Bachelor's programmeFaculty of Health, Medicine and Life SciencesMaastricht, the Netherlands

International Track in Medicine 2015/16

Why study at Maastricht University?

Established in 1976, Maastricht University (UM) is the most international university in theNetherlands. With over 16,000 students and 4,000 staff, UM is renowned for excellence andinnovation in learning. High rankings in Dutch and international publications attest to our focuson quality. UM graduates are highly appreciated on the international labour market and can befound all over the globe.

International orientationA bilingual (Dutch & English) university, UM offers Europe-focused and internationally-orientedmaster's and PhD programmes. About half of the students and one-third of the academic staff are non-Dutch, representing over 114 nationalities. This cultural diversity greatly contributes toestablishing our ‘international classroom’.

Innovating in EducationProblem-Based Learning (PBL) is a hallmark of UM’s innovative character. This student-centrededucational model is about analysing real-life problems and exchanging knowledge in a challen-ging and effective way.

Multidisciplinary researchResearch at UM is based on socially relevant themes and focuses on multidisciplinary research in:Learning and Innovation, Quality of Life, and Europe in a Globalising World. We have an ingrainedculture of collaboration within and between departments, as well as with external institutes,businesses and organisations in the Netherlands and abroad. Research plays an integral role in the majority of our master's programmes.

Kennis-As LimburgThrough the Kennis-As programme, UM, the Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+) and Zuyd University of Applied Sciences aim to play a leading role in the sustainable economicdevelopment of Limburg. Focusing on the fields of biomaterials and innovative healthcare,Kennis-As revolves around five campuses: the Maastricht Health Campus, the Maastricht inner citycampus, the Chemelot Campus in Geleen, Campus Venlo and the Smart Services Hub in Parkstad.The programme will result in new jobs, a broader range of study programmes, internationalnetworks and easier access to academic knowledge for small and medium-sized enterprises.

UM alumni go placesReports of the Maastricht University Research Centre for Education (ROA) show that our alumni are doing well in their careers (www.roa.nl). Many of them stay in contact with their alma materthrough alumni circles.

The city of MaastrichtMaastricht is one of the oldest and most charming cities in the Netherlands, with a truly interna-tional feel. It is centrally located between eight airports and is well served by international trains.

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Welcome from the dean 4

Maastricht and Maastricht University 5

Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences 6 International Track in Medicine 7

Teaching module 8

After the bachelor's programme 11

Content

All programmes in this brochure are accredited by the Accreditation

Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). For more

information on NVAO, please visit-www.nvao.nl

Maastricht University is a signatory of the “Code of conduct with

respect to international students in Dutch higher education”.

More information about this code of conduct is available

at www.internationalstudy.nl

Dear student,

Our strength at the Faculty of Health, Medicineand Life Sciences (FHML) is in combining soundeducation with research skills and practicalexperience. The emphasis is always on buildingbridges to real-life practice. For this reason, everylearning module includes practical training andinsight into state-of-the-art developments inhealth and research.

Along with practical experience, ourprogrammes also emphasise the development ofyour personal and professional skills. We believethat instead of just focusing on exams,tomorrow's leaders need to know how to learnand how to conduct their own scientificresearch. Here at FHML, you go looking for yourown knowledge and answers to your ownquestions.

On our side, we're working hard to achieve ourgoal of being an international centre ofexpertise, an integrated health campus bringingtogether both knowledge institutions and thebusiness world. This ensures that you have awide selection of internship and researchplacement options both in the Netherlands andbeyond, and this opens doors for your latercareer.

On behalf of all of us here at FHML, I hope thisbrochure helps you in choosing your bachelor'sprogramme. In this process, keep in mind thatour faculty stands for freedom: freedom ofchoice in what you want to study, in how youwant to approach problem statements, and inhow you collaborate with others. We lookforward to meeting you!

