22 May 2019. In the spring of 2017, the University of Zurich (UZH) "St.Gallen Track" was offered as a study programme for the first time when registering for medical studies. In 2017 and 2018, 86 and 84 high school graduates, respectively, chose the "St.Gallen Track" as their first choice of study programme. The latest figures confirm that the new programme is considered attractive by students. In the spring of 2019, 106 high school graduates indicated the "St.Gallen Track" as their top priority study programme. Of the new Master's programmes in human medicine being developed as part of the federal government's special programme, the "St.Gallen Track" met with the greatest interest.

30 students came from the St.Gallen canton
The number of high school graduates who prioritised the "St.Gallen Track" and passed the aptitude test for medical studies increased significantly in 2018 compared to 2017. While the pass rate of 20 percent in 2017 was still well below the national average, it was 41 percent in 2018, exceeding the average pass rate of all test graduates by two percentage points. It is pleasing to note that the new study programme is particularly popular with students living in the canton of St.Gallen. In the autumn of 2018, 30 students from the canton of St.Gallen began their bachelor studies in the "St.Gallen Track" programme at the UZH. This is particularly encouraging because it underscores our efforts to train doctors in Eastern Switzerland for our hospitals and general practitioners for all our regions.

After successfully completing the three-year Bachelor's programme, the students of the "St.Gallen Track" will continue their Master's programme in the Joint Medical Master in St.Gallen at the University of St.Gallen (HSG). The Master's programme offers space for 40 students and will be carried out for the first time at the beginning of the autumn semester of 2020.

Universities and hospitals together
The "St.Gallen Track" is based on a cooperation between the Universities of St.Gallen and Zurich and the Kantonsspital St.Gallen (KSSG), the partner hospital of the UZH and the main medical partner in Eastern Switzerland. The partners UZH and KSSG have many years of experience in training physicians. Thanks to the participation of the HSG, its recognised scientific expertise in economics, law and social sciences can also be used to train future physicians in the specialist area of "Management & Governance". The two other focal points "Basic Care" and "Interprofessionality" take into account both the needs of the students and the future challenges in the health care sector.

With combined medical forces
The clinical and practical training is carried out with the aid of a network of other hospitals, educational institutions (including the University of Applied Sciences St.Gallen) and regular teaching staff from Eastern Switzerland who contribute their existing medical expertise and teaching experience.

In June 2018, voters in the canton of St.Gallen clearly approved the new Joint Medical Master in St.Gallen with 86 percent voting in favour of the programme.

Picture: Adobe Stock/koszivu