Medical Students at the University of Cambridge 

Students complete a three-year clinical course at the University of Cambridge Clinical School. This follows a two-three year clinical course at Cambridge or another university. There are approximately 200 students per year.

Full details about studying medicine at the University of Cambridge can be found on the School of Clinical Medicine’s prospectus.

 

Psychiatry for medical students

Students have a six-week attachment to Psychiatry and Neurology late in stage 2 of their clinical course. This is followed by a two week GP attachment with an emphasis on psychiatry. Students rotate in four groups of ~50 students across a range of specialities (including psychiatry) in stage 2, which takes place from late in the first year to the end of the second year.

Therefore we have students placed with us for 24 weeks per year, ~50 students at a time.

Students spend the bulk of their placements with an NHS clinical psychiatric service. Students are attached to services in Cambridge, Peterborough, Bury-St-Edmunds, Northampton (St Andrew’)  or Bedford/Luton. Students have a range of in-patient and community experience and experience across the full range of psychiatric specialities.

Students also receive centralized lecture teaching in Cambridge for 3 days per placement. Assessment is by and end-of-placement exam, and assessment of attendance and attainment by the clinical team they are attached to. In addition, psychiatry is a component of the written and clinical finals at the end of the final year.

 

Teaching psychiatry to medical students

Interested doctors/academics/professionals allied to medicine are very welcome to teach the students. The main format for this is small group teaching or observation of clinical sessions at the placements. Interested teachers should contact the local tutor in the first instance.

We also have an increasing set of podcasts on the Clinical School’s virtual learning environment. If anybody is interested in producing a podcast, then please get in touch with Dr Paul Wilkinson, Psychiatry Specialty Director.