Australian National University Medical School
Encyclopedia
The Australian National University Medical School (ANUMS) is a graduate medical school that received the Australian Medical Council (AMC) accreditation for the M.B., B.S. program in November 2003. Under the leadership of the Foundation Dean, Professor Paul Gatenby, the first cohort of students commenced in February 2004. The current Dean of Medicine is Professor Nicholas Glasgow and Deputy Dean of Medicine Professor David Ellwood.
The medical school houses national and internationally renowned academics and clinicians, including Dr. Simon O'Connor, co-author of the popular clinical textbook, Clinical Examination.
’s plan for the design of Canberra
not only designated Acton peninsula as a hospital site, but did so whilst simultaneously placing it adjacent to a university where he envisaged a medical school would be located. One of the best extant sources of evidence of the geometry and intent of Walter Burley Griffin’s formally adopted plan for Canberra, is set out in the Report of Federal Capital City Designs of the Board of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia (1912).
The following excerpts are taken from pages 18 and 19 of that report.
“Black Mountain rising almost directly out of the waters at the Western end of the “Water Axis,”
is set off from the formal pool by the University and surrounding Professional schools…it will be
noted that fundamental sciences, descriptive of nature lead directly to the theoretical sciences
dependent on them…Some such arrangement is necessary to permit proper expansion in these
changing fields, with convenience to students. Moreover it is endeavoured to direct these lines on the
site to such fields for actual application as are more available to them…Thus from Physiology and Gymnasia open onto the broad flat athletic grounds and the water areas and the Hospital, of itself in a most suitable isolated location with equable temperature and atmospheric conditions is adjoined by the Medical, Surgical, Pharmaceutic schools."
The Canberra Community Hospital on Acton peninsula (which was later named the Royal Canberra Hospital
) had possessed a Department of Clinical Science since 1965, its foundation professor being Malcolm Whyte and its laboratories being linked to the Australian National University
's (ANU) John Curtin School of Medical Research
. Amongst others, Dr Marcus de Laune Faunce
advocated that the Royal Canberra Hospital be linked with a medical school at the ANU.
In the early 1970s the ANU narrowly missed out on a medical school, which went to the University of Newcastle. HM Whyte in a study of the early moves for a university medical school in Canberra
details how the proposal was initiated by a question addressed to the ANU by the Director-General of Health in 1963, considered by hospital and university committees, approved by a report in 1965, bolstered by an international conference in 1968, encouraged by the Universities Commission and fleshed out into a formal submission to the Universities Commission in 1971. A government-funded fealibility study commenced in 1974 and reported in 1976. In July 1976, however, the ANU University Council decided: "in view of recent statements on funding for universities...there was no advantage to be had in developing further at present the study so far undertaken". The 1980s had seen an involvement in the teaching of a small cohort of final-year students from the University of Queensland in Canberra, and in 1993 the University of Sydney began to develop its Canberra Clinical School.
In April 2001, after intense public debate and a committee of inquiry lasting eight months, it was announced that the Australian National University
(ANU) was to develop Australia's 12th and the world's 896th medical school. Shortly afterwards staff at the medical school made a proposal to the National Capital Authority that the old hospice and isolation block facilities on Acton Peninsula (which had been heritage listed for a health use) should be leased to the Medical School for teaching and clinical purposes.
The themes include:
These themes were selected as being important knowledge and professional domains that medical graduates will need in the 21st century. Doctors require competency in basic medical sciences such as anatomy and physiology as well as defined clinical skills, this includes communicating with patients and their relatives, being able to elicit a history, examine a patient and use the principles of evidence based practice. Population health
grows in importance as the world’s population grows; doctors must appreciate there is perspective different from their individual patients and that great health gains are really only made at the population level. Finally, we recognise that doctors require an understanding of health law
medical ethics
and international human rights as well as an ability to reflect on their own performance and capacity.
Teaching is on the ANU campus, particularly in the first two years. Patient contact is from early in the course with much of the last two years taught in the health sector, both in the ACT and in surrounding NSW. In the ACT the principle teaching hospital is The Canberra Hospital, students will also go to Calvary Hospital, to facilities of ACT Community Care and selected general practices. In surrounding NSW we have established a Rural Clinical School. A select group of students will be invited to spend the third year of the course in a rural curriculum that will run parallel to the urban based curriculum.
The ANU Medical School has links with the ACT Department of Health and Community Care and the Southern Area Health Service of the NSW Health system. Canberra
, the "bush capital", is very close to the small population centres of south-eastern NSW. The School takes advantage of the diversity of the surrounding area and provides rural experience from very early in the course in locations such as Yass
, Queanbeyan
, Bega
, Batemans Bay
, Goulburn
and Cooma
, all of which are within a few hour's travelling distance of Canberra, as well as Young
. Students have the opportunity to spend one of their clinical years in a rural setting, learning medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology synchronously while their urban colleagues rotate through traditional blocs.
