Newcastle University School of Medicine

In 1832 a group of local medics – physicians George Fife (teaching materia medica and therapeutics) and Samuel Knott (teaching theory and practice of medicine), and surgeons John Fife (teaching surgery), Alexander Fraser (teaching anatomy and physiology) and Henry Glassford Potter (teaching chemistry) – started offering medical lectures in Bell's Court to supplement the apprenticeship system (a fourth surgeon, Duncan McAllum, is mentioned by some sources among the founders, but was not included in the prospectus). The first session started on 1 October 1832 with eight or nine students, including John Snow, then apprenticed to a local surgeon-apothecary, the opening lecture being delivered by John Fife. In 1834 the lectures and practical demonstrations moved to the Hall of the Company of Barber Surgeons to accommodate the growing number of students, and the School of Medicine and Surgery was formally established on 1 October 1834.^[2][3][4]

 

On 25 June 1851, following a dispute among the teaching staff, the school was formally dissolved and the lecturers split into two rival institutions. The majority formed the Newcastle College of Medicine, and the others established themselves as the Newcastle upon Tyne College of Medicine and Practical Science with competing lecture courses.^[5] In July 1851 the majority college was recognised by the Society of Apothecaries and in October by the Royal College of Surgeons of England and in January 1852 was approved by the University of London to submit its students for London medical degree examinations. Later in 1852, the majority college was formally linked to the University of Durham, becoming the Newcastle-upon-Tyne College of Medicine in connection with the University of Durham.^[6]

The college awarded its first 'Licence in Medicine' (LicMed) under the auspices of the University of Durham in 1856, with external examiners from Oxford and London, becoming the first medical examining body on the United Kingdom to institute practical examinations alongside written and viva voce examinations. The two colleges amalgamated in 1857, with the first session of the unified college opening on 3 October that year.^[7]

In 1861 the degree of Master of Surgery was introduced, allowing for the double qualification of Licence of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, along with the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Doctor of Medicine, both of which required residence in Durham. In 1870 the college was brought into closer connection with the university, becoming the Durham University College of Medicine with the Reader in Medicine becoming the Professor of Medicine, the college gaining a representative on the university's senate, and residence at the college henceforth counting as residence in the university towards degrees in medicine and surgery, removing the need for students to spend a period of residence in Durham before they could receive the higher degrees.^[8]

A separate College of Physical Science was founded in Newcastle in 1871. The medical and physical colleges merged to form King's College, Durham under the Durham University Act 1937, and this became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1963.^[9][10]

From 2001, it operated in partnership with Durham University's recreated medical school based at Queen's Campus on Teesside, until 2018 when Durham completed the transfer of its medical school to Newcastle.^[11][12]

The medical school follows a modern, integrated, systems-based curriculum, and was the first medical school in the country to operate an integrated medical curriculum.^[13]

Students complete two years of campus-based teaching, followed by three years of largely hospital based teaching. During each of these three years, students are based at an LEP (Local education provider) which roughly corresponds to an NHS Trust. These LEPs can be anywhere within the north east and north Cumbria, however students will spend at least 2 years in an LEP that is a commutable distance from Newcastle.

The medical school also offers an accelerated medical programme, intended for students who have a previous degree in a different (often unrelated) discipline. This lasts four years, the first year covering the same material as the first two years of the five-year course. Second year "accelerated" students are then taught alongside the third year students from the five-year programme. The medical school offers students the chance to intercalate in a BSc in another area of study after the 2nd year, either at Newcastle University or externally at another university. After, the 4th year, the medical schools also offers students the opportunity to undertake a Master's degree or MRes. Some students complete a PhD following the completion of an intercalated master's degree. After completing the extra year(s), students resume their medical studies.^[14]

Newcastle Medical School consistently ranks as one of the top medical schools in the UK due to high levels of teaching and research; it is ranked in the top 10 UK medical schools by the Complete University Guide (8th), the Guardian (6th) and the Sunday Times (7th). It is the first institution in the UK to be given permission to pursue stem-cell research. The BMC Medicine journal reported medical graduates from Oxford, Cambridge and Newcastle performed better in postgraduate tests than any other medical school in the UK.^[15]

 

As of 2020 the medical school admits some 367 students per year (including 26 from overseas) making it one of the largest medical schools in the UK.^[16] According to UCAS, Cambridge, Oxford and Newcastle are the most academically selective universities for entry to study medicine in the United Kingdom.^[17] During the 2020 admissions cycle for both the 4-year A101 graduate and 5-year A100 undergraduate MBBS course, there were 10 applicants for every place.^[18] Prospective students applying to the medical school for both the standard (5-year) and accelerated (4-year) programmes are required to sit the UCAT admission test.^[19] The most recent UCAT cut-off for invitation to interview for the A100 and A101 courses was 2730 and 2920 respectively for 2020 entry (scores in the 85th and 95th percentile of test-takers).^[20]

In 2008 the university announced that they were entering into an agreement to establish an international branch campus in Malaysia for the teaching of medical subjects. The development of the 5-hectare (13-acre) site in Johor, marks Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) as the 'anchor tenant' within the EduCity.^[21]

Staff moved into the NUMed Malaysia buildings in May 2011, in preparation for students arriving in August.^[22] The Malaysian Bell's Court building features a section which is designed to look like the Arches in Newcastle upon Tyne.^[23] The International Campus offers MBBS, which is currently accredited by both the General Medical Council and Malaysian Medical Council and Undergraduate Degrees in Biomedical sciences. Both programmes lead to a Newcastle University degree, and are identical to the course in the UK. The MBBS programme is recognised across the globe, with the medical school listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools ^[24]

The main clinical teaching hospitals are Hospital Sultan Ismail and Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor Bahru, Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail in Batu Pahat, Hospital Enche’ Besar Hajjah Khalsom in Kluang and a number of community clinics. All teaching and examinations are conducted in English, with the use of translators in clinical settings if required. Opportunities exist for students to spend time in the UK Campus, both through Student Selected Components (SSC), electives and intercalation.

There are currently over 700 students enrolled, from all over Malaysia and many countries of the world. There have been four cohorts of graduates from the MBBS programme (January 2018), with over 170 students. The Biomedical Sciences programme is a 2+1, with the final research-intensive year being conducted in the UK. It has graduated two cohorts of students to date. The Foundation in Science course opened in 2016, and students are guaranteed a place on the Biomedical Science or Medical degree programmes if they meet the academic criteria - in 2017 all met the criteria, and 86% chose to progress at NUMed.

Established in 1879, The Medical Society is the student society for all medical students at Newcastle University. MedSoc is run by a committee of 8 third year medical students.^[25] The Medical Society is not affiliated with Newcastle University Student Union.^{[citation needed]}

Following the merger of the College of Medicine with Armstrong College in 1937 the position of Dean of Medicine was created with a large degree of autonomy.^[26] A reorganisation of the university in 2002 led to this role being transferred to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Medical Sciences.

• Newcastle University School of Medicine at Newcastle University
• NUMed Malaysia at Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia