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The School of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Palermo consists of three University Departments, whereteachers, technical administrative and support staff, residents, Ph students, research fellows and students in training work. The School educational offer comprises single-cycle degree programs, three-year master's degreeprograms, specialisation schools in the health area for graduates in medicine. After graduating, doctors can haveaccess to the first and second levelof  master's degrees and PhDs. Besides the traditional single-cycle Master's Degree Courses in “Medicine and Surgery” and “Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics”, there are:3 Master's Degree Courses (Rehabilitation Professions, Nursing and Obstetrics Sciences andMedical Biotechnologies);11 Degree Courses of the allied health professions that meet the territorial health needs; and 42 Specialisation Schools that allow medical graduates to achievea further professional goal. The research activity carried out in the Departments constituting the School of Medicine is of a high level. Scholars working in the laboratories and at the University Hospital publish in important international journals and obtain funding from both private and public institutions.

The main topics of basic, translational and clinical scientific research are developed in the biomolecular, oncological, haematological, immunological, cardiovascular, endocrine-metabolic, neurobiological, surgical and public health sectors.

The university clinical care activity mainly takes place at the Policlinico “Paolo Giaccone” University Hospital, where there are more than 50 Complex Structures directed by the teaching staff of the School of Medicine. Moreover, the educational-assistance network of the School includes other complex structures located in other Hospitals giving to all the medical students the opportunity to carry out their professional training activities asprovided for in their study plans. The School of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Palermo aims to satisfy the needs of those who intend to move toward a professional activity in the health field and in biomedical research.

 

Disciplinary fields
Practice

The School aims at training doctors, dentists and other health professional figures, who have a biomedical scientific and humanisticculture, and a multidisciplinary vision that meets the new needs for a patient-centred healthcare. The disease is seen as the result of various factors: organic, psychological, social, familiarand lifestyle. To reach the goal of training health figures, starting from basic knowledge to practice in wards,clinics and outpatient departments, we arrive at knowing how to be professional. This task is achieved by training graduates in Medicine and Surgery, graduatesin Dentistry and graduates in the Allied Health Professions (Nursing, Obstetrics, Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy, Orthoptics, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Techniques). The clinical preparation is fundamental for the graduatesin Medicine and Surgery who wantsto carry out the activity of general practitioner, study in the Specialisation Schools of the clinical area and do clinical research.

Surgery

In patient care, a fundamental aspect is surgery, a discipline which, in many cases, leads to healing and which makes use of knowledge and technologies in constant evolution, aimingat the realizing increasingly complex and conservative surgical interventions. The surgeon is a graduate in Medicine or in Dentistry, who has a high degree of manual dexterity, effective decision-making skills, especially if called to perform emergency interventions, but who is also deeply human and ableto dialogue with the patient, with whom he shares health expectations.

The decision to become a surgeon develops during the course for the master's degree in Medicine and Surgery and in Dentistry: in fact, the teaching of surgery is scheduled for the 5th and 6th year, when the student has reached the awareness of his choices. The master's degree in Medicine and Surgery allows you to continue your studies in the Surgery Specialization Schools and do research applied to surgery.

Diagnostics

A crucial step in treating the disease is the diagnosis:the technology at the service of medicine. The complete automation of the equipment allows laboratory tests to be performed in real time, the results of which help doctorsto check the patient's state of health / disease and to guide them intheir diagnostic choices. The students of the degree course in Biomedical Laboratory Techniques carry out training activities in the medical school laboratories. Similarly, radiology uses increasingly complex and refined equipment that uses ionizing radiation, ultrasound, magnetic fields. The students of the degree course in Radiology Techniques attend the Medical School's Radiology service. The numerous research laboratories give students the opportunity to acquire new knowledge on the pathophysiological mechanisms that lead to the disease. These labs are attended by medical students and students in Medical Biotechnologies and Molecular Medicine who are fascinated by basic scientific research. The master's degree in medicine gives access to the specialization schools in the service area.

Prevention

Health is not the absence of disease of the individual, but a much broader concept involving physical, mental and social aspects. Educating for health means involving everyone in a path that aims at reducing the number of patients and improving the quality of life. Vaccination in newborns is an example of a well-established preventive intervention, but today's challenge is to promote health in among groups of more fragile populations (children, the elderly, immigrants etc.) and to prevent more serious and often incurable diseases . Prevention interventions can be directed to the environment (protection of water, air, soil, food, control of production activities and safety in the workplace), or to people (schools, families, workers, communities). Degrees in Environmental and Workplace Prevention and Healthcare Techniques form the young professionals responsible for these activities. Graduates in Medicine and Surgery can access Specialization Schools in the Public Health services area or carry out epidemiological-preventive research.