JCU Medical School outlines everyday clinical activities

17 July 2014

One aspect of the Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program JCU Medical School is proud of is the large amount and quality of clinical experience students get both in classes and while working in health-care settings.

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This begins with the Clinical Skills program from Year 1 when students start to learn the skills required by medical practitioners including medical history taking and physical examination, practical skills such as vital signs, injections and suturing and communication skills. Clinical Skills are taught in small-group sessions.
JCU Medical School is blessed with a wonderful and large group of highly trained volunteers who act as simulated patients and who are part of the fabric of the medical program. Students will learn both through examining each other, and the volunteers. They are also given the privilege of learning through the care of patients in hospital and health service settings.

Common activities during clinical skills practice

Hearing

  • Listen to regular breathing sounds
  • Listen to heart and chest sounds using a stethoscope
  • Take a medical history from a patient
  • Hear medical alarms

Vision

  • Examine a patient’s gait, posture and skin for colour and abnormalities
  • Examine the pupil size and response to light and visualise the retina using an ophthalmoscope
  • Examine and interpret an x-ray
  • Test urine and evaluate colour changes in test strips

Motor skills

  • Feel pulses
  • Insert an IV drip
  • Suture a wound
  • Set up cardiac monitoring (ECG)
  • Undertake cardiac massage

Standing

  • Observe a patient on a bed or trolley from head to toe
  • Stand for 3 hours or more while assisting in the birth of a baby or in surgery

Interpersonal skills

  • Spend 1 hour or more taking a detailed and highly personal medical history from a patient
  • Work effectively for long periods in a large, busy team
  • Work closely in small groups settings with other students

About the James Cook University Medical School MBBS Program

Program: Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)
Location: Townsville, Queensland
Semester intake: February 2015
Duration: 6 years
Application deadline: August 29, 2014

Entry Requirements for the JCU Medical Program

  • Entry is directly from high school. Students may also transfer into the program during their undergraduate degree or at the completion of their undergraduate degree.
  • High school cumulative average necessary to be considered is a minimum of 85% in Grade 12 subjects, including prerequisite subject grades.
  • If you are applying to the program after you have partially or fully completed your post-secondary studies, you should have a Canadian GPA of 80% cumulative average across all university studies, but to have a competitive application, applicants should have achieved at least an 82% cumulative average.
  • Interview: held in-person and via video conference

Apply to James Cook University Medical School!

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Do you have questions about JCU Medical School and its MBBS program? Contact OzTREKK’s Australian Medical Schools Officer Broghan Dean at broghan@oztrekk.com or call 1-866-698-7355 (toll free in Canada) for more information about how you can study in Australia!

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