Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

About Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is an academic division of the University of Sherbrooke, located in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Established in 1966, the faculty operates primarily on the Health Campus of the university, adjacent to the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke. It maintains additional medical education sites in Saguenay, Quebec, and Moncton, New Brunswick. The institution was created to train medical professionals and conduct health research, catering primarily to French-speaking populations in eastern Canada.

The faculty offers a range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs across multiple health disciplines. Its primary academic offering is the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program, which employs a problem-based learning and competency-based curriculum. Beyond medicine, the faculty includes undergraduate and graduate programs in nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pharmacology, radiation oncology technology, and health sciences research. Graduate offerings include Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in disciplines such as biochemistry, cell biology, immunology, neuroscience, and public health.

Academic operations are structured through several specialized departments and schools. Key academic units include the Department of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Department of Pediatrics, Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Department of Nursing, and Department of Rehabilitation. The faculty also integrates various research institutes, including the Centre de recherche du CHUS, which focuses on areas such as cancer, diabetes, medical imaging, aging, and maternal-child health.

The main Health Campus in Sherbrooke features specialized teaching facilities, simulation centers, laboratories, and clinical training environments. The Simulation Center allows students to practice clinical skills using high-fidelity anatomical models and standardized patient scenarios. The campus includes specialized research facilities equipped for biomedical imaging, genomics, and cellular analysis. Students have access to the Health Sciences Library, which holds a collection of medical literature, digital databases, and study areas designed for collaborative and individual learning.

The medical program at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Nursing programs are accredited by the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, while the occupational therapy and physiotherapy programs hold accreditation from their respective national professional bodies in Canada. These accreditations ensure that the academic curricula meet established national standards for professional healthcare education.

The faculty is recognized for its early implementation of problem-based learning in French-language medical education and its distributed medical training model. By partnering with regional institutions, such as the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and the Université de Moncton, the faculty enables students to complete their medical training outside major urban centers, addressing regional healthcare workforce requirements. The research sector focuses on translational medicine, converting laboratory findings into clinical applications and health policy adjustments.

Through its clinical network, the faculty collaborates closely with regional health authorities and affiliated hospitals to provide practical clinical rotations for medical residents and health sciences students. These partnerships facilitate hands-on clinical instruction in family medicine, specialized surgery, acute care, and community health. The institution continues to adjust its educational frameworks to incorporate digital health technologies, interprofessional education models, and population health strategies.