Albert ScherpbierDean, Faculty of Health, Medicine and LifeSciences

Welcome from the dean

Bachelor's programme International Track in Medicine4

Maastricht and Maastricht University

International andinnovativeMaastricht is an international city with aninternational university. Located on the banks ofthe River Meuse, where the Netherlands meetsBelgium and Germany, it’s a stone’s throw fromBrussels, Liège, Aachen, Cologne and Düsseldorf,and just a few hours from Amsterdam, Paris andLondon. To get a sense of this multicultural city,you only need to step outside and hear the manydifferent languages being spoken on the streets.

With its 120,000 inhabitants Maastricht is acompact city, but a rich one. Rich in history,culture, atmosphere, entertainment andactivities. Not to mention its beautiful hillysurroundings, ideal for hiking, recreation or justsome peace and quiet. Maastricht is also a truestudent city. Dozens of international educationinstitutes have made their homes here, and you’llhave no trouble finding a good student room foran affordable price. The city is bursting withactivities and events specially aimed at youngpeople, and there’s something for everyone:sports facilities, cosy cafes and bars, a lively musicscene, cinemas and more.

Unique learning methodMaastricht University is renowned for itsapproach to teaching and learning in a personal,small-scale and student-oriented manner.Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is, first andforemost, highly interactive. You study in groupsof 10 students and work closely with your tutors.Dozing in a lecture hall with hundreds of yourpeers is the last thing you’ll do; rather, you work inactive teams and together seek out concreteanswers to concrete questions.

Practical is the keyword here. We approach thelearning process by way of real-life situations. Forexample, we don’t tell you how torecognise a tuberculosis outbreak. Instead, wegive you a problem in the form of a case study,and you have to solve it. You go looking for allpossible causes, consult with your fellowstudents, rule out certain possibilities and cometo the conclusion. In other words, you learnactively and interactively; nothing is ready-madeor handed to you on a plate. And this is how itworks in all programmes at Maastricht University.It is a unique approach, which we continuouslystrive to improve and innovate.

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6 Bachelor's programme International Track in Medicine

High qualityBoth at home and throughout Europe, FHML isone of the most renowned institutes of its kind.We stand for cutting edge research andeducation, and pride ourselves on rapidlyincorporating the latest developments, insightsand methods into our programmes. We alsobelieve strongly in multidisciplinarity, looking ateach topic from various angles and ensuring thatthe different specialists always work in closecollaboration. Moreover, FHML is always lookingbeyond borders. International healthcare is highon our agenda, and our work regularly transcendsnational boundaries, both in research and ineducation. Taken together, all these factors

contribute to the exceptionally high quality ofFHML’s programmes.

InternationalInternationalisation is yet another keyword here,both in the subject matter and the ways in whichwe approach it. Your tutors and fellow studentscome from all over the world, and internationaland comparative themes get top priority in all ourprogrammes. All bachelor’s programmes at FHMLgive you the chance to study at one of our partneruniversities abroad.

Bachelor’s programmesYou can choose from the following bachelor’sprogrammes at FHML• Biomedical Sciences• European Public Health• Health Sciences• Medicine/International Track in Medicine

Honours ProgrammeWill you be a top talent at FHML? A gifted studentwho demonstrates both outstanding ambitionand a strong work ethic? If so, you may take partin the Honours Programme. The Honours Programme gives students activeexperience in research projects dealing withrecent developments in public health, healthcareand medicine. After an intensive screening andselection procedure, a limited number of studentsare admitted to the Honours Programme in thesecond year of the bachelor’s programme.

The Honours Programme is more extensive thanthe regular study programmes, giving you broaderand more in-depth knowledge. For details, pleasevisit www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/fhml

Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences

International Track in Medicine

Studying medicine in Maastricht is a challengethat will change your life. Are you ready?

In our bachelor's programme International Trackin Medicine (ITM), you learn a great deal aboutmedicine and medical practice, but also aboutyourself. You learn to approach patients as people.You are trained to deal with emotionally difficultsituations, such as those involving disability anddeath. You learn practical skills, like taking blood,using a stomach pump and giving heart massage.But you also discover how to maintain integrityand dignity in the face of ethical dilemmas (thinkeuthanasia or cosmetic surgery). In short, youlearn what it means to be a doctor: to give thebest of your knowledge, abilities and person, inservice of society.

