Media Release

Monday, 2 December 2002

The University of Adelaide's Medical School has received accreditation until mid-2007, following a decision by the Australian Medical Council(AMC) at its recent AGM.

All Australian and New Zealand medical schools have to obtain Australian Medical Council accreditation in order to train doctors and other medical professionals.

Executive Dean of the University's Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Derek Frewin, says he is delighted with the AMC's recommendation.

"It takes a lot of hard work by many different people in the Medical School and its teaching hospitals to achieve accreditation, and we are obviously very pleased with the outcome," he says.

"Our new medical course, Curriculum 2000, was especially praised by the AMC assessment team. We have just completed the third year of Curriculum 2000 and will roll out the new fourth-year program next year. It has been very well received by both students and staff.

"The AMC also commended our commitment to rural medical education, following the establishment of our Rural Clinical School in the Spencer Gulf. This school gives all of our students the opportunity to experience clinical placements in rural and remote South Australian communities. The Medical School's admission policy again received high commendation by the AMC.

"Another area to receive AMC recognition was our focus on indigenous health. The University of Adelaide has the second-highest intake of indigenous medical students in Australia, and indigenous medical and health issues form an important part of our curriculum."