The curriculum comprises a five-year study period. There are 40 weeks in the first, second and third years and 48 weeks in the fourth and fifth years. 37 weeks are allocated to clinical internships in the fifth year. One lesson lasts 60 minutes.
The study of human medicine at the Paracelsus Medical University produces responsible and competent doctors; graduates who not only possess theoretical medical knowledge but have also acquired useable skills. The course provides graduates with skills and logical reasoning in order to recognize correlations and solve problems that they may not have previously encountered.
Diverse teaching and learning methods are used, such as lectures, seminars, mini-cases, case studies, presentations and group work. Problem-oriented learning (POL) is essential in acquiring the skill to act independently when interacting with patients and developing therapeutic measures. The central premise is to encourage students to acquire as much knowledge as possible through self-study. Students receive a heightened awareness of how theory and practice, stasis and function, health and illness are interconnected from the cell to the organ and further, in order to contribute towards a healthy society. A "good doctor" must also be able to communicate effectively and must be able to lead. A doctor must be empathetic and must be able to see things from the patient’s point of view whilst also being able to guide and lead in a competent and convincing manner. The education we offer must provide these future medical professionals with the skills for guiding and supporting their patients so that they are able to decide on the exact course, nature and extent of their treatment. Ultimately, a medical professional must also be able to empathize with terminally ill patients who require support and care in their final stages of life. This wide range of skills can only be acquired through intensive study and continuous practice.
The education offered at the Paracelsus Medical University is not merely a passive acquisition of knowledge but much rather an interactive process in both theory and practice in a conducive environment. It must provide ample opportunity to experience and explore in depth the complex interplay between health and illness and between therapist and patient.
Equally, we must make our future doctors aware of science and research and the “new, that which has yet to be discovered, the unconventional and innovative, and the creative and future-oriented”. This part of the curriculum and the manner in which it is taught are intended to whet the students’ appetite for developments in medical science. We want to instill this continuous thirst for lifelong learning in every student.
The course begins in the last week of August. A later start is unfortunately not possible.
Large parts of the curriculum are covered by the professors and staff of the university institutes of anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, general medicine, family medicine and preventive medicine.
In addition, some areas are also covered by the following:
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Faculty of Natural Sciences, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg
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Heads of departments and consultants, Salzburg University Clinics
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Teaching hospitals, regions of Salzburg and Bavaria
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General teaching practices
Ongoing quality assurance and improvement are the Paracelsus Medical University’s main concern. Every aspect of quality management is geared towards providing lively, practical and inspiring tuition. However, graduates should not only acquire complex medical knowledge, but also be made aware that only lifelong learning can assure quality in medical practice. The teaching staff take part in numerous annual further education sessions in order to encourage innovative teaching methods (POL, OSCE, assisted online learning), which ensure excellent standards of tuition. Programs are also offered in cooperation with the LMU Munich and other German universities, as well as the Munich Harvard Alliance. Mayo Medical School’s excellent teaching staff provide “Mayo Training”, POL cases, OSCE case reports, adult-oriented teaching and develop multiple choice tests etc.
Each course is evaluated by the students. This evaluation process is carried out as a further step to guarantee that the complex medical content of the degree is conveyed through high-quality tuition.
The students thus play a decisive role in establishing the Paracelsus Medical University as a leading medical school.
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The patient’s needs come first
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Patient-oriented, holistic approach in diagnostics, therapy, and prevention
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Patient-friendly, professional communication
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Problem orientation, problem-solving strategies
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Focus on the fundamental essentials
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Continuous evaluation of tuition
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Conveyance of ethical and social principles of medical practice
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Consideration of Medical English and specialized vocabulary for science and practice
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Interdisciplinary collaboration with outstanding medical professionals
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Evaluation of performance based on qualitative criteria
The curriculum content is based on 5 principles:
• The cell
• The organ
• The patient, doctor and society
• Clinical experience
• Science as the basis of medical practice
(research trimester)
The structure of the degree, from the cell to clinical practice combined with research,
corresponds with the requirements of modern, patient-friendly medicine.
38 to 40 hours of lessons are held each week including a few hours of free study periods. The degree is divided into 5 years of study. The research trimester takes place in the 4th year of study.
How can the course content of a degree in medicine be covered in 5 years?
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Intensive curriculum
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Shorter holidays
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Teaching in small groups (POL)
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New teaching and learning methods such as problem-oriented learning
Language skills
Students must possess excellent German language skills in order to communicate fluently with patients during the clinical part of their studies.
Furthermore, we place great emphasis on English language skills, and strive to hold an increasing number of lectures in English.
Short review lectures are held in English parallel to the tuition conducted in German, in order to familiarize students with medical English and prepare them for the American USMLE entrance examination.
The curriculum includes a number of up-to-date, indispensable lectures for modern day medicine, some of which are in listed below:
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First year: Medical ethics, computer and medical computer science, biostatistics and documentation, musculoskeletal dissection course, systematic anatomy lecture, neuroanatomy seminar, introduction to patient care, molecular biology and genetics.
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Second year: Introduction to patient assessment, growth and development, organ systems in terms of clinical physiology, allergology, immunology, topographic dissection course, cell biology and pathology, sexual medicine.
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Third year: Pharmacology, microbiology, investigation techniques, general medicine and family medicine, clinical pathophysiology of organ systems.
Fourth year: Research trimester, emergency-intensive care and transfusion medicine, clinical epidemiology, medical economics, palliative medicine, nutrition, aging and geriatrics, clinical genetics, professionalism in medicine. -
Fifth year: Final seminar in pharmacology, palliative medicine, bioethics with special emphasis on reproductive medicine and transplantation medicine, First Love Outpatients Clinic, preventive medicine, legal aspects of medicine and public health.
The degree is not divided into separate independent sections. The courses are conceptualized in consecutive complementary blocks.
Clinical tuition already begins at the end of the first year with the Introduction to Patient Care and First Aid courses and is continued in the second year with the Introduction to Patient Interviews course. In this course, students acquire an understanding of clinical examination techniques in the areas of ENT, ophthalmology, cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, senology, pneumology and urology, as well as how to take a patient history.
In the second year, physiology is studied based on organ systems and includes clinical tuition. In the third year, most mornings are dedicated to clinical tuition in the areas of surgery, pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics, dermatology, investigation techniques, and rehabilitation as well as the major course in the pathophysiology of organ systems.
This course is comprised of clinical medicine and combines aspects of pathology, pathophysiology and internal medicine with related sub-specializations.
In the third year, further clinical subjects, such as ENT, ophthalmology, stomatology, emergency surgery and orthopedics, neurosurgery, anesthesiology and urology.
The clinical part is further intensified in the fourth year (clinical rotations). The fifth year comprises 37 weeks of clinical internships.
The research trimester is a mandatory part of the curriculum in the fourth year of study.
It gives students, who have at this point accumulated basic theoretical medical knowledge and have gathered some experience in clinical research, the opportunity to take part in a theoretical or clinically based research project. This can be done at one of the Paracelsus Medical University’s clinics or institutes, the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Salzburg, or at a partner university or teaching hospital.
