Missions of a medical school: a European perspective

A medical school should be active in various realms, which can be mentioned in a mission statement. Undergraduate training should be situated in the context of medical training as a whole, which does not stop with graduation. Rapid sociocultural change and scientific progress call for production of a "multipotential" graduate, educated at a high scientific standard to keep up with biomedical progress and motivated for continuing education. The graduate should have sound ethical preparation and strong communication skills. In all countries, university hospitals and teaching hospitals should at least contribute to postgraduate specialty training and continuing education. Scientific research must be a fundamental activity of a medical school. Tasks of a faculty include obtaining research funding, solving problems young clinicians face in doing research, and attending to the scientific integrity of researchers. A medical faculty must evaluate itself. Factors in health improvement include appropriate lifestyles and social behaviors; a medical faculty should educate the population in this regard. The faculty should also participate in advising local health administrators, for example by helping to predict the needs of the population and the development of medical care. International cooperation, including joint activities and exchange of information on approaches to problems, can help improve performance in all the areas noted above.