Medicine introduces a new, international semester

Until now it has been difficult for medical students to take part in student exchange programmes, because the degree programme alternates between theoretical teaching and clinical training at hospitals, which is where the students get practical experience.

But from the autumn semester 2016, the fifth semester of the Master’s degree programme will be international. This means that all teaching will take place in English. At the same time, AU is entering into exchange agreements with a number of foreign universities, so that medical students will have better opportunities for studying abroad – and students who choose to stay at home will be joined by international students.  

"The agreements are currently being finalised. We are working with universities in the Nordic region, Europe and English-speaking countries such as Australia and Canada. All of them are high-ranking universities like AU," says professor and consultant at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Aarhus University Hospital, Ulla Breth Knudsen, who is the specialist project manager for the international semester at medicine.

Doctors should be internationally adept

As a doctor, you must be able to function in an international environment, which is why it is important for medical students to have an international perspective, says Ulla Breth Knudsen.

"More and more patients have a non-Danish ethnic background. Medical literature is also typically in English and we must be able to function at international conferences. From a research perspective, our students get the opportunity to learn about good universities abroad, and to be fascinated by the research they’re doing. Applications are also most often in English, so it’s an advantage for all of us if we can become even better at English."

Danish patients in foreign hands

Opening up for international students on the fifth semester of the Master’s degree programme, as the new exchange agreement does, also means that foreign medical students will come to diagnose and treat Danish patients as part of the practical section of their education.

"The students will come to work in pairs with a Danish and an international student, so that it will always be possible to communicate with patients in Danish, if that is what the patient wants," says Ulla Breth Knudsen.

AU has not specified an upper limit for the number of students who can travel abroad under the exchange programme. The deadline for applying for one of the newly established exchange agreements for the 2016 autumn semester is 1 December 2015.

The international semester at medicine is a pilot project that will run for a three-year period.

Read more: http://health.au.dk/en/education/medical-exchange/

Translated by Peter Lambourne