LSC-40049 Medical Microbiology Module Handbook 2025/26 | Keele University

MODULE HANDBOOK FOR LSC-40049 Medical Microbiology ACADEMIC YEAR 2025/26

Table of Contents

Description of the module    
Module summary    
Module leader and teaching team    
Module delivery information    
Aims and outcomes   
Assessment    
Assessment details    
Resources

About this handbook:

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Description of the module

Introductory statement and overview of module content

This module aims to develop and enhance your understanding of the clinical and technical role of medical microbiology laboratories. You will develop key analytical skills used to assess, investigate and evaluate pathophysiology and patient pathways as well as develop evidence-based arguments to support clinical decision making. 

The module covers bacteriology, parasitology, virology and mycology. Generally, each topic has similar underlying themes:   Physiology. We will assume that you have already covered this at undergraduate level but will provide some information to act as a refresher.  
Pathobiology. We will explore how the organism affects the human body with emphasis on incidence/prevalence and pathology (cellular, molecular or whole system).  

Diagnostics. We will discuss how the infection is diagnosed/organism is identified, the various techniques involved, sensitivity/specificity and differential diagnosis. 

Module summary

Level of study: Level 7 (postgraduate) 
Credit value: 30 credits 
Semester(s) of delivery: Semester 1
Host School: School of Life Sciences 

Who is the programme for?
MSc Biomedical Science (Medical Microbiology) 
Module type
Compulsory 
Pre-requisites
There are no pre-requisites for this module.

Aims and outcomes

Module aims

This module aims to enhance your understanding of both the clinical and technical role of medical microbiology in the study of human health and disease.

Learning outcomes

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
By successfully engaging with and completing this module, you will be able to:

• Integrate complex knowledge of microorganisms and the human immune system with their associated pathology and clinical findings to assess patient needs   
• Critically evaluate professional practice within medical microbiology and relate that to current research and publications   
• Critically appraise scientific publications, test methodologies and screening techniques principally within medical microbiology   
• Evaluate complex scientific data to accurately interpret and validate clinical findings within medical microbiology   
• Critically reflect on the ways in which current understanding of medical microbiology and infection prevention impact on methodological design and patient health   
• Justify the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to assessing patient health and clinical outcomes

Assessment Summary 

There are 2 assessments for this module:
750–1000-word critical evaluation Short answer questions relating to a pre-released patient case study

Reasonable adjustments

Each of the assessments in this module have been designed to be inclusive for all students and no adjustments should be necessary.
Note about Turnitin

Please note: you are responsible for downloading the submission receipt for your work and this has to be done at the time of submission. It will not be automatically emailed to you. It's important to download and store this receipt in case there are subsequent queries regarding the successful submission of your work'.

Assessment details

Assessment 1

Critical Evaluation 
Description
You will be asked to select a specific disease / organism from a pre-selected list. You will then use AI technologies such to evaluate the current and future diagnostics and treatment for that disease/organism.

You will then submit a 750–1000-word critique of the AI-generated material with reference to the presented in current literature. 

This assessment will develop your analytical and evaluative skills. Is the information correct? Is there a strong evidence base provided? Does the piece contain sufficient detail and is it aimed at an academic audience?   

Weighting: 30 %
Pass mark: 50% 
Word count or duration: 750 – 1000 words 
Submission requirements

Deadline (date and time): Thursday 6th November (week 6) 2025 at 1pm 

7-day extensions are permitted for this assessment. 

Assessment 2 Case Study Exercise

Description

You will be provided with a patient case study in the second half of the module. This will be accompanied by 4 short answer questions to complete which will require you to provide detailed answers that draw on the material studied and independent research, directly applying and interpreting clinical guidelines for the given patient/case

Weighting: 70 %
Pass mark: 50% 
Word count or duration: 500 words per question (+/- 10%)
Submission requirements
Deadline (date and time): Tuesday 20th January 2026 (week 14) at 1pm 

Note: assessment briefs are provided separately under the Assessments Folder