BSMS > Undergraduate > Why choose BSMS > Innovative teaching and learning

Innovative teaching and learning

“BSMS's teaching enabled me to go out there and start my career, confidently and capably. When I first took those nervous steps out into the world of medicine I felt more equipped and competent than the majority of my colleagues and this was, without doubt, due to the training we received. BSMS set me up for my career and at the same time gave me the best years of my life so far.”

- Alena Richards, BSMS graduate

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Modern facilities and supportive teaching

Anatomy

Our state-of-the-art anatomy facilities allow you to put theory into practice through full-body cadaveric dissection. From Year 1, our experienced anatomy teachers will enable you to get a real understanding of the human body in health and disease, through fully interactive, hands-on sessions.

Simulation

Patient communication and clinical skills are integral to your studies at BSMS. Working with professional actors, our simulation rooms will allow you to practise patient consultations, preparing you to manage complex problems and undertake key clinical examinations in general practice.

Louisa Martindale Building

The Louisa Martindale Building is the newest clinical building in NHS England, located at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. Standing at the front of the main hospital site, the Louisa Martindale Building offers state of the art accommodation for 28 outpatient, ward and specialist services across its 11 floors.

Feedback

Our teachers will support you with continuous feedback throughout the course, encouraging you to reflect on your performance and helping you to develop your abilities. As an essential part of your learning, timely, constructive feedback will be provided on a variety of work, from essays and exams, to clinical assessments.

We strongly believe that feedback should be a two-way conversation and we are always very keen to hear from our students too. Whether through student representatives, module evaluations or informal chats, you’re always welcome to speak to us; the door is always open.

Inter-professional education

We are passionate about our students learning with, from and about other professions in recognition of its importance in developing a collaborative practice ready workforce which produces optimal health outcomes. We have close links with nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists, social workers and a number of other healthcare professionals who all contribute actively to the teaching and learning of our students.

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Technology to support your learning

E-portfolio

The Foundation Programme e-portfolio is a professional development tool used by around 90% of junior doctors in the UK. We’re collaborating with 13 other UK medical schools in piloting the use of this at undergraduate level. We believe that familiarising our students with the same e-portfolio that they will use as junior doctors will help with the transition after graduation, as well as with supporting their professional and personal development.

Students currently use the e-portfolio to record their meetings with their clinical academic tutors, writing reflective logs on any critical incidents and building a personal library with records of their achievements.

Technology-enhanced learning

We strongly believe in the sound application of digital technologies to support the full spectrum of teaching and learning: enhancing large group teaching with interactive tools (eg, instant audience voting); reinforcing skills development (eg, on-demand clinical skills videos); facilitating application of knowledge through formative assessment tools (eg, the CAPSULE clinical cases quiz app); supporting self-directed learning (comprehensive online access to library resources, including our bespoke e-tutorial collection).

We support our students in their academic digital literacy skills so they can develop sound application of the growing amount of information available to ensure they become the evidence-based practitioners of tomorrow.

Use of mobile devices is encouraged to support learning, such as CAPSULE and an iPad anatomy interface in the dissection lab. Virtual microscopy allows active evaluation of microscopic anatomy and pathology in lectures, helping provide a full perspective on a patient’s illness, and can be accessed for further study or revision through My Studies via your PC, tablet or smartphone.

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Capsule

Capsule is a quiz-based learning resource designed to support undergraduate medical students in the application of medical knowledge in the clinical setting.

Time for Dementia

Dementia is a growing problem globally, with over 850,000 people living with the condition in the UK. As a core component of our course, you will spend time with a person with dementia and their carer, getting to know them and seeing how the disease affects them and their family.

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Time for Autism

Autism has been identified as an area where undergraduate medical training is patchy. The Time for Autism programme pairs students up with a family who has a young person on the autism spectrum. During their visits students will have a unique opportunity to talk to the family and listen to their experiences within and outside of healthcare settings.

“The visit from the students was great, they were brilliant and so interested. It’s a great programme that you’re doing and we are very happy that we got involved.”

Inequalities teaching

At BSMS, we aim to help our students develop into the best doctors they can be, working in a patient-centred, social-responsible way. Learn more about some of our approaches to teaching that aim to improve understanding of inequalities experienced by a range of people and communities.

Visit our inequalities teaching web page >