Just thought I'd update on news about UWS medicine
08/04/06
School of Medicine
Welcome
Mission and Objectives
Progress Update
Academic Staff Recruitment
Community Engagement
Locations
More Information
Welcome
Message from the Foundation Dean
Welcome to the School of Medicine, part of the College of Health and Science at the University of Western Sydney.
The UWS School of Medicine will educate tomorrow’s doctors in a way that is contemporary and highly relevant to their eventual medical careers. The School of Medicine is a new school and our first students are due to commence in February/March 2007, provided the school has completed the final stage of accreditation by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) at its November 2006 meeting. The school successfully negotiated the first of the AMC’s two stages for accreditation of a new medical school in July 2005.
The school (at this stage) is offering a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)
http://www.uws.edu.au/download.php?...urse_Information.pdf&mimetype=application/pdf. (PDF, 409Kb) course.
Medical schools also have the important responsibility of pushing the boundaries of knowledge about health and illness through research. We will encourage research in many areas. Basic science studies aimed at understanding the biological basis of body function and the mechanisms of diseases will be undertaken in the new laboratories being built on the Campbelltown campus. Clinical and population research will occur in the many hospital and community settings with which the school will interface. For example, in 2005 UWS entered a partnership with NSW Health and established a research unit headed by Professor Beverley Raphael to investigate the mental health issues associated with disasters, terrorism and other large-scale adverse events, including both preparedness and response.
The School of Medicine will make a difference to health care in the complex urban environment of Greater Western Sydney (GWS) and well beyond. I encourage you to revisit this website as the school is in its developmental stage, for the latest information about the admissions process, the assembly of high calibre staff, the rollout of what will be an innovative curriculum and other news.
Neville Yeomans
MD, FRACP, FACG
Foundation Dean
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Mission and Objectives
Our mission is to create a school of international repute that produces highly skilled and adaptable medical graduates. They will be well equipped to move to the next stage of their training as interns, and for eventual practice in a wide range of situations; and many will have acquired an enduring commitment to the health and population of Greater Western Sydney and nearby under-serviced areas.
The school’s objectives are to:
produce competent and adaptable medical practitioners with a strong learning ethic based on a sound platform that will equip them well for their further training and future roles as doctors
contribute to the medical workforce growth in NSW and the retention of doctors in Greater Western Sydney
enhance the quality and accessibility of health care across the region through providing service where there is most need and by boosting the research effort in Sydney’s South West particularly, but across Greater Western Sydney more generally.
Medical graduates of the University of Western Sydney will be distinguished by:
a passion for, and appreciation of the importance of, lifelong learning
a strong commitment to the professional attitudes and performance expected of medical practitioners
a well developed understanding of, and the ability to implement, safe working practices
the ability to work effectively and cooperatively in multi-disciplinary teams
a well developed ability to work with patients with ongoing long-term illness, across the continuum of community, primary and secondary care
a heightened awareness of the rewards of working in under-served areas.
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Progress Update
We have passed the first stage of accreditation by the Australian Medical Council (AMC).
The School of Medicine 'base' is being built at Campbelltown campus and will include medical research facilities.
UWS will make a significant contribution to staffing at Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals, fostering excellence in health service delivery and drawing on the teaching and research potential at those hospitals.
Co-location of facilities with the proposed Health Research Institute NSW at Liverpool will be critical for attracting clinical academics and postgraduate trainees. UWS will aim to create a research and clinical precinct there. The focus of the research there is likely to be non-laboratory based, but the details are yet to be worked through.
UWS will focus on Greater Western Sydney (GWS) students and build the future GWS medical workforce. Student access to the school, time to graduate (5 years), and hence cost, are relevant issues we considered in designing the course.
Medical student numbers in clinical settings will double across GWS from 2009 onwards. A multi-site model is required for clinical placements. We will negotiate with NSW Health, the University of NSW and the University of Sydney to ensure clinical teaching facilities across the region are equitably shared. The NSW Government has given an undertaking that these facilities will be shared.
Collaboration with other universities and area health services will be pursued for health service improvement, research synergies and to create critical mass in the medical workforce.
The school will take advantage of interdisciplinary teaching. UWS is well placed to team teach nursing, allied health and medical students.
We will ensure the new School of Medicine benefits UWS’s other health-related disciplines by creating on-campus synergies in teaching and research with those disciplines.
Student online learning will be facilitated so that any UWS library or computer lab across the University's six campuses will be available for medical students to access the curriculum materials.
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Academic Staff Recruitment
UWS is actively recruiting academic staff to join our team. Throughout 2006 as key professorial positions are filled, we will be searching for senior lecturers, lecturers and associate lecturers.
If you are interested in professorial or lectureship opportunities, please contact the Dean through our main contact phone number, (02) 4620 3304, or send your CV with a full publication list to
medschool@uws.edu.au. While recruitment for some positions will not begin until mid 2006, we would be happy to register your interest on our database.
We will also be recruiting:
tutors
demonstrators
simulated patients (people to act as patients)
community members and health professionals, to assist us with student interviews.
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Community Engagement
Our community engagement strategy includes forming a community council. However, we also want to develop a network of friends and supporters in the community who would like to receive regular updates about the school, or contribute to our many processes, or assist in other practical ways. Here are just some of the possible avenues for involvement:
be trained as an interviewer and help us to select our students
be an actor in a simulated clinical situation
provide accommodation for a student on a clinical placement, or if you live in Macarthur, provide accommodation for first and second year students who may be looking for housing close to our main campus
be a community mentor or a point of reference for a student, either in relation to a community health issue or more broadly
help to develop or participate in a community orientation program for students
assist in developing and reviewing our curriculum
become a community member on either of our school management committees or assist with processes e.g. evaluation of our students’ community competencies.
If you would like to get involved, please contact the School of Medicine. Throughout 2006 the various activities will develop and your involvement and interest will help to ensure the school is relevant to its community.
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Locations
The School of Medicine offers programs at Campbelltown campus. Scientific Collaboration for Investigation of Mental Health and Adversity (SCIMHA) Research Unit is on Parramatta campus. For information about other programs in the College of Health and Science, please see the College of Health and Science course directory.
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More Information
Related Links
http://www.uws.edu.au/about/acadorg/schools/medicine/keypeople Key People
http://www.uws.edu.au/about/acadorg/schools/medicine/courses Courses
http://www.uws.edu.au/about/acadorg/schools/medicine/research Research
http://www.uws.edu.au/about/acadorg/schools/medicine/contactus Contact Us