A number of other smaller hospitals also act as teaching hospitals to participate in rural medical education in the ACT and SE NSW region.
The medical school houses national and internationally renowned academics and clinicians, including Dr. Simon O'Connor, co-author of the popular clinical textbook, Clinical Examination.
History of the Medical School
Walter Burley GriffinWalter Burley Griffin
Walter Burley Griffin was an American architect and landscape architect, who is best known for his role in designing Canberra, Australia's capital city...
’s plan for the design of Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
not only designated Acton peninsula as a hospital site, but did so whilst simultaneously placing it adjacent to a university where he envisaged a medical school would be located. One of the best extant sources of evidence of the geometry and intent of Walter Burley Griffin’s formally adopted plan for Canberra, is set out in the Report of Federal Capital City Designs of the Board of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia (1912).
The following excerpts are taken from pages 18 and 19 of that report.
“Black Mountain rising almost directly out of the waters at the Western end of the “Water Axis,”
is set off from the formal pool by the University and surrounding Professional schools…it will be
noted that fundamental sciences, descriptive of nature lead directly to the theoretical sciences
dependent on them…Some such arrangement is necessary to permit proper expansion in these
changing fields, with convenience to students. Moreover it is endeavoured to direct these lines on the
site to such fields for actual application as are more available to them…Thus from Physiology and Gymnasia open onto the broad flat athletic grounds and the water areas and the Hospital, of itself in a most suitable isolated location with equable temperature and atmospheric conditions is adjoined by the Medical, Surgical, Pharmaceutic schools."
The Canberra Community Hospital on Acton peninsula (which was later named the Royal Canberra Hospital
Royal Canberra Hospital
Royal Canberra Hospital was the first hospital in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It opened in 1914 on the Acton Peninsula, as the Canberra Community Hospital. It grew to become the major hospital in Canberra before being closed in 1991 and later demolished in 1997.- Early Years 1912–1939 :In...
) had possessed a Department of Clinical Science since 1965, its foundation professor being Malcolm Whyte and its laboratories being linked to the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
's (ANU) John Curtin School of Medical Research
John Curtin School of Medical Research
The John Curtin School of Medical Research is a major biomedical research centre in Australia, and part of the Australian National University, Canberra. The school was founded in 1948, as a result of the vision of Australian Nobel Laureate Sir Howard Florey and Prime Minister John Curtin.The Nobel...
. Amongst others, Dr Marcus de Laune Faunce
Marcus de Laune Faunce
Marcus de Laune "Marc" Faunce, CVO, AM, OBE, FRCP, FRACP was a Canberra consultant physician, head of Royal Canberra Hospital, doctor to five Australian Prime Ministers and six Governors-General of Australia and former Senior Physician Consultant to the RAAF.- Early medical career:Faunce was...
advocated that the Royal Canberra Hospital be linked with a medical school at the ANU.
In the early 1970s the ANU narrowly missed out on a medical school, which went to the University of Newcastle. HM Whyte in a study of the early moves for a university medical school in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
details how the proposal was initiated by a question addressed to the ANU by the Director-General of Health in 1963, considered by hospital and university committees, approved by a report in 1965, bolstered by an international conference in 1968, encouraged by the Universities Commission and fleshed out into a formal submission to the Universities Commission in 1971. A government-funded fealibility study commenced in 1974 and reported in 1976. In July 1976, however, the ANU University Council decided: "in view of recent statements on funding for universities...there was no advantage to be had in developing further at present the study so far undertaken". The 1980s had seen an involvement in the teaching of a small cohort of final-year students from the University of Queensland in Canberra, and in 1993 the University of Sydney began to develop its Canberra Clinical School.
In April 2001, after intense public debate and a committee of inquiry lasting eight months, it was announced that the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
(ANU) was to develop Australia's 12th and the world's 896th medical school. Shortly afterwards staff at the medical school made a proposal to the National Capital Authority that the old hospice and isolation block facilities on Acton Peninsula (which had been heritage listed for a health use) should be leased to the Medical School for teaching and clinical purposes.
