Medical school
A medical school, medical college, or medical university is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Master of Medicine, Doctor of Medicine, or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. Many medical schools offer additional degrees, such as a Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree or other post-secondary education.
Medical schools can also carry out medical research and operate teaching hospitals. Around the world, criteria, structure, teaching methodology, and nature of medical programs offered at medical schools vary considerably. Medical schools are often highly competitive, using standardized entrance examinations, as well as grade point averages and leadership roles, to narrow the selection criteria for candidates.
In most countries, the study of medicine is completed as an undergraduate degree not requiring prerequisite undergraduate coursework. However, an increasing number of places are emerging for graduate entrants who have completed an undergraduate degree including some required courses. In the United States and Canada, almost all medical degrees are second-entry degrees, and require several years of previous study at the university level.
Medical degrees are awarded to medical students after the completion of their degree program, which typically lasts five or more years for the undergraduate model and four years for the graduate model. Many modern medical schools integrate clinical education with basic sciences from the beginning of the curriculum. More traditional curricula are usually divided into preclinical and clinical blocks. In preclinical sciences, students study subjects such as biochemistry, genetics, pharmacology, pathology, anatomy, physiology and medical microbiology, among others. Subsequent clinical rotations usually include internal medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry, and obstetrics and gynecology, among others.
Although medical schools confer upon graduates a medical degree, a physician typically may not legally practice medicine until licensed by the local government authority. Licensing may also require passing a test, undergoing a criminal background check, checking references, paying a fee, and undergoing several years of postgraduate training. Medical schools are regulated by each country and appear in the World Directory of Medical Schools which was formed by the merger of the AVICENNA Directory for Medicine and the FAIMER International Medical Education Directory.
Africa
By 2005 there were more than 100 medical schools across Africa, most of which had been established after 1970.Ghana
There are seven medical schools in Ghana: The University of Ghana Medical School in Accra, the KNUST School of Medical Sciences in Kumasi, University for Development Studies School of Medicine in Tamale, University of Cape Coast Medical School and the University of Allied Health Sciences in Ho, Volta Region, the private Accra College of Medicine, and Family Health University College, another private medical school.Basic Medical education lasts 6 years in all medical schools. Entry into these medical schools is highly competitive and it is usually based on successful completion of the Senior High School Examinations. The University of Ghana Medical School and the University of Cape Coast have, however, introduced a graduate entry medical program to admit students with mainly science-related degrees into a 4-year medical school program.
Students graduating from any of these medical schools get the MBChB degree and the title "Dr". For the first 3 years, students are awarded BSc in the field of Medical Sciences from the University of Ghana medical school; and Human biology for KNUST and UDS medical schools.
The University of Ghana Medical School and KNUST School of Medical Sciences in Kumasi use a traditional medical education model whiles the University for Development Studies School of Medicine and School of Medical science of the University of Cape Coast use the problem-based learning model.
Medical graduates are then registered provisionally with the Medical and Dental Council of Ghana as House Officers. Upon completion of the mandatory 2-year housemanship, these medical doctors are permanently registered with the MDC and can practice as medical officers anywhere in the country. The housemanship training is done only in hospitals accredited for such purposes by the Medical and Dental Council of Ghana.
Following the permanent registration with the Medical and Dental Council, doctors can specialize in any of the various fields that is organized by either the West African College of Physicians and Surgeons or the Ghana College of Physician and Surgeons.
Medical officers are also sometimes hired by the Ghana Health Service to work in the District/Rural areas as Primary Care Physicians.
Kenya
In Kenya, medical schools are faculties of a university. Medical education lasts for 6 years after which the student graduates with an undergraduate degree. This is followed by a mandatory 12-month full-time internship at an approved hospital after which one applies for registration with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board if they intend to practice medicine in the country. The first two years of medical school cover the basic medical sciences while the last four years are focused on the clinical sciences and internship.Completion of formal specialty training in Kenya is followed by two years of supervised clinical work before one can apply for recognition as a specialist, in their respective field, by the medical board.
There are no medical school entry examinations or interviews and admission is based on the student's performance in the high school exit examination. Students who took the AS Level or the SAT can also apply but there is a very strict quota limiting the number of students that get accepted into public universities. This quota does not apply to private universities.
Nigeria
There are several medical schools in Nigeria. Entrance into these schools is highly competitive. Candidates graduating from high school must attain high scores on the West African Examination Council's Senior School Certificate Exam and high scores in five subjects in the University Matriculation Examination. Students undergo rigorous training for 6 years and culminate with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. The undergraduate program is six years and one year of work experience in government hospitals. After medical school, graduates are mandated to spend one year of housemanship and one year of community service before they are eligible to be fully licensed by the Medical and Dental Council.Candidates are required to score at least 280 in the UME. Though this score may vary due to different performances per year and it also depends on the college standards.
South Africa
There are eleven medical schools in South Africa, each under the auspices of a public university. As the country is a former British colony, most institutions follow the British-based undergraduate method of instruction, admitting students directly from high school into 6 or 5-year programs. Some universities such as the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg have started offering post-graduate medical degrees that run concurrently with their undergraduate programs. In this instance, a student having completed an appropriate undergraduate degree with basic sciences can enter into a four-year postgraduate program.South African medical schools award the MB ChB degree, except the University of the Witwatersrand, which styles its degree MB BCh. Some universities allow students to earn an intercalated degree, completing a BSc with an additional year of study after the second or third year of the MBChB. The University of Cape Town, in particular, has spearheaded a recent effort to increase the level of medical research training and exposure of medical students through an Intercalated Honours Programme, with the option to extend this to a PhD.
Following successful completion of study, all South African medical graduates must complete a two-year internship as well as a further year of community service in order to register with the Health Professions Council and practice as a doctor in the country.
Specialisation is usually a five- to seven-year training process requiring registering as a medical registrar attached to an academic clinical department in a large teaching hospital with appropriate examinations. The specialist qualification may be conferred as a Fellowship by the independent Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, following British tradition, or as a Magisterial degree by the university. The Medical schools and the CMSA also offer Higher Diplomas in many fields. Research degrees are the MMed and PhD or MD, depending on the university.
Medical students from all over the world come to South Africa to gain practical experience in the country's many teaching hospitals and rural clinics. The language of instruction is English but a few indigenous languages are studied briefly. The University of the Free State has a parallel medium policy, meaning all English classes are also presented in Afrikaans, therefore students who choose to study in Afrikaans, do so separately from the English class.
Sudan
In Sudan, a medical school is a faculty of a university. Medical school is usually 5–6 years, and by the end of the 5–6 years, the students acquire a bachelor's degree in Medicine and Surgery. Post graduating there is a mandatory one-year full-time internship at one of the universities or Government Teaching hospitals in the four major Specialty in 3 months rotation, then a license is issued after a written exam conducted by the Sudan medical council.During the first 3–4 years the curriculum is completed, and throughout the next 2 years it is repeated with clinical training. Students with high grades in high school are accepted for free in Government Universities. Private faculty accept low grades than governmental faculty but their grades still high. Students who take foreign examinations other than the Sudanese High School Examination are also accepted in Universities, students taking IGCSE/SATs and other Arabian countries.
All medical students who want to be enrolled in an internship program should undergo registration under the Sudanese Medical Council. Postgraduate training is conducted by Sudan medical specialisation board and the degree obtained is medical doctor. The duration of training varies from 4–6 years depend on the scientific Council of the specific speciality.