New lecture hall at Cardiff to boost nationwide drive for new doctors

Cardiff University’s School of Medicine is committing to the UK-wide recruiting drive for more doctors with a £2.7m new lecture hall for students.

The four storey building will help the School accommodate a significant expansion in medical student numbers over the next three years. It comprises a 377-seat lecture theatre with seven seminar and demonstration rooms. It has received planning permission and is to be constructed on the University’s Heath Park Campus.

Final year student numbers at the School of Medicine rose from 240 last year to 301 presently, and will reach 360 graduates a year by 2009. The new building will mean the School has two lecture theatres with capacity for the entire year as well as three smaller venues. The new theatre will also allow lecturers to use state-of-the-art Information Technology to enhance their teaching.

The building will also allow the School to expand its Clinical Skills Laboratory to provide greater facility for the safe learning of clinical procedures. The seminar rooms will help provide a greater variety of teaching methods, allowing a combination of lectures and smaller group discussions in the same location. The School is also looking to increase the space available for students to undertake self-directed study.

The new hall has been entirely funded by the Welsh Assembly Government as the second part of its ‘Graduate Entry Scheme’, generated in part by the need to provide new teaching facilities for an increased student intake.

Professor Helen Houston, Vice Dean of the Medical School, said: “This is a planned expansion in recognition of the need to produce more doctors across the UK. We have had a lot of support from the Welsh Assembly Government, and the General Medical Council has been very positive about our plans to use the new lecture theatre complex for our medical undergraduates. Staff and students at the School are looking forward to completion of the building and the new learning opportunities it will offer.”



Notes 

Cardiff University

Cardiff University is recognised in independent government assessments as one of Britain’s leading teaching and research universities. Founded by Royal Charter in 1883, the University today combines impressive modern facilities and a dynamic approach to teaching and research. The University’s breadth of expertise in research and research-led teaching encompasses: the humanities; the natural, physical, health, life and social sciences; engineering and technology; preparation for a wide range of professions; and a longstanding commitment to lifelong learning. Cardiff is a member of the Russell Group of Britain’s leading research universities.
Visit the University website at: www.cardiff.ac.uk

School of Medicine

The School of Medicine was established in Cardiff in 1931. Until 1984 it was known as the Welsh National School of Medicine when it obtained a Royal Charter to reflect the school’s expanded horizons, size and reputation. It later became the University of Wales College of Medicine (UWCM). In August 2004, UWCM merged with Cardiff University and the School of Medicine now forms part of the Wales College of Medicine with its four original partners in the healthcare education field. In 1995, the college introduced an exciting new medical curriculum from which students are able to combine and use knowledge, skills and judgement and develop appropriate attitudes to deliver a high standard of professional care.

(2/11/06)