The University of Western Australia Medical School is the

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

of The

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

, located in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Established in 1957, it is the oldest medical school in Western Australia, with over 6000 alumni. Well-known for its research and clinical teaching, the medical school is ranked 8th in the world and 1st in Australia by the 2019 ''

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ...

'' in clinical medicine. The medical school is affiliated with various teaching hospitals in Perth such as

Royal Perth Hospital Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) is a 450-bed adult and teaching hospital located on the northeastern edge of the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. History The hospital traces its history back to the first colonial hospital, whi ...

and

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) is a teaching hospital in Nedlands, Western Australia. Opened in 1958 as the Perth Chest Hospital and later named in honour of Sir Charles Gairdner, governor of Western Australia from 1951 to 1963, it is pa ...

. The medical school is also heavily affiliated with the

Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre The Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre (QEIIMC), commonly known as just QEII, is a medical campus in Perth, Western Australia, situated in the suburb of Nedlands directly adjacent to Kings Park. It contains Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, the P ...

and its various research institutes. The school has prominent researchers and clinicians amongst its faculty and alumni, including

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

laureates

Barry Marshall Barry James Marshall (born 30 September 1951) is an Australian physician, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Professor of Clinical Microbiology and Co-Director of the Marshall Centre at the University of Western Australia. Marsha ...

and

Robin Warren John Robin Warren (born 11 June 1937, in Adelaide) is an Australian pathologist, Nobel Laureate and researcher who is credited with the 1979 re-discovery of the bacterium ''Helicobacter pylori'', together with Barry Marshall. The duo proved t ...

(awarded for the discovery of the ''

Helicobacter pylori ''Helicobacter pylori'', previously known as ''Campylobacter pylori'', is a gram-negative, microaerophilic, spiral (helical) bacterium usually found in the stomach. Its helical shape (from which the genus name, helicobacter, derives) is though ...

'' bacterium); recipients of the

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

award

Fiona Stanley Fiona Juliet Stanley (born 1 August 1946) is an Australian epidemiologist noted for her public health work, her research into child and maternal health as well as birth disorders such as cerebral palsy. Stanley is the patron of the Telethon Kid ...

and

Fiona Wood Fiona Melanie Wood (born 2 February 1958) is an English-born Australian plastic surgeon working in Perth, Western Australia. She is the director of the Royal Perth Hospital burns unit and the Western Australia Burns Service. In addition, Wo ...

; and cancer researcher Richard Pestell. The school has produced 11

Rhodes Scholars The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

History

E37 Fiona Stanley Hospital (October 2014) 44

Before 1957 and the establishment of the medical school, medical students spent a year at UWA before completing their degree at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

or another medical college. A first fundraising appeal for a new medical school was made in 1950, but enjoyed little success. However, due to the booming post-war population of the state, the second fundraising appeal in 1955 garnered significant financial support, and so the new medical school was formally established in 1957 with teaching commencing in the same year. The initial funding of the medical school largely came from the local government and the various communities of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. 1959 saw the first graduating medical students who were awarded

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

(MBBS) degrees. QEII Medical Centre Buildings

In 1977, the Sir Charles Gairdner hospital was incorporated into the renamed Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre. The ''Perth Medical Centre Act 1966'' a few years before established the medical centre and provided the University of Western Australia membership of the trust that is responsible for the management of the land. Nowadays the medical school runs a variety of research collaborations with the medical centre.

Campus

Most pre-clinical sciences are taught at the University's main campus. The UWA Health Campus, located at the

, is responsible for most of the clinical teaching done during the course. Although large hospitals in the health campus such as

provide most of the clinical education for medical students, a significant number of students are also rotated through rural clinics associated with the university, such as the

Rural Clinical School of Western Australia The Rural Clinical School of Western Australia (RCSWA) is a Commonwealth-funded program intended to increase the number of medical graduates interested in rural careers. The school is part of the network of rural clinical schools across Austral ...

, an affiliated campus for rural clinical education. The various departments of the medical school are also located at the health campus, along with the medical and dental library of the university. The Oral Health Centre of WA and UWA Dental School are also located at the UWA Health Campus, situated next to the library. Because of its proximity, students are able to commute easily between the main campus and the health campus by bicycle.

