BMC Medicine (May 2020)
The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey: an analysis of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in 25 UK medical schools relating to timing, duration, teaching formats, teaching content, and problem-based learning
- Oliver Patrick Devine,
- Andrew Christopher Harborne,
- Hugo Layard Horsfall,
- Tobin Joseph,
- Tess Marshall-Andon,
- Ryan Samuels,
- Joshua William Kearsley,
- Nadine Abbas,
- Hassan Baig,
- Joseph Beecham,
- Natasha Benons,
- Charlie Caird,
- Ryan Clark,
- Thomas Cope,
- James Coultas,
- Luke Debenham,
- Sarah Douglas,
- Jack Eldridge,
- Thomas Hughes-Gooding,
- Agnieszka Jakubowska,
- Oliver Jones,
- Eve Lancaster,
- Calum MacMillan,
- Ross McAllister,
- Wassim Merzougui,
- Ben Phillips,
- Simon Phillips,
- Omar Risk,
- Adam Sage,
- Aisha Sooltangos,
- Robert Spencer,
- Roxanne Tajbakhsh,
- Oluseyi Adesalu,
- Ivan Aganin,
- Ammar Ahmed,
- Katherine Aiken,
- Alimatu-Sadia Akeredolu,
- Ibrahim Alam,
- Aamna Ali,
- Richard Anderson,
- Jia Jun Ang,
- Fady Sameh Anis,
- Sonam Aojula,
- Catherine Arthur,
- Alena Ashby,
- Ahmed Ashraf,
- Emma Aspinall,
- Mark Awad,
- Abdul-Muiz Azri Yahaya,
- Shreya Badhrinarayanan,
- Soham Bandyopadhyay,
- Sam Barnes,
- Daisy Bassey-Duke,
- Charlotte Boreham,
- Rebecca Braine,
- Joseph Brandreth,
- Zoe Carrington,
- Zoe Cashin,
- Shaunak Chatterjee,
- Mehar Chawla,
- Chung Shen Chean,
- Chris Clements,
- Richard Clough,
- Jessica Coulthurst,
- Liam Curry,
- Vinnie Christine Daniels,
- Simon Davies,
- Rebecca Davis,
- Hanelie De Waal,
- Nasreen Desai,
- Hannah Douglas,
- James Druce,
- Lady-Namera Ejamike,
- Meron Esere,
- Alex Eyre,
- Ibrahim Talal Fazmin,
- Sophia Fitzgerald-Smith,
- Verity Ford,
- Sarah Freeston,
- Katherine Garnett,
- Whitney General,
- Helen Gilbert,
- Zein Gowie,
- Ciaran Grafton-Clarke,
- Keshni Gudka,
- Leher Gumber,
- Rishi Gupta,
- Chris Harlow,
- Amy Harrington,
- Adele Heaney,
- Wing Hang Serene Ho,
- Lucy Holloway,
- Christina Hood,
- Eleanor Houghton,
- Saba Houshangi,
- Emma Howard,
- Benjamin Human,
- Harriet Hunter,
- Ifrah Hussain,
- Sami Hussain,
- Richard Thomas Jackson-Taylor,
- Bronwen Jacob-Ramsdale,
- Ryan Janjuha,
- Saleh Jawad,
- Muzzamil Jelani,
- David Johnston,
- Mike Jones,
- Sadhana Kalidindi,
- Savraj Kalsi,
- Asanish Kalyanasundaram,
- Anna Kane,
- Sahaj Kaur,
- Othman Khaled Al-Othman,
- Qaisar Khan,
- Sajan Khullar,
- Priscilla Kirkland,
- Hannah Lawrence-Smith,
- Charlotte Leeson,
- Julius Elisabeth Richard Lenaerts,
- Kerry Long,
- Simon Lubbock,
- Jamie Mac Donald Burrell,
- Rachel Maguire,
- Praveen Mahendran,
- Saad Majeed,
- Prabhjot Singh Malhotra,
- Vinay Mandagere,
- Angelos Mantelakis,
- Sophie McGovern,
- Anjola Mosuro,
- Adam Moxley,
- Sophie Mustoe,
- Sam Myers,
- Kiran Nadeem,
- Reza Nasseri,
- Tom Newman,
- Richard Nzewi,
- Rosalie Ogborne,
- Joyce Omatseye,
- Sophie Paddock,
- James Parkin,
- Mohit Patel,
- Sohini Pawar,
- Stuart Pearce,
- Samuel Penrice,
- Julian Purdy,
- Raisa Ramjan,
- Ratan Randhawa,
- Usman Rasul,
- Elliot Raymond-Taggert,
- Rebecca Razey,
- Carmel Razzaghi,
- Eimear Reel,
- Elliot John Revell,
- Joanna Rigbye,
- Oloruntobi Rotimi,
- Abdelrahman Said,
- Emma Sanders,
- Pranoy Sangal,
- Nora Sangvik Grandal,
- Aadam Shah,
- Rahul Atul Shah,
- Oliver Shotton,
- Daniel Sims,
- Katie Smart,
- Martha Amy Smith,
- Nick Smith,
- Aninditya Salma Sopian,
- Matthew South,
- Jessica Speller,
- Tom J. Syer,
- Ngan Hong Ta,
- Daniel Tadross,
- Benjamin Thompson,
- Jess Trevett,
- Matthew Tyler,
- Roshan Ullah,
- Mrudula Utukuri,
- Shree Vadera,
- Harriet Van Den Tooren,
- Sara Venturini,
- Aradhya Vijayakumar,
- Melanie Vine,
- Zoe Wellbelove,
- Liora Wittner,
- Geoffrey Hong Kiat Yong,
- Farris Ziyada,
- I. C. McManus
Affiliations
- Oliver Patrick Devine
- UCL Medical School
- Andrew Christopher Harborne
- Good Hope Hospital
- Hugo Layard Horsfall
- St George’s, University of London
- Tobin Joseph
- UCL Medical School
- Tess Marshall-Andon
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- Ryan Samuels
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Joshua William Kearsley
- Hull University Teaching Hospitals, Hull Royal Infirmary
- Nadine Abbas
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton
- Hassan Baig
- University of Aberdeen
- Joseph Beecham
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Natasha Benons
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol Medical School
- Charlie Caird
- Imperial College School of Medicine
- Ryan Clark
- School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow
- Thomas Cope
- John Hughlings Jackson Building, University of York
- James Coultas
- School of Medicine, Keele University
- Luke Debenham
- Birmingham Medical School
- Sarah Douglas
- University of Edinburgh Medical School
