MED-2520 Medicine: International Semester - 30 stp

This course is intended and reserved for students enrolled in the professional study of medicine and exchange students enrolled in similar studies at partner universities. It is not possible to take this as a separate course.

Application deadline for exchange students from partner universities: April 15

Contents and relevance of the study program

• Women’s health (gynecology and obstetrics)
• Children’s health (pediatrics)
• Medical genetics
• Global health
• Elective periods 2
• Professional competence
• Scientific competence

The semester builds on the knowledge of basic human biology, structure, and function attained in previous courses. Anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology are essential parts of MED-2520. The semester will prepare students for practical training and placement later in their medical studies.

The main objective of the course is to develop and reinforce the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to achieve competence in managing common, acute, and severe clinical problems that are encountered in general practice and in hospitals in the field of women’s and children’s health. The course will also expand on the knowledge of medical genetics from previous courses.

"Global health" covers international health in a broad perspective, focusing on community medicine, clinical medicine, and health research. The term "global health" encompasses health-related topics that are independent of countries, social classes, ethnicity and culture. During the international semester, women’s and children’s health issues will be taught in the context of a global perspective. The teaching will stimulate interest for medical research in the field of global health in addition to the fields of women’s and children’s health. Collaboration with international partners in both epidemiological and clinical research will also be developed.

UiT - The Arctic University of Norway has a special Arctic Health Research group that focuses on health conditions and health-related challenges in the arctic region.

Learning objectives

The student must be able to meet the patient and his or her family with respect and empathy. Based on this important relationship, the student should be able to examine, analyze, and take part in the primary handling of the complex network of relations that:

• cause simple, common, and acute health problems;
• provide treatment options; and
• impact prognoses;

while focusing especially on health problems associated with reproduction, women, childhood, growth, and global health problems. This must be undertaken with the aim of providing the best possible result for the patient, in terms of care, the use of knowledge, and available resources; in respectful cooperation with others (working with relations).

The student must be able to:

• Understand and make relevant use of special opportunities and duties related to the physician’s role in any given situation, with a special focus on obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatric departments, and the acute ambulatory care services (working with positions).
• Clarify the patient’s health problems and handle these in a structured manner, using knowledge of functions related to reproduction, childhood, and growth, in addition to vital physiological functions and systems (working with decision-making).
• Search for, find, and analyze necessary information for simple, common, and acute health problems, with an awareness of the contextual process - for example in an acute medical situation (working with information).
• Execute the relevant communicative, diagnostic, therapeutic and logical actions in simple, common and acute health problems (working with actions).
• Describe health disparities within and between Indigenous Peoples and majority populations.

All this must be done while giving attention to and with respect for the patient’s preferences and need for information and shared decision-making. Furthermore, the student must be able to:

• Contribute to handling health problems for individuals and populations by means of cooperation with local resources when this is relevant and practical in obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatric departments, and the acute ambulatory care services (working with preventive and health-promoting factors).
• Develop competencies relevant to a physician’s activities, such as clinical practice, health-promotional work, research, supervision of patients, students and others (working with life-long learning).

Teaching and work forms

• Lectures
• Case groups
• Mentored groups
• E-learning
• Practical clinical teaching
• Skills lab
• Clinical practice and patient encounters
• Written tasks

Safety - Integrated in the teaching is safety education for the student him- or herself and others. This encompasses safety at all clinical departments (operating theater, medical ambulatories, etc.) in addition to hygiene, data- and patient-safety. Practical teaching and education in relevant laws and regulations are also included. For placements abroad special information is provided.