Community Service
The School is closely involved with the community through Community-based Education (CBE), a core element of all the courses that are presented in the School and the Faculty of Health Sciences. Through Community-based Education, centred in the CBE-Office, the School has supported community health projects in North-West Province and KwaZulu-Natal and quality improvement projects in PHC clinics in the same provinces. Service delivery also included the following:
The Departments of the School regularly present Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses.
International Agreements
An international exchange programme for students is in place. The School invites numerous guest lecturers and international external examiners. There is ever increasing international cooperation and recognition for the standards in training, research and service delivery achieved by the School. A considerable number of overseas students are accommodated for undergraduate as well as postgraduate training. Exchange programmes with international universities ensure that the School's students and academic staff are continuously exposed to international norms.
The School has written agreements with various international universities and faculties. More agreements are currently being negotiated. Such agreements lead to research collaboration, insight into the curricula of other schools of medicine, exchange programmes and visits by guest lecturers.
Training of medical students in the first year, first semester, takes place at the Hatfield campus of the University, and from the second semester at the medical campus adjoining Prinshof campus. Clinical training, covering primary, secondary and tertiary health care, takes place in a variety of hospitals and clinics to assure that students are given exposure to a wide spectrum of facilities and patients with various illnesses in the communities.
The University of Pretoria signed joint agreements with the Mpumalanga Health Department, allowing students of the School to rotate through the Witbank Hospital and exposing them to conditions in a secondary and a regional hospital. The satellite campuses at Witbank (Mpumalanga) are important additions, which were not available before 1996. The Witbank Campus provides a secondary teaching platform for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The School of Medicine and the other schools of the Faculty are also involved in providing medical services for the Mpumalanga provincial government.
The School is establishing partnerships to enhance local relevance and international competitiveness. Furthermore, to overcome funding limitations, it is often of mutual benefit to undertake projects or investigations in partnership with other faculties.
The School has agreed to train undergraduate medical students for Botswana, Namibia and Mauritius. The Governments of Botswana and Namibia have established their own medical training facilities and it does so with advice, input and guidance given by the School.
Elective Programme
Since 1990 students from abroad have been allowed to study for an elective period at our Faculty. Only a small number of students responded initially, but there has been a steady increase in the number of foreign students from various countries.
As part of the new curriculum, since the year 2000, medical students are expected to participate in an elective, which forms part of the fourth academic year. The four-week period set aside for the elective may be spent locally or abroad in an activity of each individual student's own choice, provided it is relevant to medical training and followed by a written report for evaluation.
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