Teaching & Learning

Overview

The Discipline of General Practice contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, delivering clinical and research led teaching. A key strength is simulation-based education and skills practice. We also foster near-peer teaching with opportunities for GP registrars to become involved teaching medical students.

Undergraduate

4MB Modules: The majority of undergraduate teaching in General Practice takes place in Year 4 of the five-year medical programme. Our teaching approach emphasises a supportive and inclusive learning environment, where students develop skills through active participation and receive regular, constructive feedback.

Students undertake eight weeks of GP experience, with community-based GP clinical placements in each semester, complemented by structured small-group teaching. During clinical placements, students gain firsthand experience of patient care, practice clinical examinations and procedures under supervision, and develop their communication skills, supported by one-to-one feedback from their GP tutor. This placement also enhances students’ understanding of patient care across a broad spectrum of conditions commonly encountered in the community setting. Small-group teaching sessions include case-based discussions, clinical skills workshops, and simulated learning activities. A key component is our Simulated GP Surgery, where students learn to manage patients through a series of consultations based on typical primary care presentations with trained simulated patients. These sessions are directly observed and followed by individualised feedback.

This integrated approach, combining immersive clinical GP placements with interactive teaching, provides students with valuable experience and a strong foundation in General Practice.

Promotional Video: If your practice is interested in joining our GP clinical placement programme, see this video and flyer to learn more.

MD115 Student Selected Component - Teaching CPR in the Community: This 8-week service-learning experience provides our Foundation Year students with a unique opportunity to apply their new knowledge of resuscitation in the real world. Participant students gain teaching and reflective practice skills through working in partnership with local national schools, by designing and delivering CPR training workshops to school pupils.

Academic Module in General Practice for GP Registrars in Training

The module is a purposeful collaboration between the Discipline of General Practice at University of Galway and the ICGP Western Training Scheme in General Practice, jointly facilitated by training scheme and academic staff, which offers 4th year GP registrars on the an opportunity to explore their interest in either primary care research or general practice education as part of a structured mentorship programme.

Postgraduate

Taught

MD1586 Reflective Practice in Clinical Education: A 10ECTS component module of the Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Education which provides students with the skills and knowledge to utilise experience in order to deepen self-understanding and enhance their capability as educators.

Masters and Postgraduate Diploma in Healthcare Simulation & Patient Safety

• Discipline Contribution: Module teaching, module lead, course director, thesis supervision
• Key Features: Continuing professional education, innovation in teaching, human factors, patient safety, simulation

Diabetes Professional Credit Award (Standalone Module), the core clinical module of the Master’s in Diabetes.

• Designed for healthcare professionals in diabetes care, supporting practical, real-world clinical decision-making
• Teaching covers diagnosis, management, complications, and integrated care, delivered by Diabetes Centre educators at Galway University Hospitals
• Fully online (10 ECTS, two semesters) with practice-based, apprenticeship-style assessment linked to clinical workload
• Pathway to the Master’s in Diabetes, aligned with advanced postgraduate training

Research

• Opportunities: PhD and MD research projects
• Supervision Areas: Health services research, patient safety, quality of care, doctor wellbeing, primary care education
• Environment: Desk research
• Application Info: See Graduate Studies page or contact general.practice@universityofgalway.ie