Essential Biomedical Techniques (Lincoln)
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| MEDS3085 | Medical Education Centre | 3 | 10 | Spring UK |
- Code
- MEDS3085
- School
- Medical Education Centre
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 10
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
The module will cover a range of biomedical science techniques in the broad areas of cell biology, molecular biology and biochemistry. The focus will be on providing information on how and why the techniques are performed. While this will mostly not be at the level required to perform experiments, it will enable them to read and assess the Methods and Results sections of research papers where they are used. The practical elements are again not intended to train students to carry out laboratory experiments. They will instead give students a flavour of research work, highlighting the practical skills needed for laboratory research, as well as the challenges that obtaining reliable data entail.
The lecture sessions will cover the following topics (the order of the three sections may vary depending on staff schedules):
1. Cell Biology
Introduction to cell and tissue culture; Cell counting; Cell viability and toxicity assays; Fluorescence imaging.
2. Molecular Biology and Genetics
Introduction to gene cloning techniques; DNA purification including plasmid preps and agarose gels; Polymerase chain reaction [& Practical based on this].
3. Biochemistry
Introduction to biochemistry techniques; Protein separation including SDS-PAGE and chromatography; Immunoblotting and ELISAs; basic spectroscopy techniques [& Practical based on this].
Target Students
Second year medical students on the U6UMEDCNP4 (A10L) programme
Classes
- One 3-hour practicum each week for 2 weeks
- Two 1-hour lectures each week for 5 weeks
- One 2-hour laboratory
The laboratory session will cover safe working practices and generic skills (e.g. weighing, pipetting) The two practical sessions will cover two techniques from the course. The three hour sessions will be split (e.g. 2 hours with a gap and then a further hour), with the initial session for experimental set-up and the second session for viewing results. These will not necessarily be scheduled on the same day but will be in the same week. Totals 18 hours direct, with 84 student-led hours.
Assessment
- 50% Report 1: Referees report on a provided research paper (600 words).
- 30% Presentation 1: Presentation of a poster on a selected biomedical technique with an associated interactive element (15 minutes).
- 20% Practical 1: Assessment of practical skills based on students’ overall approach to the laboratory work (10%) and results from practical sessions (10%) Ongoing assessment via the practical classes
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
The module is designed so that students can attain some of the outcomes specified by the GMC in Outcomes for Graduates (2018) in the areas of Professional Values and Behaviours; and particularly in Professional Knowledge.These are detailed in the Module Learning Outcomes. While some of these refer to interactions with patients and medical colleagues, the module will help students develop the generic skills needed in these situations. The professional values and behaviours relates particularly to the safety aspects of working in a laboratory. This will impart skills needed for safe working more generally, including recognising risks and gaining the confidence to report concerns.The core learning outcomes from the module will relate to Professional Knowledge, and in particular the students’ ability to read and critically assess the biomedical science literature. In this the module aims to explain the basic principles underlying a range of commonly used techniques in the fields of cell biology, molecular biology and biochemistry. At this level a basic knowledge of the techniques and the results that are typically obtained from them will help demystify the biomedical and life science literature, making it more accessible as they progress through the degree programme.Learning Outcomes
The students will achieve learning outcomes within the GMC’s Outcomes for Graduates (2018) as follows:
(for “Newly qualified doctors” read “Students”)
Outcomes 1 - Professional values and behaviours
Patient safety and quality improvement
5. Newly qualified doctors must demonstrate that they can practise safely. They must participate
in and promote activity to improve the quality and safety of patient care and clinical outcomes.
They must be able to:
b. Promote and maintain health and safety in all care settings and escalate concerns to colleagues where
appropriate, including when providing treatment and advice remotely.
c. Recognise how errors can happen in practice and that errors should be shared openly and be able to
learn from their own and others’ errors to promote a culture of safety.
d. Apply measures to prevent the spread of infection, and apply the principles of infection prevention and
control.
e. Describe the principles of quality assurance, quality improvement, quality planning and quality control,
and in which contexts these approaches should be used to maintain and improve quality and safety.
Outcomes 3 – Professional Knowledge
Applying biomedical scientific principles
22. Newly qualified doctors must be able to apply biomedical scientific principles, methods and knowledge to medical practice and integrate these into patient care. This must include principles and knowledge relating to anatomy, biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, genomics and personalised medicine, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, nutrition, pathology, pharmacology and clinical pharmacology, and physiology.
They must be able to:
22a. Explain how normal human structure and function and physiological processes applies, including at the extremes of age, in children and young people and during pregnancy and childbirth.
22b. Explain the relevant scientific processes underlying common and important disease processes.
22e. Describe medications and medication actions: therapeutics and pharmacokinetics; medication side effects and interactions, including for multiple treatments, long term physical and mental conditions and non-prescribed drugs; the role of pharmacogenomics and antimicrobial stewardship.
Clinical research & scholarship
26. Newly qualified doctors must be able to apply scientific method and approaches to medical research and integrate these with a range of sources of information used to make decisions for care.
They must be able to:
26b. Interpret and communicate research evidence in a meaningful way for patients to support them in making informed decisions about treatment and management.
26c. Describe the role and value of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches to scientific enquiry.
26e. Critically appraise a range of research information including study design, the results of relevant diagnostic, prognostic and treatment trials, and other qualitative and quantitative studies as reported in the medical and scientific literature.