"In 2022, Queen Mary University of London was the first university to be awarded a grant by NHS England to deliver a pilot blended-learning medical education (MBBS) programme.
"The aim of the blended-learning programme is to give prospective medical students more flexibility over how and when they study, thereby making medical education more accessible and inclusive.
"As Head of Learning Innovation in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, my team plays an integral role in the development of this course. We worked – and continue to work – closely with our Dean for Digital Education, Chie Adachi, and the Digital Education Studio as well as our educators and students to create our blended MBBS. This doesn't just mean moving our lectures online. Rather, we explore how technology can transform medical education and use these tools to create entirely new ways to learn about medicine.
"We have now completed our first year of the pilot, and I am delighted to announce that we will continue to run the course for the foreseeable future. To mark this milestone, we are kicking off a series of blogs to explore our blended-learning MBBS, starting with an introduction to the course and a look into how blended learning can help make medical education more accessible."
Blended learning in medical education
"Blended learning is a combination of face-to-face, online and digital learning to help students develop theoretical and practical knowledge and skills. Our blended-learning MBBS is this approach, applied to medicine. We also provide our students with more choice of where they can complete the hands-on training needed to complete their degree.
"Creating a blended-learning medical degree has its own particular challenges. Medicine is traditionally viewed as a very 'hands-on' degree, and while in-person learning is essential for some parts of the course, there are plenty of opportunities for us to use technology to develop ways of online or digital learning that is more or as effective as in-person learning.
"Our blended-learning MBBS is the first medical degree to be specifically created with digital and tech-enabled tools, allowing for truly flexible, blended and stimulating learning. This requires a lot of innovation, which is why we have a dedicated Digital Innovation Team for medicine at Queen Mary University. Our team is leading the world in advancing and transforming the way medicine is taught and learned, providing a foundation for future medical courses."
Improving access to medical education
"The blended-learning MBBS provides students with greater flexibility over how and when they study. Our aim is to make medical education more accessible, especially to students of diverse backgrounds who are most often under-represented in higher education – particularly in medicine.
"The blended-learning approach removes some of the barriers that would otherwise prevent someone from being able to attend university – for example, students with childcare or other carer responsibilities. Students can access our world-leading medical education without having to study full-time at our East London campus.
"A more flexible approach to learning is key to creating a larger, more diverse and more adaptable medical workforce, as highlighted in the NHS Long-Term Plan. We hope that our blended-learning medical degree will widen the talent pool of those able to join the medical profession."
What next?
"As I mentioned earlier, we have now completed our first year of the pilot and we will continue to run the course for the foreseeable future. This is a huge milestone worth celebrating, but our work continues. We are working on an evaluation of the programme, the findings of which I will share with you at the start of the 2024-25 academic year."