- Jack Eldridge
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, BSMS Teaching Building, University of Sussex
- Thomas Hughes-Gooding
- The Medical School, The University of Sheffield
- Agnieszka Jakubowska
- Barts and The London Medical School
- Oliver Jones
- Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Eve Lancaster
- Birmingham Medical School
- Calum MacMillan
- University of Dundee School of Medicine
- Ross McAllister
- The University of Nottingham, Queen’s Medical Centre
- Wassim Merzougui
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton
- Ben Phillips
- Whiston Hospital
- Simon Phillips
- Medical Sciences Divisional Office, University of Oxford, Level 3, John Radcliffe Hospital
- Omar Risk
- Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medical Education
- Adam Sage
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Aisha Sooltangos
- Manchester Medical School
- Robert Spencer
- Cardiff University School of Medicine
- Roxanne Tajbakhsh
- School of Medicine, Worsley Building, University of Leeds
- Oluseyi Adesalu
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Ivan Aganin
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, BSMS Teaching Building, University of Sussex
- Ammar Ahmed
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Katherine Aiken
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Alimatu-Sadia Akeredolu
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Ibrahim Alam
- University of Aberdeen
- Aamna Ali
- School of Medicine, Worsley Building, University of Leeds
- Richard Anderson
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- Jia Jun Ang
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Fady Sameh Anis
- The University of Nottingham, Queen’s Medical Centre
- Sonam Aojula
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Catherine Arthur
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, BSMS Teaching Building, University of Sussex
- Alena Ashby
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Ahmed Ashraf
- University of Aberdeen
- Emma Aspinall
- Whiston Hospital
- Mark Awad
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol Medical School
- Abdul-Muiz Azri Yahaya
- University of Aberdeen
- Shreya Badhrinarayanan
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, BSMS Teaching Building, University of Sussex
- Soham Bandyopadhyay
- Medical Sciences Divisional Office, University of Oxford, Level 3, John Radcliffe Hospital
- Sam Barnes
- George Davies Centre, University of Leicester School of Medicine
- Daisy Bassey-Duke
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol Medical School
- Charlotte Boreham
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Rebecca Braine
- Medical Sciences Divisional Office, University of Oxford, Level 3, John Radcliffe Hospital
- Joseph Brandreth
- The University of Nottingham, Queen’s Medical Centre
- Zoe Carrington
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Zoe Cashin
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, BSMS Teaching Building, University of Sussex
- Shaunak Chatterjee
- Birmingham Medical School
- Mehar Chawla
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Chung Shen Chean
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Chris Clements
- St James’s University Hospital
- Richard Clough
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Jessica Coulthurst
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Liam Curry
- George Davies Centre, University of Leicester School of Medicine
- Vinnie Christine Daniels
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Simon Davies
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Rebecca Davis
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Hanelie De Waal
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, BSMS Teaching Building, University of Sussex
- Nasreen Desai
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Hannah Douglas
- University of Edinburgh Medical School
- James Druce
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Lady-Namera Ejamike
- UCL Medical School
- Meron Esere
- Medical Sciences Divisional Office, University of Oxford, Level 3, John Radcliffe Hospital
- Alex Eyre
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Ibrahim Talal Fazmin
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- Sophia Fitzgerald-Smith
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol Medical School
- Verity Ford
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton
- Sarah Freeston
- Homerton University Hospital
- Katherine Garnett
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Whitney General
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol Medical School
- Helen Gilbert
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Zein Gowie
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton
