First Clinical Attachment

Course Co-ordinator: Dr Rosalind Herbert

Introducing Year 1 medical students to patients

The First Clinical Attachment (FCA)  teaches students interviewing and communication skills and encourages them to think about illness and health from the patient's viewpoint.

What happens?

There is one module each term. Each module has two tutorials and five visits to patients during the year.

• Module 1: Illness, health and disease

• Module 2: The experience of health and social care

• Module 3: Living with a long-term condition and the effects of life events

Students make several visits to a patient and their family at home. The patient will either be an adult with a long-term illness, or a family with a child who has a long-term condition.

Students visit in pairs using their developing skills to explore the patient and the patient’s family’s experience. They also see patients in a clinical setting.

The GP group leader meets with 10–12 students for tutorials. Dr Rosalind Herbert, the course coordinator, holds a leader's briefing and debriefing each term.