B. Med. Sc. (Bachelor of Medical Sciences)

Level of Studies:                    Undergraduate Studies

Specialty:                              Biomedical Sciences

Degree Offered:                    B. Med. Sc. (Bachelor of Medical Sciences)

Duration of Studies:             Three Years (6 Semesters)

1. Mission

Improving the health and wellbeing of the Cameroonian population through providing a supportive learning environment where students will acquire a comprehensive skill set (academic and practical), that will enable them develop a critical and reflective approach to research in the Biomedical Sciences and Medicine.

2. Objectives of the B.Med.Sc. Degree.

• Production of biomedical graduates with high academic knowledge, advanced practical skills and attitudes necessary for effective healthcare delivery.
• Provision of sound theoretical and practical training using modern health care technologies, aimed at empowering graduates in knowledge and modern techniques applicable in biomedical research and development.
• To provide a strong platform for successful graduates to undertake studies in Medicine or embark on postgraduate studies in the various biomedical sciences.

3. Admission Requirements

• Minimum of six Ordinary Level passes including the English Language, French, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics in one sitting
• Minimum of three Advanced Level passes which must include, Biology, Chemistry and Physics or Mathematics at one sitting, in addition to the ‘O’ Level passes.
• Candidates with passes in the Probatoire and Baccalauréat in the C and D series are eligible to apply.
• Candidates with a Bachelor’s degree (at least Second class honours) from a recognized University in the Biological and Natural sciences may apply.

4. Employability and Progression Opportunities

The knowledge and skills obtained by biomedical graduates from CATUC will provide them with a leading and competitive edge of opportunities to Public and Private Sector-employment, in government and non-governmental organizations, locally, nationally and internationally, in health care institutions, Research Institutes, and Academia. Furthermore, our graduates will be fully equipped academically to proceed to Postgraduate studies, as well as embark in studies leading to the award of degrees in Medicine, after sitting and passing the National Comprehensive Examination, in which case, the candidate is admitted into the 4^th Year of the Medical training programme.

5. Conditions for the award of the B.Med.Sc. Degree.

• Degree requirements

Candidates admitted to the MD degree course must:

• Follow the approved course of study for a minimum of seven academic sessions;
• Comply with such other regulations and requirements as may be prescribed.

All candidates are normally required to attend a minimum of 90% of lectures for each prescribed course and 100% of Practicals to be eligible for examination in that course.

5.2 Examination arrangements

All end of course examinations shall take place at the end of the semester. In addition to written examinations, course examinations may involve orals and/or practicals.

5.3 Continuous assessment

Continuous assessment during the semester forms part of the end-of-course grading. Its overall contribution shall not exceed 30%.

5.4 Comprehensive Examination

There shall be two comprehensive examinations to be written before the end of programme.

The first Comprehensive Examination shall be written at the end of the second year. Candidates will be examined in Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology. Candidates must pass in all four subjects to proceed to the third year, with only one chance of a resit. Candidates who fail to validate their courses in the resit exams shall be advised to repeat the year. There shall be no carry-over of courses sat in the comprehensive exam.

The second Comprehensive Examination shall be written at the end of the third year. Candidates will be examined in Clinical/Morbid Anatomy, Chemical Pathology(Clinical Biochemistry)& Immunology, Microbiology, Parasitology, Virology and Mycology. In addition, candidates shall be examined for an oral defense of a thesis of a project carried out under supervision, in any of the biomedical sciences, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the B.Med.Sc degree. Candidates must pass all subjects to qualify for the award of the B.Med.Sc degree and to be eligible to sit for the National Comprehensive exam for entry into the 4^th year MD programme.

5.5 Format of Comprehensive Examinations

All comprehensive exams shall conform to the following format:

1. Multiple Choice Questions. MCQ Paper 1.*MCQs shall be in the T/F, Stem-item format
2. Short Answer Questions. SAQ Paper 2.

• Long Answer Questions. LAQ Paper 3.

4. Practical Examination Paper 4. ** Practical exams shall take either the OSPE or Stipple chase formats
5. Viva Voce/Thesis defense. Paper 5

All comprehensive exams must have in attendance at least one fully participating external examiner per course.

Minimum pass mark

The minimum pass mark in all courses shall be 50%.

6. Degree format

The B.Med.Sc. degree shall be classified according to the existing CATUC and UB classification system of all undergraduate degrees. However a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all courses is required for graduation. The degree obtained shall be classified based on the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) attained at the end of the course.