Award of Bachelor of Medicine Degree with Distinction Guideline
| Document Number | 000845 |
|---|---|
| Date Approved | 7 November 2007 |
| Date Last Amended | 27 February 2009 |
Date of Commencement: For Year 5 Students 2007
1. Context
These Guidelines support the provision within the Bachelor of Medicine Schedule (000021) to allow the awarding of the degree “with distinction”.
2. Guidelines
2.1. Based upon results in Years 4 and 5 of the Bachelor of Medicine program students may be awarded the Bachelor of Medicine degree with Distinction. Year 4 and 5 results will be weighted equally.
3. Year 4 – “Distinction” Assessment Instruments
MEDI4011 (Medicine) Assessment Instruments: Long Case 25% Written Paper MEDI4012 (Surgery) Assessment Instruments: Long Case 25% Written Paper MEDI4013 (Paediatrics) Assessment Instruments: Long Case 25% Written Paper MEDI4014 (Rep Medicine) Assessment Instruments: Clinical OSCEs 25% Written Paper 100%
3.1. Calculation of Year 4 Mark
i. Marks from each of the contributing assessment instruments in the Course are weighted and added appropriately. Each student will then have a final mark for each of the Year 4 courses.
ii. Based on the results for each course, an average and standard deviation will be calculated.
iii. Students who have scored a mark that is more than one standard deviation above the average mark will be given a score of three (3). Students that have scored within one standard deviation above the average mark will be given a score of two (2). Students that have scored within one standard deviation below the average mark will be given a score of one (1) and students that have scored more than one standard deviation below the average mark will be given a score of zero (0).
iv. Students in Year 4 will be given an overall score out of twelve (12) based on the four Year 4 courses.
The purpose of using the system of awarding students a score for each of the courses based on averages and standard deviations, rather than just adding the marks to gain one overall percentage, is to identify the students who have attained a level of excellence across all four courses.
4. Year 5 – “Distinction” Assessment Instruments
MEDI5011 (Medicine) Longitudinal Task 25% MEDI5011 (Medicine) Medicine Long Case 15% MEDI5011 (Medicine) Medicine 48 Hr Task 15% MEDI5012 (Psych/PHCS) Psychiatry OSCEs 15% MEDI5014 (Surg/Emerg Med) Quality in Health Care Assignment 15% MEDI5014 (Surg/Emerg Med) Emergency Med 0SCEs 15% 100%
4.1. Calculation of Year 5 Mark
i. Marks from each of the contributing assessment instruments are weighted as indicated and added appropriately to give a total mark. The total mark is then converted to a percentage. This percentage is then converted to a score out of twelve (12).
ii. The Courses in Year 5 are not weighted equally as the assessment instruments vary greatly across the courses, for example, the 8 week Medicine Course has a heavier assessment content than the four week Psychiatry attachment. The weightings on the assessment instruments reflect the amount of time and input required by the student, with larger more arduous tasks carrying a higher weighting.
5. Compilation of Results
i. Any student that fails any Course in Years 4 or 5 of the Program will be ineligible to be awarded the Bachelor of Medicine degree with Distinction.
ii. The Year 4 and Year 5 scores are added together to give students a total score out of twenty-four (24).
iii. A cut off score of 75% (equivalent to the award of Distinction in course grades) of the possible 24 marks, will apply for the award of Distinction.
6. Award of Distinction - Exchange Program Students
i. In Year 4 of the Program, students may elect to undertake the Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine Courses as an exchange.
ii. Students undertaking an exchange will be considered on a individual basis regarding graduation with Distinction, ie if a student has acheived highly in other Year 4 and Year 5 courses and is potentially a candidate for graduation with Distinction, the marks from the Exchange will be considered by the School Assessment Committee.
7. Award of Distinction - Mid-Year Graduates
i. The percentages obtained by med-year graduates will be merged with the percentages of the graduating cohort of the previous year to ascertain whether any of these students have achieved scores that would have enabled them to graduate with Distinction.
ii. The same criteria used in determining the award of Distinction that was applied for the previous end-of-year graduates will be applied to the mid-year graduates.
| Approval Authority | Academic Senate |
|---|---|
| Date Approved | 7 November 2007 |
| Date Last Amended | 27 February 2009 |
| Date for Review | 7 November 2010 |
| Policy Sponsor | Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) |
| Policy Owner | Academic Registrar |
| Policy Contact | Assistant Academic Registrar, Faculty of Health |
| Amendment History | Minor amendment - Policy Sponsor amended from 1 January 2013, The Secretariat, 22 April 2013. Minor amendments to Date Last Amended, headings, tables and hyperlink added to 000021, The Secretariat, 22 April 2013. NOTE: This guideline will be rescinded once pre-2007 students have completed their programs. Refer to the Bachelor of Medicine – Joint Medical Program (JMP) Award of Degree with Distinction Guideline 000883 for current Bachelor of Medicine JMP candidates, Assistant Academic Registrar, Faculty of Health, 9 November 2012. Amended March 2010 Year 5 weightings and addition of clause 6 on Exchange Program Students and clause 7 on Mid Year Graduates approved PAS 27 Feb 2009 Approved Academic Senate 7 November 2007 |