Primary Care – Phase 3
Primary Care (PC) is one of ten courses within Phase 3 (Years 5 & 6) of the Undergraduate Medicine Program. This 8 week course is comprised of a rotation in urban and/or rural General Practice.
In the Primary Care course, medical students build on their prior learning in biomedical sciences and clinical studies. They learn to apply this knowledge in the continuing care for patients living in the community, and other General Practice contexts.
Students spend most of their time in individual clinical placements in General Practice settings. Lectures and workshops at the beginning of the term provide an overview of General Practice; they provide a framework for students to learn and develop General Practice consultation skills, clinical reasoning, interpersonal communication, and patient-centered management. There is a focus on teamwork and managing clinical uncertainty.
General Practice is the medical discipline within the field of Primary Care in Australia. It is a distinct specialty; it has its own knowledge and skills base that is different from other medical specialties and hospital based medicine. The essence of General Practice is comprehensive, coordinated, longitudinal, and person-centered medical care, drawing on biomedical, psychological, social and environmental understandings of health.
Further information for clinical teachers in Phase 3 is available at Primary Care Clinical Teachers' Support.
Independent Learning Projects (ILPs)
The Independent Learning Project (ILP) is intended to provide UNSW medical students with a period of in-depth study that engenders an approach to medicine that is constantly questioning and self-critical. The ILP aims to promote lifelong learning patterns and skills which will enable them to approach future medical challenges in their careers with a rigor and depth not possible without a detailed knowledge of the formal processes of research, literature appraisal, data collection, analysis and presentation.
Further, specific experience and placements within the candidates' Independent Learning Project (ILP) are also readily facilitated.
Further Studies with SPHCM
For those wishing to gain further experience, research and postgraduate study opportunities, as well as doctoral scholarship opportunities, the School offers to suitably qualified students programs in the Master of Public Heath, Master of International Public Health, and Master of Health Management, See our Future Students page.