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I
International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
IELTS stands for the International English Language Testing System. All overseas-qualified doctors who apply for limited, provisional or full registration must satisfy the General Medical Council (GMC) that they have the necessary knowledge of the English language. They are required to obtain satisfactory scores in four academic modules (speaking, listening, writing and reading) of the IELTS test. Nationals of member states of the European Economic Area (EEA), Swiss nationals and UK nationals or those married to UK nationals exercising their EC rights of free movement within the EEA, do not have to take the IELTS test. For further information, please refer to the BMA international department's web pages or email the department, to request a copy of its free publication, Guide for Doctors New to the UK.
Integrated courses
There are two types of integrated medical courses. Vertical integration refers primarily to the interweaving of clinical skills and knowledge into the basic science years. It also involves reinforcing and continuing to teach basic science concepts as they apply during the clinical years. This is an alternative to the traditional structure of medical degrees which distinguishes between pre-clinical and clinical years. These types of integrated courses of study have now been introduced by the majority of medical schools. Teaching methods can include problem-based learning (PBL) and practical clinical experience.
Horizontal integration refers to identifying concepts or skills, particularly those that are clinically relevant, that cut across, for example, the basic sciences and then using these as an integrated focus for presentations, clinical examples, and course materials.
Integrated learning activities (ILA)
Integrated learning activities (ILA) offer an alternative to conventional problem based learning (PBL) though they are based on the same principle of integrating the teaching of medical science and clinical competence.
Intercalated degree
An intercalated degree is an undergraduate medical course, which incorporates an extra year (intercalated medical degrees will often last six years). This additional time is spent studying for an honours degree – usually a Bachelor of Science (BSc) or Bachelor of Medical Science (BmedSci). Arrangements for taking intercalated degrees vary between medical schools in the United Kingdom. In some medical schools, it is obligatory, in others it is open only to students who achieve high performance in the initial years. An increasing number of medical students are choosing to take intercalated degrees. The extra year of study offers an opportunity for students to develop experience and skills in research and laboratory techniques, or in a specialised area of interest.
International Virtual Medical School (IVIMEDS)
The International Virtual Medical School (IVIMEDS) is a collaboration between 36 medical schools and institutions world-wide who are committed to achieving maximum benefit from new educational technologies. A key aim of IVIMEDS is to contribute to improving health and tackling human disease world-wide by providing a combination of e-learning and face-to-face learning for healthcare professionals.
Interprofessional learning
A variety of terms are used to describe the arrangements made for people from different disciplines and/or professions to learn with each other. The GMC publication Tomorrow's Doctors is an important driver for interprofessional education. It states that “medical schools should explore and, where appropriate, provide opportunities for students to work and learn with other health and social care professionals. This will help students understand the importance of teamwork in providing care.”
Interprofessional Education is ‘a learning process by which different professionals learn from, and about each other to develop collaborative practice’ [29] [30]. Its features may range from the development of new roles; respect for other professions; developing trust, openness and communication; an appreciation of the strengths of diversity of other health professionals judgement and ways of working; a common set of values and attributes [30]. The core issue is the learning approach – not merely about what is being taught but also the way they may work together to handle an issue.
The Centre for Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE) is a charitable organisation, whose main aim is to develop interprofessional learning in universities and the workplace. It promotes interprofessional education for health, social care and related professions. Since its inception in 1987, CAIPE has been involved in extensive and continuing research into the evidence-base for interprofessional education.
The BMA has produced a report on IPE which can be found here.
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