Medicine is a growth area for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. In the first year we’ll be teaching 54 students, but this will expand. The UK needs more than 40 medical schools and 15,000 more qualified doctors a year to serve the demand and workforce shortages.
Our forecasting shows that we will get return on our investment by year 4 of operation, with our current numbers of 54 students a year. But already there is potential for growth and we expect demand will rise. The estate that we're developing for this programme has potential to take around about 85 students.
Benefits to the Portsmouth area
We already have strong partnerships with hundreds of the region’s GPs, and with our region’s NHS Trusts. As a result we’ll be able to make a positive contribution to our region’s healthcare and help build a reputation for excellence across all settings, including in hospitals and GP surgeries, in our cities and in rural villages.
Our clinical partners will also benefit financially; if they provide placements to students, they get a share of Government funding for every future doctor they help train.
What our Medical Degree will look like
Our new medical facilities
Rather than building a new medical school building, we’re refurbishing our existing estate to create new facilities that play to our strengths.
We’ve spent about £2.8m on upgrading the Rosalind Franklin Building to house facilities like high fidelity simulation and technology-enhanced anatomy delivery. We’ll be sharing facilities across Science and Health and have received external funding for some of the equipment.
Teaching on our Medical Degree
Together, we will train doctors who are compassionate, well rounded and highly skilled. Our future medics will balance global concerns about sustainability with the needs of the population.
The course will offer integrated medical science with clinical teaching with a focus on learning through patient contact.
By working with King's College London at Portsmouth, we will train doctors with a deep understanding of our region’s health needs and a strong sense of belonging.
Research benefits of our Medical Degree
Our research in Health and Care Professions deals with the most-pressing health and wellbeing issues facing society – from the challenges of caring for an ageing population, to the importance of delivering effective health and social care to the most under-represented, vulnerable or isolated groups in society.
In the most recent Research Excellence framework (REF) in 2021, 79% of the research from our Faculty of Science and Health was graded as world-leading or internationally excellent. In terms of the impact of our research, 94% was graded as outstanding or very considerable in terms of reach and significance.
Expanding our offering in medicine will mean more staff who are specialists in this area, and likely a greater research output.
More information - how do students apply
For information and contact details for leads at the University, Portsmouth Hospitals University Trust, King's College, visit our Medical Degree page on our public website.