Year 2 Examination in Graduate-entry Medicine
1. A candidate may be admitted to the Year 2 Examination in Graduate-entry Medicine provided that their name is on the Register of Clinical Students and they have passed the Preliminary Examination in Graduate-entry Medicine.
2. Candidates for the Year 2 Examination in Graduate-entry Medicine are normally required to pursue their studies for a period of 39 weeks in Year 2; provided that the Medical Sciences Board shall have power to permit candidates to vary the dates of their studies so long as the overall programme requirement is met.
3. The examination shall be under the supervision of the Medical Sciences Board.
4. The examination shall comprise such subjects and papers as the Medical Sciences Board shall from time to time by regulation determine.
5. The examination may be offered not earlier than six terms from the date of entry onto the Register of Clinical Students.
6. A syllabus will be published annually at the start of the Michaelmas Term prior to the examination by the Medical Sciences Board.
A
The examination will consist of eight components. Candidates must offer all eight assessment units at the first scheduled opportunity in one academic year.
A candidate who has satisfied the Examiners in all eight components will be deemed to have passed the Examination.
A candidate who has failed one or more components will be permitted one further attempt at the component(s) they have failed. This resit attempt shall normally be taken at the next opportunity, but may be deferred once, i.e. it must be taken at one of the next two opportunities.
If a candidate has failed one or more components at the first attempt but has not had the opportunity to make a second attempt at that component / these components before the start of Year 3 of the course, they will not normally be allowed to proceed immediately to Year 3 of the course, unless the Director of Graduate-entry Medical Studies and the Director of Clinical Studies, at their discretion and in exceptional circumstances, decide that the candidate may immediately begin Year 3 of the course. This will be subject to the condition that the candidate passes the outstanding component(s) by a specified deadline.
If a candidate has failed one or more components after two attempts, their name shall be removed from the Register of Clinical Students and they shall not commence Year 3 of the Graduate-entry medical course (subject to appeal to the Medical Sciences Board), unless the Director of Graduate-entry Medical Studies and the Director of Clinical Studies, at their discretion and in exceptional circumstances, decide that the candidate may proceed to the next year of study on condition that they should undertake remedial work and if necessary be reassessed at a later date.
The Core Medical Science (Part II) paper will be set during Michaelmas Term, and the second sitting of these assessments will normally take place during Hilary Term. The remaining assessment units will be set during Trinity Term. The second sitting of the OSCE will be during Trinity Term, and the second sitting of the remaining components will be during the following Vacation.
For Laboratory Medicine, Medicine, Surgery, and the OSCE (which are shared with the Year 4 assessments for the Second BM examination), the Examiners will be provided with information by the relevant Examiners and Assessors for the Year 4 assessments for the Second BM as to whether the candidate has satisfactorily completed the course of instruction and associated assessments.
Candidates may be required, at the discretion of the examiners, to undergo an oral examination which may include a further clinical examination.
No candidate may enter for the examination on more than two occasions, save in exceptional circumstances. A further exceptional opportunity to offer any assessment unit shall require application to and approval on behalf of the Educational Policy and Standards Committee of the Medical Sciences Board.
1. Core Medical Science (Part II)
This paper will consist of a mixture of (i) multiple choice questions to be sat as a computer-based assessment, and (ii) problem-based questions requiring short written answers.
2. Integrated paper in Medicine, Surgery and Applied Pathology
This paper will consist of multiple choice questions to be sat as a computer-based assessment.
3. Critical Appraisal
This paper will assess candidates’ ability to critically appraise primary research material.
4. Submitted Essay on a Public Health topic
(i) Form and subject of the essay
Candidates will be required to submit an essay on a topic related to Public Health aspects of the diagnosis or management of a clinical case. The submitted essay shall be of not more than 3,000 words, excluding any tables, figures, diagrams or references. It must be in a format according to guidelines approved on behalf of the Graduate-entry Education Committee and published on the virtual learning environment.
The essay must refer to aspects of Public Health from a list included in the published guidelines.
(ii) Authorship
The essay must be the candidate’s own work. Candidates’ tutors, or their deputies nominated to act as advisors, may discuss with candidates the proposed field of study, the sources available, and the method of treatment, but on no account may they read or comment on any written draft. Every candidate shall submit a certificate to the effect that this rule has been observed and that the essay is their own work. The certificate should be submitted alongside the essay.
(iii) Submission
The essay must be submitted via the University approved online assessment platform (according to the instructions set out in the notification to candidates from the Chair of Examiners) not later than noon on the Tuesday of Week 1 of Trinity Term.
5. Academic special interest project work
(i) Form, subject and approval of the project
Candidates will be required to undertake work on an academic special interest project. Each project shall be supervised. The work may be carried out by the candidate alone or in collaboration with others. Guidelines for students and supervisors produced on behalf of the Graduate-entry Education Committee will be published on the virtual learning environment.
Candidates may not submit work that they have previously submitted for any university examination.
Candidates must apply for approval of their proposed project no later than the end of Week 6 of Hilary Term. The candidate must submit the title of their proposed project, an outline plan, and the details of their proposed supervisor. The topic may be related to the topic of the Literature Review undertaken during Year 1 or it may relate to another area of academic special interest. Decision on the application shall be made by the Director of Graduate-entry Medical Studies or a deputy and shall be communicated to the candidate as soon as possible and in any case not later than Week 8 of Hilary Term.
(ii) Application to change title of project
If required, candidates may apply to change the title of their project through the course administrator on one occasion and no later than Friday of Week 4 of Trinity Term.
(iii) Authorship
Work on the project may be carried out in collaboration with others, but the work submitted must be the candidate’s own work. Each candidate will have a supervisor with expertise in the selected area of study who should act in accordance with the published guidelines for the academic special interest project.
(iv) Submission
Candidates will be required to submit an abstract, in a format prescribed in the published guidelines for the academic special interest project.
The abstract must be submitted via the University approved online assessment platform (according to the instructions set out in the notification to candidates from the Chair of Examiners) by a date in Trinity Term to be specified to the candidates in a communication from the Chair of Examiners.
(v) Presentation
Each candidate shall make a brief oral presentation of their academic special interest project work to a group including two examiners or assessors. The form of the presentation to the examiners shall be specified in the published guidelines for the academic special interest project.
6. Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
Candidates will be assessed on their ability to perform a clinical examination of the systems of the body and on their practical skills, as prescribed for the Year 4 assessments in the Second BM examination.
7. Laboratory Medicine
Candidates are required to have satisfactorily completed the course of instruction and assessments, as prescribed for the Year 4 assessments in the Second BM examination.
8. Clinical placements
The Director of Graduate-entry Medical Studies will make available to the examiners evidence (in the form of a list of names, signed by the Director or a deputy) to certify that each candidate has a satisfactory record of attendance for clinical attachments and completion of the relevant ePortfolio requirements, to include Medicine, Surgery and attachments outside Oxford. An unsatisfactory record, in the absence of appropriate documentary evidence, will normally result in the candidate being required to complete remedial work by a specified deadline. Failure to complete the remedial work will normally constitute failure of the Year 2 Examination.
