Visiting address:
Medisiinarinkatu 3, B-Building

Ms Nina Pietilä
(Medicine)
Room A 2107b
Tel +358-3-3551 6611
E-mail: nina.pietila(at)uta.fi

Ms Leena Nikkari
(Health Science and Biotechnology)
Room A 2106
Tel +358-3-3551 6600
E-mail: leena.nikkari(at)uta.fi

Faculty and Medical Education in Brief

Medical Education in Finland

In Finland, there are 21 universities, ten of which are multifaculty universities and eleven specialised. They are all engaged in both education and research, and award degrees from basic to postgraduate degrees. Five major universities in the following cities offer the medical degree programmes: Helsinki, Kuopio, Oulu, Tampere, and Turku. The annual intake of new students at the medical faculties totals approximately 600. In 2009, the University of Tampere admitted 105 new degree students.

The rapid development in medicine, the changed role of the physician, the expectations of the changing society and reforming social and health services system have over the recent years compelled the medical faculties in Finland to take a critical view on their educational system and its application methods. Consequently, the faculties have changed their educational methods and renewed their education to meet the needs of modern society.

Medical Education at the University of Tampere

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tampere was founded in 1972. In the autumn of the same year, the degree programme of Licentiate of Medicine was launched. In 1981, a new Master’s degree programme in Health Care was established and supplemented further with the Health Care Teacher Education programme in 1985. In addition, offering an option of Public Health within the programme further extended Health Care Education.

Since 1 January 1995, after its restructuring, the Faculty of Medicine has had two departments: The Medical School, which is responsible for medical education, and the Department of Nursing Science, which is responsible for nursing education in health care. Moreover, two independent institutes were formed: The Tampere School of Public Health and the Institute of Medical Technology (IMT), which are research institutions and also take part in basic and postgraduate medical education. The School of Public Health provides instruction in basic and postgraduate studies in public health, and Institute of Medical Technology offers a degree programme in Biotechnology with major in Biochemistry and a two-year Master’s Degree Programme in Bioinformatics. Regea Institute for Regenerative Medicine was founded in 2005.

Organisation:

Faculty of Medicine
    Departments
        Medical School
        Department of Nursing Science
        Affiliated Departments
        Institute of Medical Technology
        Tampere School of Public Health
        Regea Institute for Regenerative Medicine

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tampere was the first in Finland to apply the problem-based learning method in basic medical education. This educational method was originally introduced by the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of McMaster, Hamilton, Canada, in 1969. In Tampere, it was put into practice at the beginning of autumn 1991 in a course called early clinical studies, which was an integrated study block consisting of basic, diagnostic and clinical subjects and continued from the first academic year up to the third. In 1994, the Faculty thoroughly renewed its curriculum, according to which the entire basic degree programme is now based on the problem-based learning method. The curriculum consists of integrated study blocks, which deal with pathophysiological entities. In the course of the renewal process, the assessment of students’ progress in their studies was also thoroughly restructured: their knowledge, skills and attitudes are tested in theoretical examinations and in practical situations.

The new learning method shifts the responsibility for learning increasingly to the students themselves. It is meant to facilitate the process of understanding, acquiring and applying knowledge. By exploiting the method, students can obtain the following qualities required of a good physician:
•     Human approach
•     Ability to deal with problems
•     Ability to retrieve information independently
•     Ability to assess information critically
•     Ability to assimilate new knowledge
•     Good clinical skills
•     Teamwork skills

The aim of studies leading to the degree of Licentiate of Medicine is to prepare the students to work as physicians as well as to take postgraduate studies. The degree also provides training for research work and administrative duties requiring medical expertise.

In Finland, the full extent of the degree programme of Licentiate of Medicine is 360 credits. One academic year consists of approximately 60 credits. Thus, the degree of Licentiate of Medicine can be taken in six years.

The degree of Licentiate of Medicine is a prerequisite for registration as a Medical Doctor (M.D.). The holder of the degree of Licentiate of Medicine who wishes to practice as a physician in the member countries of the European Union is required to have completed training in General Medical Practice, which takes three years. After that full licensing is granted by the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health.

The medical faculties are responsible for specialist training in Finland. The specialist’s degree requires a minimum of five or six years of specifically defined service, including four years in the relevant speciality and passing a national examination. The minimum requirements for theoretical training during specialisation include 10 credits in health administration and at least 60 course hours in the relevant speciality.

The University of Tampere offers 16 different five-year specialisation programmes and 33 different six-year specialisation programmes. Approximately 850 doctors are participating in these specialisation programmes at the moment. About 70% of all Finnish medical doctors are specialists.

About 20% of all medical graduates continue their studies and prepare a dissertation to complete the degree of Doctor of Medical Sciences. Preparing the doctorate equals three to four years of full-time work. In order to obtain the degree, a doctoral candidate must participate in theoretical research training, the extent of which is 30 credits. At the University of Tampere, research training includes set courses within general postgraduate training and specialised training according to the topic chosen. Furthermore, the doctoral candidate conducts research, writes and publishes a doctoral dissertation, and presents it for public examination.

Besides the degree programmes in Medicine, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tampere offers degree programmes in health sciences and biotechnology. The major subjects are public health, nursing science and biotechnology. Besides the Bachelor and Master’s degree programmes the students can also pursue postgraduate studies and complete a licentiate degree or a doctorate.

Postgraduate students who have a basic degree in Natural or Social Sciences can obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the Faculty of Medicine.