Global sharing, local innovation: Four schools, four countries, one curriculum

Abstract

Background: Many internal and external obstacles, must be overcome when establishing a new medical school, or when radically revising an existing medical curriculum.

Aims: Twenty-five years after the Flinders University curriculum was introduced as the first graduate-entry medical programme (GEMP) in Australia, we aim at describing how it has been adopted and adapted by several other schools, in Australia and in Europe (UK, Ireland, and Portugal).

Method/Results: This paper reports on the experience of four schools establishing a new medical school or new curriculum at different times and in different settings.

Conclusions: We believe that these experiences might be of interest to others contemplating a similar development.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Notes on contributors

Luís Castelo Branco, MD, PharmD, is a Medical Oncology Resident at the Algarve National Health Service Hospitals and was a student in the first medical course run in the University of Algarve Graduate-Entry Medical School. His first degree was in Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Paul Finucane, MSc, FRCPI, is a Chief Academic Officer at the University of Limerick Hospitals Group. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Limerick, where he was Foundation Head of its Graduate-Entry Medical School.

Pedro Marvão, PhD, is a lecturer at the University of Manchester. He was the Vice-Director of the Medical Course at the University of Algarve School of Medicine.

Peter McCrorie, BSc, PhD, is a Emeritus Professor of Medical Education at St George's Medical School, London, UK and Dean for Medical Education at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus. He was the first Course Director of the Graduate Entry Programme at St George's.

José Ponte, MD, DIC, PhD, FRCA, is a Emeritus Professor at the University of Algarve in Portugal, where he was the Foundation Head of its Graduate-Entry Medical School. Previously, he was Head of the Academic Department of Anaesthetics of King's College Hospital Medical School.

Paul Worley, MBBS, PhD, MBA, FRACGP, FACRRM, DObstRANZCOG, is a Dean of the Flinders University School of Medicine. He is a practicing rural doctor and medical education researcher.