Department Introduction

  The goal of School of Medicine in TCU is to educate medical students becoming competent physicians treating the patients with empathy and respect based on richness of medical knowledge and wonderful skills. The Missions of TCU Medical School is to train medical doctors with highest standard professional practice techniques and minds of humanity. We expect our students to take the responsibility and play the leading roles in basic and clinical bio-medical researches in eastern Taiwan. Since 2013, the new 6-year medical program starts. The first 2 years mainly include the pre-med courses. The basic medicine courses are arranged in the third and fourth years. The basic medicine courses are organized as 13 organ system-based modules to integrate the different fields, including physiology, pathology pharmacology. In the fifth and sixth years, the students will learn and practice clinical skills on bed side in our hospitals. In addition, there are some feature courses in our curriculum, including the silent mentor programs of the anatomy courses in the third year and the simulated surgical skill courses in the fifth year, the longitudinal and integrated medical humanity courses and early clinical exposure. The medical curriculum of TCU is alignment, integration and outcome-based.

Features of medical education in TCU

1. The Clinical Skills Training Center
The school’s primary teaching hospital, Hualien Tzu Chi Medical Center, has a Clinical Skills Training Center. The Center equips with advanced clinical teaching models and provides teaching plans, standardized patients, simulation equipment, and interactive multimedia systems for our medical students. The center aims to enhance students’ clinical capabilities and inspire them to provide “patient-centered” and “patient-safety” healthcare. We have developed high-quality standardized patient (SP) training courses and become the benchmark for standardized patient training in Taiwan.

2. Bedside teaching
The school emphasizes the importance of clinical teaching and invites renowned professors as visiting professors to guide medical students and young physicians. Students learn bedside teaching, pathophysiology, and general medicine, and realize how to build a good relationship between doctor and patient. Furthermore, students gradually learn by doing and acquiring communication skills with patients, clinical skills, clinical judgment abilities, and logical thinking.

3. Integrated curriculum

• Medical humanities curriculum integration
• Basic and clinical curriculum integration
•  Clinical internship course

4. Collaboration and integration in teaching and research with partner institutions
  (1) Work with Tzu Chi Hospitals or clinics located in Hualien, Taipei, Taichung, Dalin, Douliu, Chiayi, Yuli, and Guanshan.
  (2) Engage in research endeavors:

• Set up a research platform for medical students.
• Co-sponsor Tzu Chi Medical Education Day and the Annual Meeting of Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation.

Future Career

After completing their studies and obtaining a physician’s license, students can join healthcare institutions, receive their residency training, and then become attending physicians who specialize. They can also join medical schools as faculty members to teach basic or clinical medicine, or conduct research. In addition, they can choose to pursue their advanced studies in clinical medicine or basic medicine. After completing these programs, they may serve in the public health arena, participate in biotechnology-related research and development, join the management of healthcare organizations, become involved in law, etc., based on their expertise.

Language of Instruction

Chinese

Documents to Be Submitted

Evaluation Criteria

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