaching Block 1, students entering the Philosophy and History of Medicine Unit will have the opportunity to join two introductory seminars in philosophy
3. Students will have "buddy" assigned to them from the third year of either the Philosophy or English programmes.
4. Tutors from the English and Philosophy departments have agreed to offer advice on any written work submitted by students in advance of summative essays.
5. Students will be assigned a mentor, probably but not necessarily a clinician, with whom they can meet at least twice in each teaching block.
6. Though we support the principle of offering students the full experience of being part of the Arts Faculty we propose to run a "vocational studies group" every two weeks during the main teaching block (see Section C above).
An application form, unique to the BA, will be created for students to fill in. If there is any doubt about a student's suitability they will be interviewed by one of the programme co-Directors.
Dr Trevor Thompson (co-Director)
Professor Alexander Bird (co-Director)
This degree is offered to students (usually from Medicine, Dentistry, or Veterinary Science) as an intercalating award, normally taken after 2 or 3 years of study.
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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The Philosophy and History of Medicine | PHIL30082 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Literature and Medicine | ENGL39011 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
Critical Issues | ENGL20100 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Dissertation | ENGL39010 | 40 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
Students should select 20 credit points from the following: | |||||
Death, dying and disease | PHIL30115 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophical Issues of Physical Sciences | PHIL30052 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Virtue and Well-Being | PHIL30126 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Medical Humanities (BA) | 120 |
Unit Pass Mark for Undergraduate Programmes:
For details on the weightings for classifying undergraduate degrees, please see the Agreed Weightings, by Faculty, to be applied for the Purposes of Calculating the Final Programme Mark and Degree Classification in Undergraduate Programmes.
For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.
Please refer to the specific progression/award requirements for programmes with a preliminary year of study, the Gateway programmes and International Foundation programmes.
All undergraduate degree programmes allow the opportunity for a student to exit from a programme with a Diploma or Certificate of Higher Education.
Integrated Master's degrees may also allow the opportunity for a student to exit from the programme with an equivalent Bachelor's degree where a student has achieved 360 credit points, of which 90 must be at level 6, and has successfully met any additional criteria as described in the programme specification.
The opportunities for a student to exit from one of the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry with an Award is outlined in the relevant Programme Regulations (which are available as an annex in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).
An Ordinary degree can be awarded if a student has successfully completed at least 300 credits with a minimum of 60 credits at Level 6.
The pass mark for the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine and Dentistry is 50 out of 100. The classification of a degree in the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry is provided in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
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