University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine
Encyclopedia
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
of the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, and is widely regarded as one of the most highly rated education and research institutions of the Asia Pacific region. On an international level, it is currently ranked among the top 25 clinical, pre-clinical and health institutions by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings is an international ranking of universities published by the British magazine Times Higher Education in partnership with Thomson Reuters, which provided citation database information...
.
The School was established in 1856 (officially The University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine) and is the oldest medical school in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It has a large and distinguished faculty to support its missions in education, research, and health care. Each year, it is home to over 1,100 medical students and 2,000 postgraduate students undertaking coursework and research-training programs.
Sydney Medical Program
The School offers a four-year graduate medical programGraduate Medical Program
Graduate Medical Program or sometimes also known as Graduate Entry Program or Graduate Entry Medicine are terms generally used outside of the United States to refer to medical programs usually of 4-years duration where applicants are university graduates who have taken aptitude tests such as the...
that leads to the awards of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). Entry into the Sydney Medical Program is on the basis of a satisfactory grade point average, the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test score, and performance in a multiple mini-interview
Multiple mini interview
The multiple mini interview is an interview format that uses many short independent assessments, typically in a timed circuit, to obtain an aggregate score of each candidate’s soft skills. In 2001, the Michael DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University began developing the MMI system, to...
. Each year's cohort has approximately 300 students enrolled, an appreciable proportion of which are international students.
Key course features include a hybrid problem-based learning
Problem-based learning
Problem-based learning is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject in the context of complex, multifaceted, and realistic problems...
model, early clinical exposure, online learning resources, and a focus on evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine or evidence-based practice aims to apply the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to clinical decision making. It seeks to assess the strength of evidence of the risks and benefits of treatments and diagnostic tests...
, which were modelled on aspects of the New Pathway MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
program at Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
. The curriculum has won numerous teaching awards and is licensed to universities in the UK, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and to other universities in Australia.
Combined Medicine: undergraduate provisional entry
The School offers an 'undergraduate-entry' pathway in which a provisional place is held in the Sydney Medical Program for students until they complete one of the following three-year undergraduate degrees at the University:- Bachelor of Arts (Advanced) (Honours)
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Economics
- Bachelor of Medical Science
- Bachelor of Music Studies
- Bachelor of Science (Advanced)
Securing such a place is highly competitive, as only ten to thirty such places are offered each year. Entry is on the basis of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank
Australian Tertiary Admission Rank
The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank is the primary criterion for entry into most undergraduate-entry university programs in Australia, it was gradually introduced during 2009 and 2010 to replace the Universities Admission Index, Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank and Tertiary Entrance...
(ATAR) or equivalent, and a semi-structured panel interview. For Music Studies-Medicine only, an additional audition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
is required. Since the introduction of this admissions pathway in 2005, the ATAR cut-off or equivalent has consistently been 99.95 (except for Music Studies-Medicine, which has been 99.50), the highest cut-off of any undergraduate-entry program offered in Australia. In 2009, an alternate pathway consisting of five additional places in Medical Science-Medicine and Science (Advanced)-Medicine was introduced specifically for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (ATSI)
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
high school graduates.
Research activity
The School has a very large research base, with its disciplines and affiliated institutes actively engaged in research in both the basic sciences and all major areas of clinical medicine.Clinical schools and teaching hospitals
Sydney Medical School is supported by eight clinical schools, which are based at major teaching hospitals across New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
:
- Central Clinical School: Royal Prince Alfred HospitalRoyal Prince Alfred HospitalThe Royal Prince Alfred Hospital is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown...
- Westmead Clinical School: Westmead HospitalWestmead HospitalWestmead Hospital is a major 975 bed tertiary hospital in Sydney, Australia, opened on 10 November 1978 by the then Premier, Neville Wran, and guest of honour was former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam...
- The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Clinical School: Royal Alexandra Hospital for ChildrenRoyal Alexandra Hospital for ChildrenThe Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children is a children's hospital in Sydney, Australia. The Hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children"...
- Concord Clinical School: Concord Repatriation General HospitalConcord Repatriation General HospitalConcord Repatriation General Hospital , commonly referred to as simply Concord Hospital, is a major hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Hospital Road in Concord...
- Nepean Clinical School: Nepean HospitalNepean HospitalNepean Hospital is a 420-bed teaching hospital in Kingswood. Nepean Hospital is located at the base of the Blue Mountains in Penrith NSW, Australia. With the gorgeous Nepean river flowing through Penrith, is one of the fastest growing areas in Sydney...
- Northern Clinical School: Royal North Shore HospitalRoyal North Shore HospitalThe Royal North Shore Hospital is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has approximately 740 beds. It is the referral hospital for Northern Sydney and the Central...
- School of Rural Health: Dubbo Base Hospital and Orange Base Hospital
- Sydney Adventist (SAN) Clinical School: Sydney Adventist HospitalSydney Adventist HospitalSydney Adventist Hospital, commonly known as the San, is a large private hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Fox Valley Road in Wahroonga. Established on January 1, 1903, as a not-for-profit organisation, it was originally named the Sydney Sanitarium from which its colloquial name was derived...
A number of smaller hospitals also act as teaching hospitals.