The ISEH is now home to undergraduate students on the UCL Division of Surgery and Interventional Science’s new and unique Integrated BSc programme in Sport & Exercise Medical Sciences. 15 third year UCL medical students have been selected for this inaugural year from very healthy competition. Next year will see the programme open up to certain high-achieving undergraduate medical students from outside UCL as well.
Students will intermingle and have opportunities to collaborate with postgraduate clinicians studying on the well-established Sports Medicine, Exercise & Health MSc programme, enhancing education by harnessing academic and clinical strengths from both groups.
The iBSc programme comprises taught modules covering the scientific basis of Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM), the newest UK medical specialty. Students will bridge the basic science, anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of musculoskeletal tissue injury and healing, with the clinical and biomechanical assessment of common sports injuries, as well as their treatment and rehabilitation. The lab-based teaching of cardiorespiratory and muscle physiology will be coupled with the principles of exercise training for health and performance, and how this is put to clinical use in exercise prescription and promotion for chronic disease prevention and treatment.
iBSc students will also have the opportunity to integrate with non-medical Division of Surgery students during research methods and medical statistics teaching, which provides the platform for their own research projects. Projects are generally undertaken in one of the ISEH’s core research themes relating to population health, exercise physiology, musculoskeletal and basic science, often collaborating with partner organisations such as the English Institute of Sport and University College London Hospital, as well as a host of National and Club Sports.
Students will gain skills relevant to SEM and a number of allied medical and surgical specialties, undoubtedly giving them a competitive advantage in their future careers!