Unit run by medical students to open in Britain

Fiaz Ahmed Leicester

A unit in Leicester General Hospital where patients will be managed by medical students will be incorporated in the training course at the Leicester Warwick Medical School. It will also include student nurses as part of their training course.

The unit is based on a Swedish model, which has been running since 1996. This is an orthopaedic ward which is staffed by student doctors in their clinical years, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and other healthcare professionals in their training years. A team of fully qualified nurses works alongside the students. Additional support is also available by daily visits from consultants and other senior medical staff.

Although the specialty of the unit has not been decided, it is likely to be similar to that of the Swedish arrangement. Students will run the ward from 6 am until 10 pm, seven days a week. Students will be expected to make patient management decisions, which will be discussed with a consultant who will advise the students on their proposed plans. The afternoon and the evening will be spent performing daily duties and jobs that have been allocated during the morning ward round. Student doctors will be expected to site venflons and perform venesection and all other jobs that would be normally expected on the ward. The scheme can also be used to evaluate students on their performance and assess them on their ability to perform under these unique conditions.

The unit will be heavily staffed and care will be of the same high standard as in other parts of the NHS. Senior medical staff will always check major management decisions. Patients will use the unit only if they have given their consent. The patients questioned expressed their wish to be fully informed of their rights while in the unit and how they can demand greater authority if they feel they need it.

Professor Stewart Petersen, who is involved in the scheme, believes that the key in making it a success is ensuring that patients understand the implications and benefits of such a unit. He also thinks that it will be a great opportunity for medical students and that it is "an exciting new initiative that will take medical education to a further height." However, some medical students are sceptical and fear that they will not be given enough responsibility or have enough time on the unit to really get a feel for it.

The success of the unit will also depend on the public response. The Swedish unit has become the most popular in the hospital. In Britain there are plans for a similar scheme at St George's Hospital, London.



studentBMJ 2001;09:261-304 August ISSN 0966-6494