MD Discovery 3 and course advice update

It has been a busy time as the Melbourne Medical School implements the third year of the redesigned Doctor of Medicine Flexible Pathways curriculum in 2024.

For the first time, medical students have the option to extend their learnings by selecting either the Research Scholar or the Clinical Scholar pathways to follow through MD3 and MD4.

In the first MD3 redesign cohort in 2024, 157 students have chosen the Research Scholar pathway, extending their research practice through a supervised research project, which will extend across MD3/4. A further 165 students have chosen the Clinical Scholar pathway, extending their skills in clinical leadership and advocacy through Discovery topics in MD3 and selected clinical placements and scholarly work in MD4.

Figure 1 – MD Course Structure.

The Discovery team successfully delivered Discovery 2 (MD2) (nine bespoke topics) for the first time in 2023 to our Parkville and Extended Rural Cohort. The launch of Discovery 3 (MD3) in 2024 is has commenced with three out of the eight new MD3 Discovery 3: Integration topics already delivered, including Advances in Cancer Diagnostics, Immersion in Robotic Surgery, and Medical Humanities.

An additional three topics are currently under development – which will bring the total on offer to nine topics in Discovery 1, ten in Discovery 2 and nine in Discovery 3. At this point further development of topics will be paused while we undertake a detailed evaluation of Discovery, redefining and clarifying the program’s vision and aims. We will keep you informed on progress here so stay tuned for further information.  A huge shoutout to the Discovery topic leads and their teams for the fantastic start to the program, not forgetting the exceptional work of the Learning Design team in creating stunning Canvas designs and resources for each topic. We also extend our thanks to those who offer Faculty Selectives from students to choose as their Discovery choice in years 1 and 2 (and year 3 for 2024 only). These contribute greatly to the flexibility and individualisation that Discovery introduces into the MD program.

Figure 2 – The Course Advice Program process.

The Course Advice Program is a crucial component of our student experience initiatives within the MD, aligning with the Discovery program delivery. Our Course Advice program, launched in January 2022, has continued to offer individual support for medical  students in understanding the curriculum, the options available and navigating these choices.

In 2023 we met with over 800 students across three time points - Course Advice 1 prior to MD1 Discovery choices, Course Advice 2 (opt in) for students selecting their MD2 Discovery 2 preferences and Course Advice 3 to support MD2 students to select either the Clinical Scholar or Research Scholar pathways for MD3/4 as above. All Course Advice meetings are online, one-on-one meetings with experienced medical school academics.

Prior to the meeting, students are required to review comprehensive materials outlining the pathway options and details, then complete a pre-meeting questionnaire reflecting on their MD experiences to date and future areas of interest, or skills/knowledge growth in preparation for their meeting. Students then make their final preference choices after the meeting via Sonia.