Università Cattolica's 6-year Integrated Medicine and Surgery degree programme
Along with the mandatory core component, the programme allows personalized tracks with individual selection among many optional courses, as well as many concentration courses on the most innovative fields.
Giovanni Gambassi, Cattolica International programme coordinator, talks about the programme
Programme highlights
The Programme integrates learning objectives and teaching approaches, derived from the best Schools of Medicine in the EU and North America.
The programme is not the traditional, sequential teaching of individual disciplines but rather a constant reminder of the integration of the different sciences and disciplines. There is an early on focus on patients and clinical reality with emphasis on medical humanities.
The Cattolica International Programme matriculates a maximum of 80 students each year distinguished into two separate contingents. There are available 30 places for Italian and EU citizens living anywhere and NON-EU citizens living in Italy with a valid residency permit and 50 places for NON-EU citizens living abroad.
Teaching is geared toward the standards identified by the NBME (National Board of Medical Examiners) in the USA. Courses are offered in preparation for the USMLE step 1 and 2 for medical licensing in the USA. A preparatory test to the USMLE step 1 (IFOM) is mandatory for all the students at the end of Year 4.
Following the completion of the initial three years highlighted by the White Coat ceremony, students will be engaged in daily professional training inside the internationally renowned Policlinico Gemelli University Hospital. Policlinico Gemelli University Hospital is a 1500-beds academic medical center that houses all of the different medical specialties. It has received international certification by the Joint National Commission in the year 2020 and has repeatedly been rated number 1 hospital in Italy. In the year 2022, the Gemelli hospital ranked 37th in the world based on the Newsweek Best Hospitals ranking.
The Campus offers state-of-the art teaching and training facilities. The initial three years of the programme are held at the Istituti Biologici and the Polo Studenti Giovanni XXIII where classrooms, meeting rooms, students' lounge, library, students' office, cafeteria and café are available. In the Policlinico Gemelli University Hospital the students take advantage of similarly available facilities. In addition, students will spend time in the Gemelli Training Center a fully-equipped simulation centre with state-of-the art technologies that enable the attainment of various skills.
Faculty members are among the best physicians in Italy, and many are worldwide acclaimed; over 50 professors are listed in the Top Italian Scientists ranking. The Cattolica International programme also enlists International faculty members as well as many Visiting Professors from all over the world.
Students in the International Programme are offered a whole array of mobility exchange opportunities, so called Cattolica Go-Abroad.
The MD degree conferred at the end of the Programme is termed "Abilitante" in as much it allows the graduate to practice immediately, at the time of graduation, in any Unit/Service of the National Health System in Italy (SSN).
As Cattolica is enlisted in the World Directory of Medical Education (WDME), the degree is internationally recognized and allows graduates to apply for post-graduate training everywhere.
Also, being Cattolica a member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), graduates can apply for the degree recognition also in the USA.
Curriculum
In order to achieve formative goals, the Medicine and Surgery programme is organised to offer a total number of 360 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), spread over a 6-year programme. 60 credits consist of activities aimed at acquiring specific professional skills. Each ECTS corresponds to 12 hours of teaching. In case of professional training, each credit corresponds to 17 hours.
- Basic sciences
- Biomedical sciences I
- Biomedical sciences II
- Organic and functional systems I: bones and muscles
- First aid and nursing practice I
- Residency in health centre
- Introduction to Christology and scriptures
- Optional project I
- Vertical domain I/Electives I
- Italian language
- Organic and functional systems II
- First aid and nursing practice II
- Methodology of research I
- Organic and functional systems III
- Bioethics and medical humanities
- Introduction to theological anthropology and ecclesiology
- Informatics
- Optional project II
- Vertical domain II/Electives II
- Biopathology and introduction to medical therapy I
- Biopathology and introduction to medical therapy II
- Epidemiology and biostatistics
- Public health
- Introduction to clinical medicine
- Methodology of research II
- Introduction to ethics and Christian ethics
- Scientific English
- Italian language
- Optional project III
- Vertical domain III/Electives III
- Clinical centre residency I
- Medicine residency I
- Maternal and child health residency
- Clinical neurosciences
- From clinical to molecular biology I
- International foundation of medicine (IFOM) test
- Optional project IV
- Theology (seminaral course)
- Vertical domain IV/Electives IV
- Clinical centre residency II
- Public health residency
- Medicine residency II
- Surgery residency I
- Surgery residency II
- From clinical to molecular biology II
- Optional project V
- Vertical domain V/Electives V
- Health centre residency - Final training
- From clinical to molecular biology III
- Hospital residencies - Final training
- Practical-evaluation training general medicine
- Optional project - Final project
- Final test
The Medicine and Surgery Integrated Degree programme consists of a series of integrated courses, each one focusing on a specific area of scientific skills and dealing with specific notions.
The key features of the teaching in the programme are:
- horizontal and vertical integration of knowledge;
- teaching methods based on a solid foundation in the pre-clinical area, and using a problem-based approach;
- early contact with patients;
- acquisition of clinical skills as well as development of strong communication skills.
The highly integrated and flexible teaching method is kept constantly updated and is designed to help students learn from a wide, comprehensive, interdisciplinary perspective providing constant stimulation to acquire new competencies.
Credits measure both individual study workload and classwork. One credit is valued at 25 hours of study, divided roughly into 12.5 hours of frontal lecture and 12.5 hours of independent study (made up of 12.5 hours of independent study and 12.5 hours of lectures) and students are expected to accumulate around 60 credits in an academic year.
Credits are not awarded until examinations are passed for the relevant course. Examination grades measure performance while credits quantify progress within the programme.
The Italian credit system (Crediti Formativi Universitari – CFU) uses the same unit measure as the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).
The Medicine and Surgery curriculum is designed to help students learn Italian, in order to be more confident once they will start interacting with patients during the second half of the degree programme.
The Italian language course is scheduled to start from the first year in the programme.
- 1st year 24 hours (2 ECTS)
- 3rd year 63 hours (5 ECTS)