Structure of the Medical School
The first enrolment was in 2004. The ANUMS program is a four year graduate medical degree, being thematic in concept and which uses problem based learning as the principal method of instruction particularly in the first two years.The themes include:
- Medical Sciences- 45%
- Clinical Skills- 30%
- Population Health- 15%
- Professionalism and Leadership- 10%
These themes were selected as being important knowledge and professional domains that medical graduates will need in the 21st century. Doctors require competency in basic medical sciences such as anatomy and physiology as well as defined clinical skills, this includes communicating with patients and their relatives, being able to elicit a history, examine a patient and use the principles of evidence based practice. Population health
Population health
Population health has been defined as “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group.” It is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of an entire population. One major step in achieving this aim is to reduce health...
grows in importance as the world’s population grows; doctors must appreciate there is perspective different from their individual patients and that great health gains are really only made at the population level. Finally, we recognise that doctors require an understanding of health law
Health law
Health Law is the federal, state, and local law, rules, regulations and other jurisprudence affecting the health care industry and their application to health care patients, providers and payors, and vendors to the health care industry, including without limitation the relationships among...
medical ethics
Medical ethics
Medical ethics is a system of moral principles that apply values and judgments to the practice of medicine. As a scholarly discipline, medical ethics encompasses its practical application in clinical settings as well as work on its history, philosophy, theology, and sociology.-History:Historically,...
and international human rights as well as an ability to reflect on their own performance and capacity.
Teaching is on the ANU campus, particularly in the first two years. Patient contact is from early in the course with much of the last two years taught in the health sector, both in the ACT and in surrounding NSW. In the ACT the principle teaching hospital is The Canberra Hospital, students will also go to Calvary Hospital, to facilities of ACT Community Care and selected general practices. In surrounding NSW we have established a Rural Clinical School. A select group of students will be invited to spend the third year of the course in a rural curriculum that will run parallel to the urban based curriculum.
The ANU Medical School has links with the ACT Department of Health and Community Care and the Southern Area Health Service of the NSW Health system. Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, the "bush capital", is very close to the small population centres of south-eastern NSW. The School takes advantage of the diversity of the surrounding area and provides rural experience from very early in the course in locations such as Yass
Yass, New South Wales
Yass is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Yass Valley Shire. The name appears to have been derived from an Aboriginal word, "Yarrh" , said to mean 'running water'....
, Queanbeyan
Queanbeyan, New South Wales
Queanbeyan is a regional centre in the Southern Tablelands in south-eastern New South Wales adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory. The city's mixed economy is based on light construction, high technology, manufacturing, service, retail and agriculture. It is the council seat of the...
, Bega
Bega, New South Wales
Bega is a town in the south-east of New South Wales, Australia in the Bega Valley Shire. It is the economic centre for the Bega Valley.-Place name:One claim is that place name Bega is derived from the local Aboriginal word meaning "big camping ground"....
, Batemans Bay
Batemans Bay, New South Wales
- Media :Radio Stations*East Coast Radio 2EC *Power FM NSW South Coast - POWER FM from Nowra can also be received in parts of Batemans Bay on FM 94.9....
, Goulburn
Goulburn, New South Wales
Goulburn is a provincial city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Goulburn Mulwaree Council Local Government Area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway and above sea-level. On Census night 2006, Goulburn had a population of 20,127 people...
and Cooma
Cooma, New South Wales
-Education: is Cooma's only public high school, it serves the town and seven of the neighbouring rural towns and villages such as Berridale, Jindabyne, Nimmitabel, Bredbo and Dalgety....
, all of which are within a few hour's travelling distance of Canberra, as well as Young
Young, New South Wales
-Demographics:On census night, 7 August 2001, there were 6,821 people counted in Young. There were 238 people who identified as being of Indigenous origin in the 2001 Census...
. Students have the opportunity to spend one of their clinical years in a rural setting, learning medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology synchronously while their urban colleagues rotate through traditional blocs.
Admission
Admission is via a combination of Grade Point Average (GPA) of a previous undergraduate degree and the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) weighted 50:50. Places include Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP), Bonded Medical Places (BMP), Medical Rural Bonded Places (MRBS) and International Full Fee Places (IFP).Teaching Hospitals
Clinical schools are based at the following major teaching hospitals affiliated with the ANU Medical School:- The Canberra Hospital
- National Capital Private Hospital
- Calvary HospitalCalvary HospitalCalvary Hospital may refer to:*Calvary Hospital, Bronx, a non profit institution in the borough of The Bronx in New York City*Calvary Hospital, Hobart, located in Lenah Valley, Tasmania...
- Calvary John James Hospital
- Calvary Private Hospital
- Canberra Eye Hospital
- Goulburn Base Hospital
- Batemans Bay Hospital
A number of other smaller hospitals also act as teaching hospitals to participate in rural medical education in the ACT and SE NSW region.
External links
- Official website
- ANUMS Goals and Strategies (last accessed 20 July 2009)