Plymouth Medical School Applicants 2013

BMBS Programme
•Fully integrated (100 per cent integrated)
•Community-based programme (25 - 49 per cent of curriculum)
•Problem-based (75 - 99 per cent of curriculum used for student-activating learning and teaching methods)

Number of years of the programme which include clinical training: 5
Clinical training is 75 - 99 per cent of the full programme

Number of years of the programme which include time with real patients: 5
Time with patients is 75 - 99 per cent of the full programme


BMBS Course Overview

Plymouth/Exeter (Peninsula) Medical School’s approach to medical education is both innovative and progressive, with a strong focus on independent learning and innovative teaching methods. Learning at Peninsula is primarily structured around fortnightly case units which underpin and springboard learning. Problem Based Learning (PBL) and Life Sciences Resource Centre (LSRC) sessions are the main tools which support the case units and facilitate learning. These are then integrated with clinical skills sessions, community placements and jigsaw sessions which help to develop clinical reasoning and functional medical knowledge.

Problem Based Learning is a concept which has evolved a great deal since the 1980s when it was first introduced into UK Medical curriculum. It is now far more structured than it used to be.

The main misconception among applicants and some students is that PBL is a teaching method. This is not true.

- PBL is a tool used alongside other teaching methods to increase engagement with the content being learnt and enhance retention. It is not a stand alone tool. Even at the most PBL oriented schools (e.g - Manchester/PMS etc.) it only makes up less than 30% of teaching time, the rest is more traditional large and small group didactic and interactive teaching.

PBL as a Teaching Method?

PBL on its own is useless.

It cannot be a standalone method for knowledge acquisition/teaching at the Pre-clinical level. Therefore, now no medical course uses PBL on its own, it is always complimented with other teaching methods.

Even at medical schools which have a highly PBL-based curriculum (e.g Manchester, Peninsula, HYMS, UEA), it is not used on its own. A variety of other learning tools are also used in conjunction with PBL, i.e seminars, large group didactic teaching, small/large group interactive teaching and of course self-directed study.

Also the types of PBL used currently across the UK are a far cry from the original PBL models originally implemented. Originally PBL was intended to be a solely student oriented unstructured activity where students worked together through a series of clinical problems.

This is not the case now, PBL is now far more structured with clinicians facilitating the sessions, students are provided with a more structured study guide and a study guide/syllabus of the basic science content which should covered by lectures/seminars, tutorials and in self-study is available.

Is PBL and Advantage or a Disadvantage?

Within a format as described above and a well functioning group, PBL works fantastically well. Even within PBL groups which are awful with poor facilitation the other aspects of so called PBL-based courses provide a net to prevent a lack of learning.

The main disadvantage of PBL courses is that people can fall through the net, and easily get through (year 1 and 2) without learning a lot of the basics.

The Future of PBL?

This does not mean that PBL based courses are the way forward. However, the benefits PBL provides students in terms of team dynamics, adaptability, communications skills cannot be denied and not to mention the ability to find, select and use appropriate resources to acquire medical knowledge (pre-clinical and clinical) whilst evaluating the validity of those resources. (Wikipedia has its use but its is not an ideal resource and is rarely used as a standalone resource but merely a starting point)

For these reasons there has recently been an increase in structured small group learning across the majority of all UK medical schools, all you need to do is look at the new/updated course structures several medical schools have been implementing over the last few years. (UCL and Cardiff spring to mind)

So this thread is pretty dead... Who's applying here?! Are most people applying to both Plymouth and Exeter or just 1?


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Both for me! Best chances so I would be stupid to not attempt them.

Same I'm a gap year applicant so have the grades which is beneficial and above the ukcat thresholds how about you? Where else you applying?


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Southampton and Aberdeen. Aberdeen, I might get a badge for travelling the breadth of the country!

I meet the UKCAT cut-offs fairly well and they're the ones that ignore AS' so I'm happy. What did you get in the end if you dont mind me asking?

AAAB (chem, phys, Maths and bio. I did 4 A2s) and 697.5 ukcat


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Congrats on getting the grades must feel "safer" in some ways to actually have them in hand. Good UKCAT too! I'm at 675 so still safe I reckon.

I called Plymouth yesterday and they told me if you have achieved grades then they give only slight preference and still rank you using your UKCAT score. It's been said on the Medicine forum that if you have achieved grades then you're pretty much guaranteed an interview regardless of your UKCAT score, this is not true (well at least from what I was told by the Plymouth admissions staff).

Predictions will be either A*AA or AAA. Hoping for the A* in Psychology because I was only 5 UMS (3 UMS of an A in Unit 1 and 2 UMS off an A in Unit 2... I know!) an A. Easy enough to bring up at A2 considering the fact its essay based entirely. Love essays.

AS', best not go there. Not until they've been remarked and I have petitioned the Prime Minister for a competent education system.

Haha okay, btw remarks rarely go up for science subjects where no essays are involved like chem/math/physics etc. shown in my Maths being 2 off an A*, remark made it 3 off an A* haha I hate essays! Be careful though, if you're predicted an A* and get an offer of A* you'll be under more pressure! And most places don't give an advantage to those with A*


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Yeah, I know but looking at the scripts we've had returned I cannot fathom (and neither can teaching staff who are senior examiners for our exam boards) how marks have not been awarded. A bit miffed.

Yeah, I know but looking at the scripts we've had returned I cannot fathom (and neither can teaching staff who are senior examiners for our exam boards) how marks have not been awarded. A bit miffed.

What subjects? Psychology I understand they miss marks as essays hope they go up whatever they are


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A script which is remarked has been done so by a senior examiner. Now, you say your teachers are "senior examiners", what does this actually mean? Are they Team Leaders? Principal Examiners? Chief Examiners? Or just been an examiner for quite a few years?

Just asking...

Southampton and Aberdeen. Aberdeen, I might get a badge for travelling the breadth of the country!

I meet the UKCAT cut-offs fairly well and they're the ones that ignore AS' so I'm happy. What did you get in the end if you dont mind me asking?