School in Gozo 'may compromise medical students’ learning experience' - MMSA

The Malta Medical Students Association has expressed concerns that plans to set up a campus of the Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry in Gozo will result in “strain on the medical teaching resources being offered” and expressed its concerns as to whether requirements to enter the two medical schools will be different to each other.

The proposed collaboration, announced by the government last February, would fall under the auspices of the medical and dental school of Queen Mary University of London.

The number of medical students currently stands at 700, almost twice as much as in 2004.

The MMSA questioned how new students will be integrated into the medical course, the level of which they fear may already be compromised by the increasing number of students it admitted.

In spite of the proposed investment for the improvement of the General Hospital in Gozo, “this may not be enough to accomodate the medical students admitted in the new medical school. This will in turn put more pressure on the teaching resources at Mater Dei Hospital” said the MMSA

The MMSA invited the respective authorities clarify how these changes will affect current medical students in Malta.