Medicine in Groningen qualified as good and future oriented

Both the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in Medicine at the University of Groningen are amongst the best in the country. Together with the Medicine programmes at Maastricht and VU Amsterdam, Groningen received the label ‘good’ during the latest visitation round of the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) in 2017-2018. The NVAO concluded that all eight Dutch Medicine programmes satisfy the requirements. It therefore extended accreditation until November 2024.

A panel comprised mostly of medics, under the leadership of former rheumatologist and former chair of the LUMC Executive Board Ferry Breedveld, assessed the degree programmes by looking at, for example, the ‘Critical Reflection’ they wrote and a selection of final projects. During the visitation, the committee spoke with students, lecturers and supervisors, substantive and formal managers, alumni, and members of the Programme Committee and Board of Examiners. The panel also addressed the question of how we can learn from each other, and what the next step is in training the physician of the future. The report congratulates the UG and UMCG on the progress that they have already made in this area.

In the reports, the committee assessed the learning outcomes, learning environment and assessment methods. The UG stands out as having ‘excellent’ learning outcomes for the Groningen physician of the 21st century. Professor Marian Joëls, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences: ‘The NVAO committee praised our future-oriented profile of a new type of physician who is well able to respond and contribute to the changing healthcare of the 21st century. We have also received international recognition for this. The assessors found this aspect relevant to society and well substantiated in academic terms. I am very happy to hear this, since we worked hard on this together.’

Want to know more about Medicine in Groningen? Visit the Bachelor’s degree programme and Master’s degree programme webpages.