Deakin University School of Medicine

Deakin University School of Medicine is a medical school of Deakin University based at the Waurn Ponds campus in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It offers a four-year, graduate-entry, Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (BMBS) degree.

On 8 April 2006, the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard announced that Deakin University would host Victoria's third medical school. Under Dr. Crotty, the first cohort of 120 students commenced their BMBS degree on 7 February 2008.These students are expected to graduate at the end of 2011.

The School of Medicine was opened on 1 May 2008 by the former Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd.

In 2011, there will be 130 Commonwealth Supported Places available. This figure includes 33 Bonded Medical Places and 5 Medical Rural Bonded Scholarships (MRBS).Applicants for the positions sit the GAMSAT (Graduate Australian Medical School Admission Test) in the two years prior to the year in which they want to start their studies, and satisfy other entry requirements such as an interview based on the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) process.Students' mean age at commencement of year 1 of the course is around 25.

A cohort of students spend all their third year attached to a regional general practice where they complete a 'parallel rural community curriculum' through the Integrated Model of Medical Education in Rural Settings (IMMERSe). Students cover the same material as those studying in hospital settings. Third year Deakin University medical students in the IMMERSe program are hosted in general practices in regional and rural Victorian towns including Bacchus Marsh, Daylesford, Colac, Ararat, Camperdown, Casterton, Horsham, Stawell and Hamilton.

Teaching is provided by face-to-face instruction by general practitioners, clinical skills trainers, visiting medical and surgical specialists, and online lectures and tutorials. An aspect of the IMMERSe program is that students perform "parallel consulting" in general practice. This means the student consults one-on-one with a patient, then presents their findings to the supervising doctor.

The doctor completes the consultation with the student observing, giving the student opportunities to develop practical clinical skills such as history taking, physical examination, case presentation and medical management. By placing students in rural general practices rather than major metropolitan hospitals, the aim of IMMERSe is to give students exposure to primary care and country family medicine, with the ultimate objective of encouraging more medical graduates to work in regional Australia, particularly in general practice.

MeDUSA, the Deakin Medical Students' Association, was established in 2008 to coincide with the entry of the first cohort of students.