MD Discovery

Build your own Medical degree

The Doctor of Medicine (MD) program has been redesigned to enable you to build your own medical degree through our MD Discovery subjects. Our MD Discovery subjects will facilitate your exploration of a wide range of topics or enable you to take a deep dive into your future specialty.

Within MD Discovery, students are presented with four Discovery subjects, one at each year of their MD journey, which serve as building blocks to construct well-rounded medical expertise.  Our team of Course Advisors are available throughout your MD program to support you in your Discovery journey.  Each MD Discovery subject is a prerequisite of the one before.  It is anticipated that students will undertake one MD Discovery subject in each year level of the MD program.

See below the intended learning outcomes for the discovery subjects at each year level:

  • Discovery 1: Foundation: Develop a foundation of knowledge and understanding in your topic of choice.
  • Discovery 2: Application: Apply your learning to the clinical setting.
  • Discovery 3: Integration: Integrate multiple concepts into your practice of medicine.
  • Discovery 4: Creation: Utilise and apply your MD Discovery learning to create a new process, research paper or patient education package to name just a few ideas.

Read more about Discovery 1: Foundation

In the first year of the medical course, students can choose to study one topic within the Discovery - Foundation subject which will build the basis of knowledge for the following subjects. This subject is worth 12.5 credit points.

What will I achieve?

Students completing the subject MD Discovery – Foundation will be able to:

  • Identify the key concepts and knowledge bases underpinning their chosen topics
  • Relate their chosen topics to the medical practitioner’s role
  • Discuss how their chosen topics enhance their role as a health advocate
  • Describe how their chosen topics inform their future professional practice

What will I study?

You have a wide range of exciting areas to choose from to study. All have been carefully selected to reflect and align with the graduate outcomes of the MD Redesign course. You can choose either a Discovery Topic or a Faculty Selective that is run by other Schools in the Faculty of MDHS.

The MD Discovery  Foundation subject includes 8 bespoke Discovery topics for students to choose from.  These topics have been created by clinician experts across the Melbourne Medical School domain specifically for you. Close consideration has been given to what students are learning in their core subjects in the development of the topics and extending this learning appropriately in an area of interest.

Alongside the purpose-built new Discovery topics, the Doctor of Medicine has approved 20 Faculty selective subjects as elective options that can be taken in place of Discovery 1.

To support you in navigating and choosing your flexible pathway each year, the Course Advice Program offers students one-on-one meetings with experienced Melbourne Medical School academics to build your knowledge of the curriculum choices and pathways available to aid you in your Discovery selection.

Discovery Topics

Click on the topic areas below to learn more about each one. When you meet with your Course Advisor you’ll be able to discuss your choice of topic selection and where it might take you.

  • Death and Dying: Lifting the Lid

    You will explore a wide range of aspects of death and dying in contemporary Australia in this discovery topic. Read more.

  • Discover Cancer

    This topic explores the fundamentals of cancer sciences through a clinical approach. Read more.

  • Foundations in Translational Clinical Medicine

    The Translational Clinical Medicine Foundation topic will allow students to explore translational medicine - and learn how research translates into patient care and patient care can drive research discoveries. Read more.

  • Teaching and Learning in Medical Education

    The Teaching and Learning in Medicine topic will introduce you to essential skills in medical education. Read more.

  • Human Health in the Space Environment

    This topic will enable students to explore how human physiology responds to the space environment - how and why each body system adapts, and corresponding 'countermeasures'. Read more.

  • Rural Health – Foundations

    The Rural Health topic will provide an in-depth exploration of health care in the rural context. Read more.

  • Sexual Health across Clinical Contexts

    This topic offers a clinical and practical discovery in Sexual Health Care. Read more.

  • Foundations of Point of Care Ultrasound

    The topic offers students with foundational learning to perform an ultrasound.  Read more.

Faculty Selectives

There are a wide range of selectives from other schools in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences for you to choose from. Some of these are core or elective subjects in the Master of Public Health (MPH) and some are subjects from other award programs, such as Master of Science (Epidemiology), Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics, Master of Epidemiology and the Graduate Certificate in Sexual Health. Your successful completion of selectives may provide credit towards another award.

The University of Melbourne handbook introduction to these subjects which you are provided links to, includes information and advice that is applicable to all students who are enrolling in the subject – for example those doing the MPH. As such, some of the information is relevant for students of other courses only and doesn’t apply to you as an MD student (for example information about whether the subject is core for another course or the ideal timing to undertake the subject).

Follow the links below to be taken to the handbook information for faculty selectives:

Please note: The information provided above about the Discovery Topics and Faculty Selectives is correct at the time of publishing, but late changes, including cancellation of a topic or selective, are possible due to unforeseen circumstances. In such an eventuality, students would be notified as soon as possible, and we would work with you to enroll in another available topic or selective.

