Welcome

Sean Kennedy

It is a great pleasure to welcome you at the beginning of your medical studies or back from an enjoyable break. The last couple of years have been crazy for all of us and I hope you feel refreshed and enthusiastic as we move into 2023. I am pleased to be welcoming you to the UNSW Medicine Program and more broadly the greater community of professionals, doctors, teachers, researchers, mentors and learners that make up UNSW Medicine & Health.

The Medicine program is designed to be dynamic, intellectually challenging and diverse, in order to respond to your needs and the needs of modern medicine and health practice. Our program is student-centred, promoting the value of experience, reflection and personal growth.. The content and experiences have been designed to challenge you and allow you to graduate with a set of capabilities that will form the foundation for a professional career of medical care and learning. Our explicit aim is to graduate highly competent, confident lifelong learners of medicine who will be valued by their patients and peers.

UNSW Medicine promotes a learning culture, which is inclusive and non-judgemental, where respect and support of our fellow students, teachers and administrative staff is highly valued. All students are expected to demonstrate a high degree of professionalism. It is also your responsibility to be kept informed of the program requirements and UNSW Medicine policies. The following pages of the guide are labelled as “Important Information” for good reason. Please ensure you familiarise yourself with this content. This Program Guide is updated annually to inform you of any changes, so it is essential that you check the Guide at the beginning of every year.

An immense amount of thought and planning has gone into the design of our program and it undergoes a continuing process of evaluation and refinement. This means that your feedback is valuable and is always taken seriously. All courses in the program are interdisciplinary so that the scientific basis of medicine and clinical experience go hand in hand throughout all years of the program: biomedical sciences are integrated with one another and with the social and psychological sciences, along side clinical medicine. There are also opportunities for in-depth research experiences. Our Medicine program emphasises collaborative learning and teamwork, communication skills and preventative medicine supported by state-of-the-art information technology.

Throughout the Medicine program, we will support you and challenge you; your learning will be both exciting and demanding. The program allows you some flexibility in choice of courses and assessments, but also requires you to take significant responsibility for your learning. One thing we have learnt during the pandemic is how valuable in-person interactions are with colleagues, teachers and patients – I ask you all to commit in 2023 to make the most of the learning opportunities that come your way. As you travel through the Medicine Program this year, remember to be kind to yourself and your friends and colleagues, and don’t be afraid to approach us in the Faculty if you need advice or support. 

Welcome to our learning community.

Associate Professor Sean Kennedy
Program  Authority, UNSW Medicine

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