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Hull York Medical School wins international accolade in its 10th anniversary year

Posted on 10 September 2013

The Hull York Medical School (HYMS) has won a major international award recognising its excellence in medical education in its 10th anniversary year.

Presented at the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) international conference in Prague, the award was for social responsibility and accountability.

HYMS was the only UK medical school - and just one of eight international medical schools - to be recognised for their excellence in the awards which were presented in three categories - assessment of students; student engagement in the curriculum and in the medical school; and social responsibility and accountability as a mission of the medical school. 

The awards – the first to be made under AMEE’s new ASPIRE initative – were presented in front of over 3,000 people attending the conference and watched by participants from 26 countries online.

The ASPIRE programme acknowledges the importance of teaching alongside research as a mission of the medical school.  Submissions were reviewed by teams of leading international authorities in each category.

Dr David Pearson, Deputy Dean (Education) at HYMS who received the award in Prague, said: “We were thrilled to receive an AMEE Aspire to Excellence award in the category of social accountability, especially during our 10th anniversary year. The award was made on the basis of HYMS' commitment to help develop excellent healthcare in our region, though high quality education, support for service and locally relevant research initiatives. 

“The ASPIRE panel commented particularly on the balance of our educational programmes, with a high proportion of clincial placements in community and primary care settings (at 33 per cent ahead of any other UK school) and our early successes with HYMS' alumni now taking up substantive medical jobs in our local health care economy.”

HYMS is a partnership between the Universities of Hull and York and the NHS. Founded in 2002, it provides 21st-century training for the next generation of doctors as well as a hub for cutting-edge healthcare research. Students experience clinical placements throughout their course, spending time equally in hospital and community settings.

Dr Pearson added: “It was particularly pleasing to win an award in such prestigious company – other award winners in our category were the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Canada and the Southern Illinois School in the United States, both of whom have well established and impressive community outreach programmes. Other ASPIRE award winners included the International Medical School, Malaysia and Aga Khan, Pakistan.”  

Notes to editors:

  • Schools recognised by the ASPIRE Board for excellence in the assessment of students were: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, USA and Aga Khan University, Pakistan

    For student engagement: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, USA; Aga Khan University, Pakistan; University of Maribor, Slovenia; The International Medical University, Malaysia; University of Western Australia, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences and University of Minho, School of Health Sciences, Portugal

    For social accountability: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, USA; Northern Ontaria School of Medicine, Canada, and Hull York Medical School, UK.

Contact details

Caron Lett
Press Officer

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