- Ciaran Grafton-Clarke
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Keshni Gudka
- The University of Nottingham, Queen’s Medical Centre
- Leher Gumber
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, BSMS Teaching Building, University of Sussex
- Rishi Gupta
- UCL Medical School
- Chris Harlow
- St George’s, University of London
- Amy Harrington
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton
- Adele Heaney
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Wing Hang Serene Ho
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Lucy Holloway
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Christina Hood
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Eleanor Houghton
- The University of Nottingham, Queen’s Medical Centre
- Saba Houshangi
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Emma Howard
- School of Medicine, Keele University
- Benjamin Human
- School of Medicine, Worsley Building, University of Leeds
- Harriet Hunter
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- Ifrah Hussain
- Imperial College School of Medicine
- Sami Hussain
- UCL Medical School
- Richard Thomas Jackson-Taylor
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Bronwen Jacob-Ramsdale
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Ryan Janjuha
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Saleh Jawad
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton
- Muzzamil Jelani
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- David Johnston
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- Mike Jones
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
- Sadhana Kalidindi
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol Medical School
- Savraj Kalsi
- John Hughlings Jackson Building, University of York
- Asanish Kalyanasundaram
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- Anna Kane
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Sahaj Kaur
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- Othman Khaled Al-Othman
- University of Aberdeen
- Qaisar Khan
- University of Aberdeen
- Sajan Khullar
- School of Medicine, Keele University
- Priscilla Kirkland
- University of Edinburgh Medical School
- Hannah Lawrence-Smith
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Charlotte Leeson
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Julius Elisabeth Richard Lenaerts
- The University of Nottingham, Queen’s Medical Centre
- Kerry Long
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Simon Lubbock
- The University of Nottingham, Queen’s Medical Centre
- Jamie Mac Donald Burrell
- University of Edinburgh Medical School
- Rachel Maguire
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Praveen Mahendran
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Saad Majeed
- University of Aberdeen
- Prabhjot Singh Malhotra
- John Hughlings Jackson Building, University of York
- Vinay Mandagere
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol Medical School
- Angelos Mantelakis
- St George’s, University of London
- Sophie McGovern
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Anjola Mosuro
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol Medical School
- Adam Moxley
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Sophie Mustoe
- Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medical Education
- Sam Myers
- UCL Medical School
- Kiran Nadeem
- Manchester Medical School
- Reza Nasseri
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol Medical School
- Tom Newman
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- Richard Nzewi
- George Davies Centre, University of Leicester School of Medicine
- Rosalie Ogborne
- St George’s, University of London
- Joyce Omatseye
- University of Liverpool Medical School
- Sophie Paddock
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- James Parkin
- St George’s, University of London
- Mohit Patel
- John Hughlings Jackson Building, University of York
- Sohini Pawar
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- Stuart Pearce
- St George’s, University of London
- Samuel Penrice
- University of Dundee School of Medicine
- Julian Purdy
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Raisa Ramjan
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Ratan Randhawa
- UCL Medical School
- Usman Rasul
- University of Aberdeen
- Elliot Raymond-Taggert
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol Medical School
- Rebecca Razey
- Imperial College School of Medicine
- Carmel Razzaghi
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Eimear Reel
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Elliot John Revell
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Joanna Rigbye
- University of Edinburgh Medical School
- Oloruntobi Rotimi
