Vita-Salute San Raffaele is one of the top-ranking universities in Italy whose research specializations are renowned all over the country and in Europe. This famous Italian Medical School will be participating to the Fall edition of the Study & Go abroad Fair in Toronto and Vancouver (Sept. 21 & 26, www.studyandgoabroad.com) and presenting the 6-year medical course taught in English called the San Raffaele International MD Program.

As centre of excellence in research, the San Raffaele site comprises the hospital, an International Scientific Institute and Science Park and the International MD Program lies within this exciting environment. The medical school, research institute and hospital all boast state-of-the-art facilities and are located on the same premises allowing for unsurpassed interaction. Medical students can use all the facilities on the Campus, giving them the chance to meet other students studying subjects such as Psychology, Physiotherapy, Nursing, Biotechnology and Philosophy.

Continuous clinical exposure characterizes the medical courses within UniSR; students are allowed and encouraged to patient contact from the very first years of school. From the third year they attend clinical wards and get the chance to see a wide range of patients with everyday diseases or sometimes neglected or even rare genetic pathologies.

The University’s research is an international benchmark and its clinical activities are carried out in the San Raffaele Hospital which is situated over a 300,000 m2 area and has more than 1,300 beds. Each year, the hospital receives more than 60,000 inpatients, carries out more than 25,000 surgeries, deals with 60,000 emergencies and serves 7 million outpatients. It is a national reference centre for molecular medicine, diabetes and metabolic diseases, as well as biotechnology and bio-imaging and dedicates many of its resources to the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and numerous acute and chronic-degenerative diseases.

The new medical course in English maintains the features which have characterised the Italian Degree in Medicine and Surgery at Vita-Salute University throughout the years, making it one of the foremost and reputable Medical Schools in Italy. Vita-Salute San Raffaele University is a significant cultural, scientific and social body and unifies people coming from different parts of the world as part of the universal Mission which San Raffaele promotes.

The MD Program at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University enjoys recognition from the World Health Organization, the British General Medical Council (GMC), the US Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) as listed in the International Medical Education Directory (IMED) of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®). The medical school is also recognized by the Ontario Student Assistance Program.

The key features that make the San Raffaele International MD Program the only course of its kind in the world are:

•Thirteen ECTS credits devoted to the Humanities (philosophy, ethics, human sciences, philosophy of science and language and communication skills). This part of the course aims to develop the students’ humanistic knowledge and concentrates on effective physician-patient and peer-to-peer relationships in order to ultimately create a new type of doctor that has the human, cultural and professional background needed in today’s globalized world.

• A learning-by-practice approach to the basic sciences and clinical teachings based on short-term, intensive lecturing ‘blocks’ followed by the attendance of research laboratories at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute during the first two years of the Program, and hospital clinics and wards during the following years;

• Assessment of knowledge acquisition with the collaboration of an external, independent third-party using valid and reliable measurement tools every semester. This allows a thorough assessment of student preparation, as well as measuring teaching efficacy based on reliable international curriculum benchmarks;

• A select and limited number of students is admitted each year following an entrance test based on analytical and logical skills. This entrance exam has helped the University throughout the years to select students with impressive academic performances

• Classes in the International MD Program are smaller compared to the majority of medical schools which increase student-teacher interaction and productivity.

For more information contact Nicole Petra Papa at info.medicine@unisr.it ph: +39 02.91751.543/544 or visit www.medicine.unisr.it – www.hsr.it – www.studyandgoabroad.com.