Bachelor of Medicine (MB) of Surgery (BCh) and of Obstetrics (BAO)

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Our Medical academies Clinical Facilities Tour " alt="Clinical Facilities Tour" /> General Practice Student Placements Information for US/Canadian students considering studying medicine

Course Overview

Medicine has been taught at University of Galway for 175 years and we have a long tradition of clinical education. We have pioneered hospital-based and bedside teaching and our medical graduates are highly sought-after doctors, practicing medicine in healthcare facilities across the globe. 

Our vision

The University of Galway Undergraduate Medical Programme is a destination medical programme for students from diverse backgrounds who will practice excellent, patient-centred medicine with knowledge, skill, compassion and resilience in equal measure, to advance human health through discovery and innovation and serve the needs of their community.

Our mission

We deliver a transformative education experience, in an inclusive environment, that enables our graduates achieve excellence in critical thinking, safe collaborative practice and communication skills, with a focus on patient- centred care that is sustainable, ethical, and equitable.

Our core values

Excellence, Respect, Inclusivity and Sustainability are embedded in our practices and processes.

Our curriculum aims

We provide a distinctive medical education programme that:

• Supports our graduates critically interrogate and apply a scientific and patient-focused knowledge base in their provision of the best patient care possible.
• Prepares our graduates to be excellent communicators, collaborators, leaders,
• Empowers our graduates to be ready to participate effectively in hospitals and community care anywhere in the world.
• Enables our graduates to lead and contribute to the development of healthcare knowledge and practice through research and innovation.
• Encourages our graduates to be effective teachers and mentors for the next generation of doctors.
• Fosters continuous personal and professional development of our medical students as confident, adaptable and resilient professionals.

The foundations of our curriculum are built on

• Excellent faculty development support systems for our teachers, robust professional support systems and superb medical education facilities.
• The core values of excellence, respect, inclusivity and sustainability

We offer both a five year and a six-year undergraduate medicine programme.  

As a medicine student you will acquire a range of qualities and skills during your time in the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.  

You will be: 

1. A safe practitioner  
2. An effective communicator 
3. A constructive collaborator 
4. A curious learner who develops continuously both professionally and personally 
5. A caring, patient centred physician 

The professional attributes we value most highly as a medical school will equip our medical graduates with the tools required to provide excellent care to their patients in any healthcare system and to make a positive contribution to the development of medical knowledge.   

As professionals, our medical graduates will always put their patients' needs and welfare first. You will apply your theoretical knowledge and practical clinical skills in a safe manner and subscribe to the time-honoured principle of primum, non nocere (first, do no harm). You will be exemplars of effective and compassionate verbal and written communication, with patients, their families and colleagues. You will work well with others in multidisciplinary healthcare teams and you will never cease to learn and you will embrace a healthy pattern of life-long learning throughout their careers. You will be generous with this knowledge and support the education of students and junior trainees.  

Our undergraduate medical programme aims to foster the development of these graduate attributes by providing authentic patient contact in a safe learning environment and by encouraging civic engagement and participation in campus-based extracurricular activities which promote leadership and teamwork.  

Our simulation based education activities, support you in these activities and give you exciting opportunities for clinical learning that were previously unavailable. You can now communicate with, diagnose and manage a simulated patient, perform procedures on them and work within a multidisciplinary team to manage their care, all in a safe supportive simulated clinical environment. You will receive encouragement and support from faculty and even from the simulated patient.  

Our campus is based adjacent to the Galway University Hospital. As you gain experience you will assume greater responsibility and undertake clinical placement rotations in a network of affiliated hospitals in as part of the Saolta Hospital Group. In addition you will be involved in the delivery of primary care in a variety of community settings. 

Medical Academies - University of Galway

“University of Galway's Medical Academies. In the clinical years at University of Galway, students relocate from Galway to spend a full calendar year at one of our academies. Each academy has a purpose-built facility of the highest international standards of medical education, comprising lecture halls, tutorial rooms, clinical skills labs and student chat/social spaces. These academy buildings are located on Saolta University Hospital sites, ensuring ease of access from the hospital to teaching and learning facilities. Students gain a unique experience of service delivery in a secondary health care centre.  Each academy has dedicated academic and administrative staff, under the direction of an academy Dean, with excellent student-staff ratios. Small student numbers enhance teaching and mentoring from clinical staff and facilitate patient contact."

Click here to find more detail.

We offer excellent supports to our medical students, find further details on the links below.

Student Services - University of Galway

StudentSupportMap_SOM (universityofgalway.ie)