This three-year bachelor’s programme providesyou with the solid foundation you need to becomea doctor. Afterwards, you can follow thethree-year master's programme in Dutch inMaastricht to become a full-fledged doctor, readyto embark on your future. ITM is a small-scalebachelor’s programme with year groups of 50-70students.

Many students recognised the value of studyingmedicine in an English-language, internationalenvironment, and so due to popular demand theprogramme is now open to students from abroad.As applicants are subject to a strict selectionprocedure, it is a great privilege to be part of thisprogramme.

Tomorrow's doctorsThanks to our innovative, international approachto medicine, the knowledge and skills oftomorrow's doctors are taking root in Maastrichttoday. Central concepts within ITM areglobalisation and international collaboration. Ifyou want to work abroad as a medical doctor, itcan be an advantage to have completed aninternationally oriented bachelor’s programme.

The world is changing, and this will not stopwhen you leave medical school. New medicalproblems will arise. Disease patterns arechanging. Science and technology will keepmoving forward. Interaction between people fromdifferent cultures will only increase: you mightpractice medicine in Iraq, Congo or Canada, or befaced with immigrants here in the Netherlandswith disorders that do not normally occur in theNetherlands.

You will need to be able to respond to changesthat are taking place on all these levels and more(see Figure 1). Our focus, therefore, is firmly onpreparing you to work as a competent medicalprofessional in the dynamic, globalising world ofthe 21st century.

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8 Bachelor's programme International Track in Medicine

You begin the bachelor’s programme as anobserver only, studying the basic principlesunderlying the normal functioning of the humanbody. As the programme progresses, you learnabout more complex clinical conditions, and startto practice techniques on fellow students andsimulation patients. By the third year, you take onmore and more responsibility for real patients.

Year 1In this first year, you are immediately confrontedwith patient problems. These problems serve asspringboards for learning about how our bodiesfunction – and what can go wrong. For example,a case about the abnormal development of a childduring pregnancy will help you learn aboutgrowth and development. A patient with acutechest pains serves as a jumping-off point tostudy the functioning of organs. In the case of anacutely obese patient, you explore the effects of

Curriculum overviewYear Blocks Weeks Themes1 The Human Body in Health and Sickness

1.1 8 Growth and Development I1.2 8 Circulation and Breathing II1.3 4 Regulation and Integration1.4 8 Digestion and Defence I1.5 8 Thinking and Doing I1.6 4 Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle

2 Integration of Knowledge and Skills2.1 8 Circulation and Breathing II 2.2 8 Growth and Development II2.3 4 Elective I2.4 8 Digestion and Defence II2.5 8 Thinking and Doing II2.6 4 Elective II

3 From Paper to Patient: a practical investigation10 Abdomen10 Locomotor Apparatus10 Circulation and Lungs10 Psychomedical Problems

lifestyle on health. These topics are synchronisedwith skills training sessions, so when you aresolving problems about, say, emergencies, theskills training will focus on resuscitation. You learnall sorts of practical techniques this year, such asapplying dressings and bandages, performingblood and urine tests, conducting abdominalexaminations and diagnosing developmentalproblems in children.

Year 2Even more than in the first year, in this secondyear you are required to apply the knowledge youhave gained in practice. In the Skills Lab, forinstance, you conduct a full consultation with asimulation patient and give recommendations fortreatment. This hands-on approach will help yougain a greater understanding of your future workas a doctor. You also deepen your knowledge ofthe themes introduced in year 1, as well as morecomplex clinical disorders: cancer, multiplesclerosis, malaria, addiction and more. As always,this is done on the basis of concrete patient

problems. In addition, there are two electiveblocks, so you can pursue your own specialinterests: forensic medicine, for instance, or carefor people with mental disabilities.

