In medicine, there will be a new module for classrooms that will teach an advanced level of teaching.
The School of Medicine plans to use the $1.5 million it receives from the government as compensation for increasing the number of new admissions places to build a new module for classrooms in which advanced learning will be taught. This was confirmed by the dean of this center, José Pablo Lara.
The increase in the number of places in medical faculties in Spain is the result of an agreement between the ministries of health and universities and is linked to a specific budget line of 52 million euros to cover the teaching needs of medical faculties to meet this additional challenge. 15% new entry points.
In the case of the Faculty of Malaga, this corresponds to just over one and a half million euros. The dean explains that this is final funding that, inexcusably, should be used to improve teaching. Thus, the faculty decided to use this money to build a new module with classrooms that will be equipped with the most advanced technological facilities. It is about developing digital learning with twelve rooms for small groups of students.
According to a royal decree approved in July this year, Andalusia will increase its seats by 155, receiving just over 11 million euros. There are an additional 706 new places available across the country for the 2023/24 academic year. The number of students on this course at the University of Malaga increased from 160 to 182.
New curriculum
The current academic year has come to this department with an important novelty – a new curriculum that replaces the one that has been in effect for the last 13 years. Pablo Lara assures that they are approaching this change “with great enthusiasm following the consensus reached by all departments.” Among the goals that the faculty has set for this new curriculum, it lists, among others, the introduction of first-year clinical training and practice in medical centers, the intensification of research training by encouraging self-study, new subjects such as public health. management or content related to advances in biomedicine (genomics, precision medicine or bioinformatics), reorganization of the schedule and increased coordination or increase in the number of integrated subjects.
It also focuses on introducing or intensifying new teaching methodologies. Pablo Lara gives examples of the flipped classroom, problem-based learning or service/learning, and clinical simulation. “This is a new challenge that we have set for ourselves, that is necessary at the present time, to which we are going to devote all our efforts,” he says.
400 dissertations in progress
As of last year, UMA’s medical school completed 47 promotions and licensed or graduated nearly 7,000 medical professionals. The dean also spoke about the research activities carried out at the center: about 1,500 doctoral dissertations have been defended and about 400 are under implementation. “All of this is possible through strategic alliances with medical centers, which is the only way for the Faculty of Medicine to achieve its most authentic identity and achieve its goals. And we are proud to serve our community every year by delivering the doctors of the future and providing new knowledge that improves health promotion and care for the sick,” says Pablo Lara.