Master of Medicine in Medicine
The theoretical knowledge on syndromes, their origin, diagnosis and therapy is increasingly put into practice (by means of skills labs, patient contacts and internships and by learning to solve clinical problems in small groups).
What
The six-year Medicine programme is divided into a Bachelor’s and a Master’s cycle, each taking up three years. An academic year consists of integrated modules (blocks) and (learning) pathways (lines). More information can be found on bachelorbrochure. The Master’s programme focuses on an increasing integration of theoretical knowledge on syndromes, their origin, diagnosis and therapy into practice
(by means of skills labs, patient contacts and internships and by learning to solve clinical problems in small groups).
For whom
The admission requirements vary. Depending on your prior education, you are either able to enrol directly, or there are additional requirements.
Structure
The first and second Master’s year consists of weekly clinical classes. Based on a patient testimony (the patient being present in the lecturing hall), diagnostic approaches are discussed. The meaning of clinical findings, the patient’s psychosocial and a rational choice of research methods and treatment (i.e. evidence-based medicine) is given much focus. During those two years you will also work on a Master’s dissertation, which you will be asked to defend halfway through the second year. In addition, the programme consists of several internships. The clinic modules will acquaint you with patient care by means of junior internships (individual work shadowing) and structured internships (in small groups, during which patients with significant syndromes are questioned and examined under supervision of experienced physicians).
Senior internships take up most of the second term of the second year and the first term of the third year. These are basic internships in various disciplines: Internal Medicine, Accidents & Emergency, Surgery, Kinesiology, Paediatrics, Gynaecology & Obstetrics, General Practice, Psychiatry, ENT Surgery, Dermatology, etc… .
Internship objectives have been defined for each discipline. The second term of the third year includes in-depth orientation internships that will help you determine which advanced professional study programme you may take after graduating from the initial programme (i.e. general practitioner – hospital physician – social health care). In addition, reflection on clinical practice is an essential part of the study programme.
You take the ‘integrated clinical final exam’ during the June exam period of the third year. The third master year concludes with three weeks of in-depth clinical reasoning in which you will take the EBMA knowledge test. This test assesses every aspect of what a general practitioner must know. Passing the test results in an internationally recognized certificate.
International internships (within the EU) are possible through the Erasmus/Socrates programme. Non-EU internships are also an option in e.g. Cambodia, Bolivia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Ecuador, etc…
In addition to the (domain) Master’s programme described above, you can also choose a Master’s Programme in Teaching (in Dutch: Educatieve Master). In doing so, you will not become a qualified medical practitioner, but instead you choose to apply your academic/scientific knowledge in a teaching position. For more information, go to www.ugent.be/educatievemaster.
Labour Market
The (initial) Master of Medicine in Medicine gives access to advanced professional training: you can either choose to become a (recognized) General Practitioner by taking the Master of Medicine in Family Medicine (a three-year advanced Master’s programme), or a specialist medical practitioner (Surgery, Paediatrics, …) by taking the Master of Medicine in Specialist Medicine. In that case, the duration of the study programme depends on your choice of specialization. The Specialist Medicine programme is practically oriented. During a period of a specific number of years, you are a fully salaried specialist medical practitioner in training (in Dutch: arts-specialist in opleiding – ASO). Alternatively, your degree can also give access to jobs in the humanitarian field, in research or industry, to preventive health care jobs like e.g. occupational medicine or youth health care, and many other sectors. In short, a (initial) Master of Medicine in Medicine degree opens doors to a whole range of career opportunities. It is, therefore, important to have a broad outlook.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- The Medicine programme trains tomorrow’s doctors. In an ever-evolving medical world, a strong focus on scientific evolutions and social changes is a must. Students also acquire a strong awareness of social accountability.
- Ghent University’s Medicine programme boasts a unique concept: each year consists of integrated modules (“blocks”) and (learning) pathways (“lines”). Limited in time, blocks are integrated teaching modules in the course of which specific themes are studied from different angles (disciplines). Overarching the well-delineated blocks, the learning pathways run throughout the entire curriculum. Their focus is on skills training and communication.
- The clinical and communicative skills that are part of a medical practitioner’s basic medical training are a taught in small groups of 15-odd students. Each student is given the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills on a fixed day of the week.
- Our progamme’s outgoing mobility is strong. With about 65% of our Medicine students participating in a study abroad initiative in the course of their training, the Medicine programme is clearly a front runner in the faculty, and even in the university.
- Strong focus on education innovation: our programme wants to invest in innovation and IT. All lectures are being recorded for students to watch and re-watch at their own leisure. In addition, the Poirot platform brings together all lecture materials onto one and the same searchable channel. The channel is a repository for all the themes that feature throughout each training year, and is browsable at any given time.
Strengths
- The Medicine programme boasts strong student involvement. Students have representatives in every committee and workgroup. In so doing, they contribute to policy improvement within the programme. Another valuable partner is the Student Council “SWOP” (short for Student Workgroup Programmes), whose contributions we appreciate and extensively take into account in our day-to-day work.
- The Medicine programme is committed to the well-being of its students.Via our mentoring scheme we organize regular meetings between small groups of students and their assigned mentor. Each mentor also takes on the role of confidential advisor for their student group. Students can call on their mentor at any time, throughout their entire study trajectory.
- The Medicine programme boasts a dedicated team of lecturers from various basic sciences disciplines, and from the clinic. Our lecturers combine their professional expertise with a passion for teaching and a commitment to uphold the quality and topicality of their lectures in an ever-changing society.
- Together with a number of advisory workgroups and (sub)committees, the Study Programme Committee monitors our programme’s education policy: it considers and implements suggestions made by the workgroups, and sees to a high-quality implementation of Ghent University’s six strategic objectives in relation to important themes in our curriculum (research, internationalization, …).
Challenges
- Increasing student numbers in the (initial) Medicine programme put great pressure on teaching in small groups. Since precisely that is one of our programme’s strengths, we continue to monitor and maintain the (high) quality of our education.
- Patient contacts are essential for learning how to put the acquired theory into practice. In the curriculum as is, prolonged patient contacts only feature in the second Master’s year. The Programme Committee is considering its options to introduce patient contacts at a much earlier stage in the curriculum.
- The curriculum’s structure, consisting of “blocks” and “lines”, calls for the involvement of many different lecturers at programme level, but also at course unit level. Apart from the clear advantages, this diversity may also result in confusion among students and lecturers. We are considering how to organize this in a more efficient manner.
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This information was last updated on 01/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.