Curriculum

Prior to 2012, the primary medical qualification of MBBS was awarded to students who completed either the six year undergraduate degree program or the four year graduate-entry program. After 2012, the MBBS program was discontinued, replaced by the four year graduate-entry

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

degree. However, to ensure accessibility from high school, the medical school offers many Direct Assured Bachelor-MD pathway places to performing school-leavers, which can be completed in six years. Both the MBBS and MD degrees are recognized by the

Australian Medical Council The Australian Medical Council (AMC) is an independent national standards and assessment body for medical education and training. It was established in 1985. Purpose The purpose of the AMC is: :"To ensure that standards of education, training a ...

and the

Singapore Medical Council Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

for provisional registration. The first year of the medical course starts with foundational Science-based units including systems-based learning. Integrated medical practice begins in second year. The start of the second year has a clinical skills block followed by hospital placements. The third and fourth years continue with integrated medical practice, with various rotations and electives in fields including

general practice General practice is the name given in various nations, such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to the services provided by general practitioners. In some nations, such as the US, similar services may be describe ...

paediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

, internal medicine,

obstetrics and gynaecology Obstetrics and Gynaecology (also spelled as Obstetrics and Gynecology; abbreviated as Obs and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...

and

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

. The rotations are done in the major hospitals in the state. Since the state of

is the second largest country subdivision, a significant number of students also choose to train in the

, where the standard curriculum and rotations are done in a

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

setting. Teaching methods include tutorials, early clinical exposure, lectures, and

problem-based learning Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem found in trigger material. The PBL process does not focus on problem solving with a define ...

. The Western Australian Medical Students' Society is the main society for medical students at the university, and represents the medical students' interests. It is responsible for some of the largest events at the campus and endeavours to involve students in medical networking, conferences, and other activities. The society was founded in 1946 for Western Australian medical students in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. Therefore the society predates the formation of the medical school itself. The society also issues awards and advice to current and past medical students.

Research

Research is a large component of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. The university has major research divisions in areas such as internal medicine,

pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

population health Population health has been defined as "the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group". It is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of an entire human population. It ha ...

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...

and

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

. Much of the research is supported by the

Raine Medical Research Foundation The Raine Medical Research Foundation funds medical research in Western Australia. It was created from a bequest by Mary Raine to the University of Western Australia (UWA) following the death of her husband, Arnold Yeldham (Joe) Raine in 1957. ...

, the largest bequest to the university for medical research and collaborations. The university is affiliated with the following centres and institutes: * Centre for Clinical Research in Neuropsychiatry * Centre for Genetic Origins of Health and Disease * Centre for Neonatal Research and Education * Centre for Musculoskeletal Studies * Oral Health Centre of Western Australia *

Australian Neuromuscular Research Institute Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

Lions Eye Institute The Lions Eye Institute (LEI) is an Australian medical research institute affiliated with the University of Western Australia. It was established in 1983 with support of the Lions Clubs of Western Australia and headquartered in the suburb of , ...

Lung Institute of Western Australia The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...

Telethon Kids Institute The Telethon Kids Institute is an Australian medical research institute focused on the prevention of paediatric disease and the development of improved treatments to improve the health and wellbeing of children. Telethon Kids has developed a p ...

Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research is a medical research centre based in Perth, Western Australia. It has facilities at the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre in Nedlands and Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch. The institute was establ ...

Affiliated hospitals

Fiona Stanley Hospital Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) is a state government hospital and teaching facility in Murdoch, Western Australia. Completed in December 2013, the hospital is the largest building project ever undertaken for the Government of Western Australia. ...

King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women (KEMH) is a hospital located in Subiaco, Western Australia. It is Western Australia's largest maternity hospital and only referral centre for complex pregnancies. It provides pregnancy and neonatal care ...

Fremantle Hospital Fremantle Hospital is an Australian public hospital situated on South Terrace in central Fremantle, southwest of Perth, Western Australia. It was formerly the major hospital in its region; however, with the opening of Fiona Stanley Hospital ...

Perth Children's Hospital Perth Children's Hospital (PCH) is a specialist children's hospital in Nedlands, Western Australia, located at the corner of Winthrop Avenue and Monash Avenue on the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre (QEII) site. It is Western Australia's sp ...

* Joondalup Private Hospital *

Rockingham General Hospital Rockingham General Hospital is a public hospital in Rockingham, Western Australia, in the south west of the Perth Metropolitan Region. The hospital was originally known as Rockingham Kwinana District Hospital, but was renamed in 2008 during a ...

Armadale Kelmscott District Memorial Hospital Armadale Hospital is a general public hospital in Armadale, in Perth's south-eastern suburbs. The hospital, which includes an emergency department with 47 patient spaces, is located on the Armadale Health Service campus. The campus also include ...

Notable alumni and faculty

- Alumnus and recipient of the 2005

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

for the discovery of ''

'' and its role in

gastric ulcers Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a break in the inner lining of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines i ...

and

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

. Currently professor of

Clinical Microbiology Medical microbiology, the large subset of microbiology that is applied to medicine, is a branch of medical science concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. In addition, this field of science studies various ...

at the medical school. *

- Alumnus of the medical school and renowned

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and risk factor, determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decision ...

and

paediatrician Pediatrics (American and British English differences, also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United King ...

for her research on

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

and birth disorders such as

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

. A recipient of the

award, the

is named in her honour. *

- British-born plastic surgeon who is a clinical professor at the medical school. Inventor of the

spray-on skin Spray-on skin is a skin culturing treatment for burn, or other skin damage victims. It involves taking small samples of the patient's skin and spraying them on the wound. History The treatment was developed by Marie Stoner and plastic surgeon ...

and is also the head of the Royal Perth Hospital's

burn centre A burn center, burn unit, or burns unit is a hospital specializing in the treatment of burns. Burn centers are often used for the treatment and recovery of patients with more severe burns. Overview The severity of a burn, and therefore whether ...

