“Today is a great day for Cartagena and a very happy day for me. When I founded UCAM, my great dream was to start up Medicine in my city. After 25 years of difficulties, it is a reality and a great joy that coincides with the 25th anniversary of our university”, said José Luis Mendoza, president of UCAM Universidad Católica, after finding out that the National Quality Assessment and Accreditation Agency of Spain (ANECA) has given the approval to the Catholic University to implement Medicine in its Cartagena Campus. 

After a thorough work and a great effort made for more than three years by this university, ANECA has approved this degree in Cartagena, which is expected to start next academic year 2021/22, once the process of implementation by CARM has been completed. Manuel Carlos Ruiz, vice-chancellor for Quality and Academic Organisation of UCAM, states that “after a long and exhaustive work, ANECA has recognised the excellent disposition of this degree in order to offer it to society to train future doctors”.

The UCAM Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine has a nine-year history on the Murcia Campus, offering quality training that has been demonstrated through the renewal of its accreditation by the National Quality Assessment and Accreditation Agency of Spain (ANECA) in May 2020.

Josefina García, chancellor of UCAM, stressed that this historic event “will turn Cartagena into a university city, open to the world, which will attract many national, local and international students”.

The training received by its students has borne fruit, as they have obtained excellent results in the different editions of the MIR exam. 95% of its students have passed this year, a similar rate to that of past editions, which allows the majority of them to select the speciality they want. The graduates of the first and second class of UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia, who passed the MIR exams in previous editions, are carrying out their specialities at referral hospitals such as Hospital Gregorio Marañón, Hospital Clínico, Hospital La Paz, and Hospital Ramón y Cajal in Madrid; and Hospital General Universitario Santa Lucía, Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca, Hospital General Universitario Morales Meseguer, and Hospital General Universitario Reina Sofía, in the Region of Murcia, as well as in other areas of Spain. 

Among the top ten in Spain for its specialisation in health and a benchmark in high healthcare technology

The latest report of Fundación Conocimiento y Desarrollo (CYD) on the condition of Spanish universities from a regional perspective ranks UCAM as the most specialised educative institution of the Region of Murcia in Health Sciences, apart from including it in the top ten universities in Spain. In this regard, the THE World University Rankings 2021 also highlights UCAM in the Clinical and Health category. The Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine is a pioneer in the development of clinical simulation applied to its teaching, as well as the use of technologies in the field of health.

Medicine and Health Building

UCAM has prepared a three-storey building that will host the future Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences for the next academic year 2021/2022. This building has new simulation rooms and laboratories specialising in microbiology, biology, biochemistry, physiology, embryology, genetics and digital table. It will have dissection practice rooms, bone stock, skills room, filming and corpse preparation room, first-aid service, new tutoring rooms and dressing rooms. The health teaching services have recently been extended with physiotherapy rooms in the library building, specialised areas for respiratory treatments and electrotherapy, geriatric and paediatric work, as well as Rocher cages, bandaging, massage therapy, first aid, etc. In addition, the Campus has an anatomy laboratory, simulation and demo rooms and home care.

Jerónimo Lajara, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, stressed that “the facilities are ready, everything is ready to start. The size of the Cartagena Campus has allowed us to create a building almost twice as big as the one in Murcia, with very extensive facilities, with the same technical resources, laboratories, dissecting rooms, tables, skills devices and the same syllabus”.

A highly specialised campus in health and sport

The Cartagena Campus has specialised in health and sports sciences, offering several degrees such as Nursing, Physiotherapy, Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, Dentistry in English, as well as Higher Vocational Training courses in Physical Conditioning and Social and Sports Animation, among others. Created in 2014, it is continuously expanding and improving its facilities, with a constant updating of its equipment.