- UCL Medical School
- Abdelrahman Said
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Emma Sanders
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol Medical School
- Pranoy Sangal
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
- Nora Sangvik Grandal
- John Hughlings Jackson Building, University of York
- Aadam Shah
- University of Aberdeen
- Rahul Atul Shah
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- Oliver Shotton
- Medical Sciences Divisional Office, University of Oxford, Level 3, John Radcliffe Hospital
- Daniel Sims
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, BSMS Teaching Building, University of Sussex
- Katie Smart
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Martha Amy Smith
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Nick Smith
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Aninditya Salma Sopian
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Matthew South
- The University of Nottingham, Queen’s Medical Centre
- Jessica Speller
- George Davies Centre, University of Leicester School of Medicine
- Tom J. Syer
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Ngan Hong Ta
- Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Daniel Tadross
- School of Medicine, Worsley Building, University of Leeds
- Benjamin Thompson
- John Hughlings Jackson Building, University of York
- Jess Trevett
- John Hughlings Jackson Building, University of York
- Matthew Tyler
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Roshan Ullah
- Birmingham Medical School
- Mrudula Utukuri
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- Shree Vadera
- UCL Medical School
- Harriet Van Den Tooren
- Manchester Medical School
- Sara Venturini
- Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
- Aradhya Vijayakumar
- George Davies Centre, University of Leicester School of Medicine
- Melanie Vine
- George Davies Centre, University of Leicester School of Medicine
- Zoe Wellbelove
- John Hughlings Jackson Building, University of York
- Liora Wittner
- UCL Medical School
- Geoffrey Hong Kiat Yong
- Medical Student Office, Newcastle University
- Farris Ziyada
- Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medical Education
- I. C. McManus
- Research Department of Medical Education, UCL Medical School
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-020-01571-4
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 18,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 22
Abstract
Abstract Background What subjects UK medical schools teach, what ways they teach subjects, and how much they teach those subjects is unclear. Whether teaching differences matter is a separate, important question. This study provides a detailed picture of timetabled undergraduate teaching activity at 25 UK medical schools, particularly in relation to problem-based learning (PBL). Method The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey used detailed timetables provided by 25 schools with standard 5-year courses. Timetabled teaching events were coded in terms of course year, duration, teaching format, and teaching content. Ten schools used PBL. Teaching times from timetables were validated against two other studies that had assessed GP teaching and lecture, seminar, and tutorial times. Results A total of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in the academic year 2014/2015 were analysed, including SSCs (student-selected components) and elective studies. A typical UK medical student receives 3960 timetabled hours of teaching during their 5-year course. There was a clear difference between the initial 2 years which mostly contained basic medical science content and the later 3 years which mostly consisted of clinical teaching, although some clinical teaching occurs in the first 2 years. Medical schools differed in duration, format, and content of teaching. Two main factors underlay most of the variation between schools, Traditional vs PBL teaching and Structured vs Unstructured teaching. A curriculum map comparing medical schools was constructed using those factors. PBL schools differed on a number of measures, having more PBL teaching time, fewer lectures, more GP teaching, less surgery, less formal teaching of basic science, and more sessions with unspecified content. Discussion UK medical schools differ in both format and content of teaching. PBL and non-PBL schools clearly differ, albeit with substantial variation within groups, and overlap in the middle. The important question of whether differences in teaching matter in terms of outcomes is analysed in a companion study (MedDifs) which examines how teaching differences relate to university infrastructure, entry requirements, student perceptions, and outcomes in Foundation Programme and postgraduate training.
Keywords