. Also a recipient of the 2005 Australian of the Year award. * Richard Pestell - Alumnus and president of the Pennsylvania Cancer and Regenerative Medicine Research Center (PCARM) at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute. Former executive vice-president of

Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

and director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. Highly cited researcher in the field of cell cycle (#1), prostate cancer (#1), oncology (#3) and breast cancer (#7) according to

Google Scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in beta in November 2004, the Google Scholar index includes p ...

. *

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

G. Wells - Alumnus and former head of the

Royal Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian coloni ...

. *

- Former professor, he shared the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Barry Marshall. *

Michael Gannon (obstetrician) Michael Gannon is a Western Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist. Dr Michael Gannon is a former president of the Australian Medical Association The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an Australian public company by guarantee formed ...

- Alumnus and former president of the

Australian Medical Association The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an Australian public company by guarantee formed as a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students. The association is not run by the Australian Government and does not regul ...

. * Colin L. Masters - Renowned

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

researcher. He and his colleague Konrad Beyreuther were the first to characterise the amyloid protein that forms the cerebral plaques observed in Alzheimer's and

Down Syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. * Ian Constable - Founder and director of the

, ophthalmology professor. *

Roberta Jull Roberta Henrietta Margaritta Jull (née Stewart, 16 August 1872 in Glasgow, Scotland – 6 March 1961 in Subiaco, Western Australia) was a medical doctor who, spurred by poor living conditions and high infant mortality, worked towards social refo ...

- First female physician in Perth, former Senate member of the university. * Aileen Plant - Alumnus and former renowned epidemiologist. * Richard Alan Fox - Faculty

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

. Gave lectures for 1st and 2nd year medical students on the subject of

medical physics Medical physics deals with the application of the concepts and methods of physics to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases with a specific goal of improving human health and well-being. Since 2008, medical physics has been incl ...

. *

Jonathan Carapetis Jonathan Carapetis (born 1961) is an Australian paediatric physician with particular expertise in infectious disease and Indigenous child health. He is a Winthrop Professor at the University of Western Australia, an infectious diseases consultan ...

- Paediatrician and infectious disease specialist. Winthrop Professor at the university. *

George Bedbrook Sir George Montario Bedbrook, OBE (8 October 1921 – 6 October 1991) was an Australian medical doctor and surgeon, who was the driving force in creating the Australian Paralympic movement and the Commonwealth Paraplegic Games, and helped to f ...

- Orthopaedic surgeon, was one of the main figures behind the Australian Paralympic movement and the

Commonwealth Paraplegic Games The Commonwealth Paraplegic Games were an international, multi-sport event involving athletes with a disability from the Commonwealth countries. The event was sometimes referred to as the Paraplegic Empire Games and British Commonwealth Paraplegi ...

. Served as the clinical sub-dean of the medical school. *

Ric Charlesworth Richard Ian Charlesworth AO (born 6 February 1952) is an Australian sports coach and former politician. He played first-class cricket for Western Australia and international field hockey for the Kookaburras (the Australian national team), winn ...

- Alumnus and former Olympian, sports coach, and politician. He won an Olympics silver medal in field hockey, and coached the women's team (

Hockeyroos The Australia women's national field hockey team (nicknamed the Hockeyroos) are, as of January 2019, ranked third in the world. Having played their first game in 1914, and their first Olympic game in 1984, they are one of Australia's most succes ...

) to win two Olympic gold medals. * Rachel Harris - Alumnus and former Olympic swimmer. Won a gold medal at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

for 800m freestyle. * Alan Eggleston - Alumnus and politician, served as a Liberal member of the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

from 1996 to 2014, representing Western Australia. *

Kim Hames Kim Desmond Hames (born 24 March 1953) is an Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and from 2005 to 2017. He served as a minister in the governments of Richard Co ...

- Alumnus and politician, former

Deputy Premier of Western Australia The deputy premier of Western Australia is a role in the Government of Western Australia assigned to a responsible Minister in the Australian state of Western Australia. It has second ranking behind the premier of Western Australia in Cabinet, ...

and Liberal member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

. *

Graham Jacobs Graham Gibson Jacobs (born 8 November 1949) is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2005 to 2017. First elected to the seat of Roe at the 2005 election, he transferred to Eyre ...

- Alumnus and politician, former Liberal member of the

. * George Jelinek - Alumnus, professor and founder of the Neuroepidemiology Unit at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health.

References

{{coord missing, Western Australia University of Western Australia Medical schools in Australia 1957 establishments in Australia