New areas for the Gard site of the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine

[Article] - Published on February 13, 2023 in Faculties, schools, and institutes

On February 8, the Nîmes university hospital campus inaugurated the extension and restructuring work on its site during an official visit that brought together representatives from the various institutions that participated in financing the project. With 1,434 square meters of additional space built and 1,336 square meters restructured, the Nîmes-Montpellier Faculty of Medicine has yet another reason to be more attractive.

On February 8, in the presence of numerous officials, Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, and Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie Region, unveiled a plaque celebrating the official inauguration of the extension to the Nîmes-Montpellier Faculty of Medicine site in the Gard department, designed by the Nicolas C. Guillot architectural firm. This is a testament to the synergy that has been at work to complete this project, which began just over two years ago but had been planned for a long time, as Philippe Augé points out: "This inauguration is the culmination of a commitment spanning several years, made all the more significant by the fact that Montpellier-Nîmes is the only medical school in France to be located on two sites, thus contributing to the network of our region and the development of the University of Montpellier's educational offerings."  

The region, state, university, metropolitan area, city of Nîmes, and university hospital all contributed financially to raise the €9.6 million needed to extend Building D and renovate Building A. "The region has invested €3.4 million in this project, which reinforces our commitment to making Nîmes a true health campus," said the president of the region. Investing in the health of tomorrow also means responding today to difficulties in accessing care and combating medical deserts."

A new lease of life

The Nîmes campus will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. In five decades, this second location of the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine has become a site in its own right, growing from 747 students in 2001 to more than 2,100 twenty years later, representing one-third of the total number of students enrolled in medicine and midwifery programs at UM. This steadily increasing figure can be explained by the quality of education, which is identical in every respect to that provided at the Montpellier site, and by the increasingly popular student lifestyle in the city. " The proximity of the Nîmes and Montpellier university hospitals, as well as the rich healthcare ecosystem of both sites and the region, allow us to offer students exceptional internship opportunities," points out Isabelle Laffont, Dean of the Faculty. " It is no coincidence that we are currently the third most popular medical school chosen by interns at the end of their second cycle of medical studies."

In response to this success, a restructuring of the site was therefore expected. This has now been completed. The extension of Building D, located at the heart of the campus, offers teaching staff and students a new lease of life thanks to its 1,434 m² of built space and 1,336 m² of restructured space. Four additional rooms and a 150-seat amphitheater have been built, adding to the 13 existing rooms and two amphitheaters. The restructuring of Building A has created three new classrooms by consolidating all administrative services on the first floor, which was previously redesigned to gain more than 170 m² of space. 

Student life, so dear to medical students, has not been forgotten, with the provision of a 200 m² social area with sound system, equipment, and furniture in the extension of Building D. The premises of the Corpo carabins crocodiles association and the Nîmes midwifery student association have also benefited from this renovation, as has the tutoring area. Finally, a 1,000 m² outdoor pine forest has been created, offering access to a multi-purpose playground (petanque, mölkky, relaxation area, etc.).

Implementing modern teaching methods

The dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Isabelle Laffont, had the pleasure of showing visitors around all of these new facilities during the morning's inauguration ceremony. "The extension and restructuring has provided our institution with superbly equipped new premises, enabling us to implement a modern teaching approach in which digital technology, simulation, and learning the scientific method take on an unprecedented dimension. " And it was certainly the new simulation teaching center, SimHU Nîmes for university hospital medical simulation, presented by anesthesiologist Laurent Mattatia, that attracted the most attention from the guests.  

An exceptional facility built in partnership with Nîmes University Hospital, which now has ten simulation rooms where medical students and healthcare professionals can train in medical and surgical procedures on "robot patients." Thanks to hyper-realistic simulations, where scenarios evolve in real time, the operating room, emergency room, delivery room, neonatal unit, intensive care unit, and all other hospital departments open their doors to learners without any risk to patients.  "The creation of 'SimHU Nîmes', based on the principle of primum non nocere ['first, do no harm'], is rooted in our DNA," concludes Nicolas Best, Director General of the Nîmes University Hospital. The university-hospital collaboration between our two cities continues to grow and develop, allowing us to pool our expertise to serve patients in our region."

Keywords: Students, Training, Medicine, University