The School of Medicine: At a Crossroads
A new chapter begins for the faculty withthe opening of new facilities on the Arnaud de Villeneuve campus. In addition to its primary mission of training future doctors, the institution is increasingly supporting healthcare professionals in their growing need for continuing education.
Photo © David Richard / Transit
It is one of the jewels of a university with a unique heritage. Every day, tourists from all over the world flock to the historic building of the Faculty of Medicine. Some come to admire the robe of a certain Rabelais, others to stroll through the halls of the Anatomical Museum or immerse themselves in the drawings at the Atger Museum, which houses a rare collection of drawings by European masters, while still others come to enjoy the coolness of the Jardin des Plantes, created in the late 16th century to serve as a training ground for future doctors and apothecaries.
At the forefront of a rapidly evolving field
While the historic center remains the birthplace of Montpellier’s medical tradition, students, staff, and faculty have been exploring a new work environment since the start of the academic year. Located just a stone’s throw from the hospitals on the Arnaud de Villeneuve campus, the new flagship of Montpellier’s medical community is entirely dedicated to educational innovation. A simulation platform equipped with robotic patients, theater workshops to train for the patient-doctor relationship… Everything is designed to uphold this fundamental principle: “never try it on a patient for the first time.”
In addition to the 6,000 medical students enrolled at one of the faculty’s two campuses, in Nîmes and Montpellier, the faculty provides continuing education to nearly 3,000 healthcare professionals, including doctors, midwives, and nurses… A critical issue, according to Michel Mondain: “Healthcare is unique in that it is constantly evolving, so it is essential to provide appropriate training opportunities for these professionals, whether they are doctors or not.” For the dean, the faculty must establish itself as a “home for healthcare professionals.” Half a floor of the new faculty building will, in fact, be reserved for hosting teams from the university hospital.
The Launch of a Health Campus in Arnaud de Villeneuve
Photo © Jean-Luc Girod
The building, designed by architect François Fontès, is part of an ecosystem that is gradually evolving into a true health campus: in addition to the hospitals, the site is home to several leading research centers in health and biology, as well as the University Institute for Clinical Research and the Medical Education Unit (UPM). A proximity rich in potential and a harbinger of fruitful exchanges.
Exchanges between research, clinical practice, and education, then, but also exchanges between disciplines: the faculty intends to strengthen collaboration with its neighbors on the Saint Priest campus, focused on digital sciences, or with STAPS and its Euromov center, dedicated to the study of human movement. It is at the intersection of these different disciplines that the story of an old lady—who, at the ripe old age of eight centuries, has never looked so young—will now be written.
The new college, as seen by a student
Sébastien Cuozzo, Associate Dean for Student Affairs
“What will the new building bring? First of all, we’ll be able to take advantage of brand-new facilities, thanks to the renovations of cutting-edge technology. The biggest new feature is, of course, the fourth and fifth floors, which are primarily designed for simulation training for medical students (undergraduate level) and residents (postgraduate level), featuring replicas of operating rooms, delivery rooms, and state-of-the-art surgical robots. The second key point is the health campus aspect. This will make the transition between classes and internships much smoother.
What sets our program apart is that, starting in our third year, we spend every morning doing clinical rotations at the hospital, followed by classes starting at 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. Previously, this required commuting back and forth by public transportation, whereas now we can get from the classroom to the hospital in just 10 minutes. Being much closer to the professors will also allow for much greater responsiveness and improve our interactions.”
Key Figures
- 9,109 students (including nearly 3,000 in continuing education)
- 416 Professors
- 150 IATS staff members
- 3 locations (Downtown Montpellier, Arnaud de Villeneuve, Nîmes)
- 1220: The first charter granted by the Church to the “universitas medicorum”
- 1593: Founding of France's first botanical garden in Montpellier
- 1795: Move to the Saint-Benoît Monastery, the former bishop’s residence
- 2017: Inauguration of the new school on the Arnaud de Villeneuve campus
The Initiative: Mentoring for Equal Opportunity in PACES
Multiple-choice quizzes, course reviews, mock exams, study tips…
Led by upperclassmen in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, or midwifery, the health tutoring program brings together nearly 250 tutors trained in the fundamentals of teaching. Their role: to support students enrolled in the First Year of Common Health Studies (PACES), which culminates in one of the most selective entrance exams. And the results speak for themselves: “A student who has benefited from tutoring sees their chances of passing the exam increase sixfold—a figure equivalent to that of students who have attended a preparatory class,” says Mathieu Bauer, president of the FED, which brings together various health tutoring associations. Funded by the university, this program mobilizes faculty members each year to provide training for the tutors.