Special study modules

Seeing as I'm currently doing my 4th year Special Study Module (SSM) here in Oxford, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about what they entail...

Most clinical schools now have SSMs / Student Selected Components (SSCs) / Special Education Modules (SEMs) which are all essentially the same thing... you get 4-6 weeks off from the main clinical course to pursue an area of medical or non-medical interest. This is all part of the GMC's grand plan to broaden the medical curriculum, so doctors have the opportunity to develop skills outside the medical profession.

In Oxford, we do SSMs in 4th and 6th years. In 4th year, you're not allowed to go abroad, but you are allowed to do it anywhere in the country. Some choose to go deeper on a medical speciality e.g. paediatrics, intensive care, etc. Others maintain a medical context but do something less mainstream e.g. ancient history of medicine, whilst others go the whole way shebang and do something completely random, like Arabic!

I'm not quite sure where my SSM fits under that classification - I'm spending 4 weeks in London working for the Dept of Health, to gain a little insight into the type of work they do. It's interesting that medical students are never taught about the organisational/policy-making side of the NHS, and if you want to better understand the NHS, it's important you observe all areas of it, both clinical and managerial.

The DH is a very interesting place, constituted largely by analysts of various kinds, and guided by clinical directors (who have some medical background). They are involved in several healthcare projects, many of which include developing guidance policies on management of specific conditions endemic in the UK. These policies are known as National Service Frameworks, and are then passed on to PCTs across the country to use as a reference tool for treating patients.

I've just given a very brief summary of an area that is incredibly complicated... at the moment I do a mixture of writing reports (to help with their work here on developing new NSFs), and also sit in on some interesting meetings e.g. to do with pandemic flu, etc etc. It's all quite cool, and a nice change to Oxford!

Will be updating you with how my SSM unfolds soon :)