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Joint Medical Master: Counteracting the shortage of doctors
School of Medicine Annual Report
The University of St.Gallen and the University of Zurich created two chairs as part of the joint training of medical students – the Joint Medical Master. Harnessing the opportunities of digitalization in medicine is the focus for both bridge professorships.
The University of St.Gallen (HSG) and the University of Zurich (UZH) have been offering a Joint Medical Master (JMMHSG/UZH) for 40 medical students annually since 2020. The aim is that more prospective doctors from eastern Switzerland will also settle there after graduation in order to counteract the shortage of doctors in the region. Students complete the bachelor’s program at UZH and transfer to St.Gallen for the master’s program. Clinical teaching takes place in the St.Gallen/Eastern Switzerland region throughout the course of study.
Joint bridge professorships on digitalization in medicine
As part of the Joint Medical Masters, the two universities have now created two bridge professorships: Prof. Dr. Janna Hastings became assistant professor with tenure track for “Medical Knowledge and Decision Support” and Prof. Dr. Tobias Kowatsch took over the chair for “Digital Health Interventions”. The two specialists were appointed to the Medical Faculty of the UZH – specifically to the newly founded Institute for Implementation Science in Health Care. Funding, on the other hand, is provided by the HSG, where their primary place of work is also located.
“The newly created professorships bridge the gap between the Universities of St. Gallen and Zurich in two ways: they expand the spectrum of teaching and research into topics that are essential for the future of medical education and health care. In addition, the boundaries between the institutions become much more permeable, which strengthens the research landscape,” says Alexander Geissler, Academic Director of the School of Medicine at the HSG.
