4 Mission and Objectives of the Faculty of Medicine

Working in the spirit of partnership and respect, the Faculty of Medicine is committed to delivering integrated excellence in education, research and evidence informed care: meeting the unique health needs of our rural, remote and urban communities; and advocating for health, equity, Indigenous health and healthy populations.

The objectives of the Faculty of Medicine are consistent with the objectives of Memorial University of Newfoundland in developing and maintaining excellence in the quality of its academic standards and of research, establishing programs to meet the expanding needs of the Province and of providing the means to reach out to the people and communities we serve. The strategic plan Destination Excellence (2018-2023) outlines three major outcomes: thriving learners and graduates, impactful research and healthy communities.

The Faculty seeks to attain these objectives through an organizational structure which allows optimum interaction among the various disciplines and divisions within the Medical School and with other Faculties and Schools as appropriate.

The term ‘Medical School’ refers to the wider organizational structure of the Faculty of Medicine with various healthcare, institutions, community organizations and other academic units with the University.

The specific objectives are:

1. To teach medical students to be physicians; and to provide such learning experiences as will inspire all medical graduates of the school to be prepared to practice medicine at the highest standards, serving all individuals and societies in the pursuit of health.

2. To acknowledge the special geography of this Province by encouraging the education of physicians with exemplary skills for rural practice.

3. To educate and train graduate and diploma students in the health sciences.

4. To provide postgraduate educational experiences in medicine and the medical sciences such that the graduating Canadian physicians will pursue further studies within the school's postgraduate programs, leading to certification in family medicine or specialist subjects, especially in those areas where deficiency in numbers is currently recognized or anticipated.

5. To instill within students at all levels:

   1. The wish and the capacity to further the practice and science of medicine through the creation of new knowledge for the improvement of health locally, provincially, nationally and globally.

   2. The wish and the capacity to improve their own professional practice through continuing self-assessment and scholarship.

   3. An appreciation of their evolving roles as members of a team of professionals possessing complementary skills.

6. To attract faculty members who will together:

   1. Act as a resource in providing undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate education and Continuing Professional Development.

   2. Contribute to the advancement of educational methods.

   3. Practice the highest quality of primary, secondary, or tertiary care medicine.

   4. Show leadership in promoting research into the health of the individual and the community, including the organization of health care delivery systems.

   5. Facilitate and promote education and research appropriate to our mid North-Atlantic environment.

7. To provide educational experiences in the health sciences to students from other Schools or Faculties of Memorial University of Newfoundland and of other educational institutions.

8. To provide Continuing Professional Development experiences which will help physicians to maintain and enhance their competence in medical skills.

9. To provide a learning environment for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students of medicine and the health sciences who are citizens of other countries.

10. Actively to provide an Informational, Educational and Consultative resource for the whole community.