Discovery 2: Application

Application is a second-year Discovery subject where students take their foundational knowledge and apply it to a workplace setting. This subject is worth 12.5 credit points.

What will I achieve?

Students completing MD Discovery – Application will be able to:

  • Appraise the key concepts and knowledge bases underpinning their topics
  • Apply these concepts to the medical practitioner’s role
  • Demonstrate how their chosen topics enhance their role as a health advocate
  • Demonstrate how their chosen topics inform their professional practice

What will I study?

You have a wide range of exciting areas to choose from to study. All have been carefully selected to reflect and align with the graduate outcomes of the MD Redesign course. You can choose either a Discovery Topic or a Faculty Selective that is run by other Schools in the Faculty of MDHS.

The MD Discovery  Application subject includes 10 bespoke Discovery topics for students to choose from.  These topics have been created by clinician experts across the Melbourne Medical School domain specifically for you. Close consideration has been given to what students are learning in their core subjects in the development of the topics and extending this learning appropriately in an area of interest.

Alongside the purpose-built new Discovery topics, the Doctor of Medicine has approved Faculty selective subjects as elective options that can be taken in place of MD Discovery  Application.

Discovery Topics

Click on the topic areas below to learn more about each one. When you meet with your Course Advisor you’ll be able to discuss your choice of topic selection and where it might take you.

  • Communicating with the Machine

    Learn about biomedical devices, their application in clinical settings and explaining them to patients. Read more.

  • Death and Dying: When is Dead Really Dead

    This topic builds off Death and Dying: Lifting the Lid, focusing on the clinical aspects of managing the dying process. Read more.

  • On Country for Health

    Explore First Nations Health to enhance your understanding of thriving First Nations communities to meaningfully impact your practice. Read more.

  • Hearing Impairment – the Hidden Barrier to Communication

    Gain a clinical understanding of hearing impairments, and the impacts on patients and their families. Read more.

  • Making Healthcare Work: From Home to Hospital and Back Again

    Explore care pathways and build an understanding of community and hospital-based care environments. Read more.

  • Cardiac Point of Care Ultrasound

    Develop your understanding of point of care ultrasound using an ultrasound simulator. Read more.

  • Narrative Medicine

    Narrative medicine is a new field in health humanities, designed to help health workers find nourishing meaning in their work. Read more.

  • Sexual Health Across the Clinical Contexts

    Extend your communication skills and knowledge in Sexual Health Care. Read more.

  • Translational Medicine

    This topic continues the theme of translation science, focusing on a case summary to grow your competency in clinical translation medicine. Read more.

Faculty Selectives

There are a wide range of selectives from other schools in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences for you to choose from.

Some of these are core or elective subjects in the Master of Public Health (MPH) and some are subjects from other award programs, such as Master of Science (Epidemiology), Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics, Master of Epidemiology and the Graduate Certificate in Sexual Health.

Your successful completion of selectives may provide credit towards another award.

Please note, the handbook listing includes information and advice that is applicable to all students who are enrolling in the subject – for example those doing the MPH. As such, some of the information is relevant for students from other programs  and doesn’t apply to you as a MD student (for example information about whether the subject is core for another course or the ideal timing to undertake the subject).

If you have completed a Faculty subject you may be eligible to undertake a broader range of Faculty Selectives. You should review the University handbook to determine what you may now be able to enrol in. Bring the subject information, confirm you have the pre-requisites completed and reference this information in your Course Advice form for discussion.

Follow the links below to be taken to the handbook information for faculty selectives:

Please note: The information provided above about the Discovery Topics and Faculty Selectives is correct at the time of publishing, but late changes, including cancellation of a topic or selective, are possible due to unforeseen circumstances. In such an eventuality, students would be notified as soon as possible, and we would work with you to enroll in another available topic or selective.

Discovery 3: Integration

In third year, students merge the theoretical and practical concepts thus far into medical practice in the Discovery - Integration subject. This subject is worth 12.5 credit points.

What will I achieve?

Students completing MD Discovery – Integration will be able to:

  • Combine multiple sources of learning to better understand the medical practitioner’s role with specific populations
  • Integrate the roles of professional, scientist, advocate, researcher and clinician
  • Demonstrate appropriate professional practice, including with specific populations

What will I study?

This page will be updated with further information on Integration topics as and when it becomes available.

Discovery 4: Creation

In the final Discovery subject, students create something new by combining what they've learnt so far. This subject is worth 50 credit points.

What will I achieve?

Students completing MD Discovery – Creation will be able to:

  • Perform aspects of their chosen topics within the medical practitioner’s role
  • Create activities, resources or research outputs related to their chosen topics to enhance their role as a health advocate
  • Create activities, resources or research outputs related to their chosen topics to enhance their professional practice
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of these products

What will I study?

This page will be updated with further information on Creation topics as and when it becomes available.