Year 3This year, your growing medical knowledge issupplemented with insight into topics such ashealth law and medical ethics. You also come faceto face with real patients for the first time. In theoutpatient clinic of the academic hospital, and inlocal GP, mental health and rehabilitation clinics,you perform real consultations and receivefeedback from an experienced doctor on how youhandled the situation. During the entire thirdyear, you also follow a simulation patient with achronic illness. You are responsible for monitoringthe patient, creating a patient file, schedulingappointments, discussing the case in evaluationgroups, requesting the correct laboratory testsand prescribing treatment. In this way, you gain adeeper understanding of everything that isinvolved in caring for a patient.

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At Maastricht University, you enter the world ofProblem-Based Learning (PBL). In a small team ofstudents with an expert tutor, you use yourcombined insights and ideas to construct yourown knowledge and solve patient problems. Tosucceed with PBL, you must be disciplined,self-directed and an active team player. You needto be flexible and proactive. These, of course, arethe skills that will be essential when you go outinto the world to practise medicine.

Our teaching method is designed to help you copein a world of rapid geopolitical, scientific andtechnological changes – the world you will live in.For example the H1N1 virus (swine flu) originatedin Mexico only in 2009. The vaccine against thevirus that causes cervical cancer is brand new.Tomorrow’s doctors will have ever moredevelopments to respond to.

Professional attitudeAs a doctor, you will also need a highlyprofessional attitude.This is reflected, during bothyour studies and your working life, in your:• work-related behaviour (e.g. time management)• behaviour towards others (e.g. respect,

cooperation, assertiveness)• self-behaviour (e.g. coping with your emotions,

dealing with feedback, understanding yourpersonal boundaries, ethical values, etc.).

Our programme is therefore not only aboutacquiring medical knowledge and techniques. It isalso a personal challenge: to get the best out ofyourself, to be the best doctor you can be.

Teaching model

10 Bachelor's programme International Track in Medicine

After the bachelor's programme

Graduating from the ITMEach phase of the programme concludes with anassessment of your knowledge, practical skills andprofessional behaviour. This may take the form ofa written test, an oral exam, an assignment, apresentation or a combination of these. Once youhave passed all assessments, you will be awardedan official bachelor's degree certificate, statingthat you have successfully completed the English-taught bachelor's programme International Trackin Medicine.

Master's programmeMaastricht University also offers its ownfollow-up, three-year master’s programme. Oncompleting this programme, you will qualify as adoctor. Because it revolves around real work withactual patients, the programme is in Dutch. Undersupervision, you will be responsible forperforming patient consultations, makingdiagnostic and treatment recommendations, andcommunicating with patients and their families.The programme involves clinical rotations ininternal medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics/gynaecology, surgery, neurology/psychiatry andgeneral practice. There is also a scientific researchmodule, in which you conduct biomedical, clinicalor behavioural research at an advanced academiclevel. In addition, you can follow a rotation and/oran elective at one of our partner institutionsabroad, such as the University of Queensland(Australia) or the Ochsner Clinical School (USA).

On completing this programme, you will qualifyas a basic doctor. You can then join a residencyprogramme to specialise in a particular area ofmedicine, such as:• general practice medicine (three years)• occupational medicine (four years)• pulmonology (five years)• radiology (six years)

• cardiology (six years)• paediatrics (six years)

Fast factsBachelor’s programme: BSc International Track in MedicineLanguage of instruction: EnglishDuration: 3 years full-timeStart date: 31 August 2015

Weekly study load: 12 hrs of classes, 28 of individual study: 40 hrs totalTeaching methods: Problem-Based Learning, tutorials, (guest) lectures, self-study, practicals and skills training Keywords: patient care, tomorrow’s doctors, international, hands-on, human bodyEntry requirements and application: For detailed information go to our website: www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/fhml/bachelors

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www.maastrichtuniversity.nlBased in Europe, focused on the world. Maastricht University is a stimulating environment. Where research and teaching are complementary. Where innovation is our focus. Where talent can flourish. A truly student oriented research university.

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Contact informationMarketing & CommunicationsFaculty of Health, Medicine and Life SciencesMaastricht UniversityP.O. Box 6166200 MD MaastrichtThe Netherlands

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Bachelor’s Open DaysSaturday 8 November 2014Saturday 7 February 2015

For more information and registration,please visit www.maastrichtuniversity.nl