NOVA Medical School

 

 

With over 47 years of history, NOVA Medical School is the Medical School of NOVA University Lisbon, dedicated to teaching and research in the fields of Medicine and Nutrition.

NOVA Medical School is committed to cutting-edge training, grounded in pedagogical innovation and curricular adaptation to meet the demands of increasingly complex health systems. Early exposure to clinical practice and the diversity of experiences in more than 25 healthcare units allow students to consolidate their skills in real-world contexts, preparing them to transform healthcare.

“My choice was mainly based on the practical and innovative teaching that the faculty offers...”
— Alexandra Nobre (Medical Student)

 

“I am extremely proud of the training I received at NOVA Medical School. I came to the United States 17 years ago to continue my education, and I realized early on that my background was different from that of most of my colleagues. I felt that I had a strong ability to solve problems and empathize with my patients—skills I recognize were decisively shaped by my years of training at NOVA Medical School.”
— Filipa Lynce (Alumna and Oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she directs the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program)

 

The Nutrition Sciences program, closely linked to Medicine, stands out for its integrative approach and emphasis on acquiring hands-on research skills, preparing professionals capable of developing effective and holistic diagnoses and intervention strategies.

With an interdisciplinary research team engaged in national and international projects, NOVA Medical School is focused on identifying and addressing health challenges that affect—or will affect—society. The School also conducts outstanding translational research, transforming scientific discoveries into practical applications and bridging the gap between the laboratory and clinical practice. As a result, new diagnostic tools, treatments, and prevention strategies are developed and effectively applied within the community.

NOVA Medical School values its engagement with society, promoting community outreach initiatives that foster closer ties and open exchange, while also offering consultation services and complementary exams that contribute to improving public health.

Clinical Facilities and Hospital Network
NOVA Medical School works in close collaboration with multiple healthcare units, offering students diverse and high-quality clinical training. The future Hospital de Todos os Santos will represent a unique experience in Portugal: a purpose-built facility with a triple mission of care, teaching, and research, consolidating the integration of care, education, and science.

Innovation in Advanced Training
On the Carcavelos campus, the new Advanced Training building hosts postgraduate programs for healthcare professionals, featuring a strong practical component, clinical simulation, and surgical training on cadavers. Programs are led by renowned faculty, ensuring excellence in continuing education.

School of the Future
NOVA Medical School is a leader in academic excellence and educational innovation, looking to the future with a bold vision: to be a School of the Future, from Portugal to the world. By combining curiosity, empathy, and knowledge, it trains doctors, nutritionists, and researchers who are prepared to respond to global health challenges—with the shared ambition of improving quality of life for society.

Together for the future of health!

PRESENTATION

This is our DNA: a Medical School with a relaxed but demanding academic environment that trains doctors and nutritionists, but above all seeks to train complete citizens.

STUDENTS

1656 | Integrated Masters in Medicine

98 | Degree in Nutritional Sciences

121 | Masters

197 | Doctoral Degrees

575 | Advanced training Courses

Mission and Objectives

NOVA Medical School was established by law decree 481/77, issued November 15, 1977. It began its activities in the 1977/1978 academic year.

The school is one of the institutions of NOVA University of Lisbon. Its responsibilities are described in article 2 of the defining statues and policies of the school, published in law 8664/2009 annex, issued March 18, 2009 (Code of the Portuguese Republic, 2nd series, number 60, March 26, 2009):

  1. The school mission is the public service of preparing with excellence professionals in the areas of medical sciences and other health fields.

  2. So that the school can accomplish this mission it pursues the following objectives:
    1. Internationally competitive research in multidisciplinary areas, including research aimed at solving society health problems;
    2. Teaching excellence, increasingly focusing in the second (master) and third (doctorate) cycles, offering academic programs competitive nationally and internationally.
    3. Establishing a widening network of synergetic health field collaborations with other institutions at Universidade Nova de Lisboa and beyond;
    4. Providing high quality services leading to the effective improvement of health care delivery and its human resources, nationally and internationally, namely on Portuguese-speaking countries.

HISTORY

The first medical course at NOVA Medical School (NMS) took place in the academic year 1973-1980. Starting at the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon / Hospital de Santa Maria, the course was transferred to the renovated premises of Campo de Santana. The Faculty of Medical Sciences of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa was established there on 15 November 1977.

The college is headquartered in a building whose original 19th-century project was designed by architect José Maria Nepomuceno, located in Campo dos Mártires da Pátria (also known as Campo de Santana).

The main building, where the Lisbon Medical-Surgical School of Lisbon and later the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (transferred to the University City in 1953) was built on the site where there was a bullring and has in front of its magnificent façade, a statue in homage to Sousa Martins, a well-known doctor beatified by the people of Lisbon.

It is an imposing property in which the best artists of the time collaborated, highlighting the panels by Veloso Salgado in the Sala dos Actos, the tiles by Jorge Colaço in Passos Perdidos, the paintings by Columbano in the Sala dos Juris and the painting " O Mestre" (1914), by Carlos Bonvalot (1893-1934), which represents a lesson in Anatomy given by Professor Henrique de Vilhena.

The Faculty's mission is the public service for training and research in the fields of medical and health sciences.

cont.

The first cohort of students to finish their medical degree at Santana Campus of NOVA Medical School|Faculdade de Ciências Médicas was the class of 1973-1980.  They had been admitted at Universidade de Lisboa but started their lectures already as members of the “Santana Campus Extension” of the Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa.  They and their professors constituted the initial core that gave rise to Faculdade de Ciências Médicas.   

The first lectures were held at the Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, in Junqueira. Later on there were also lectures in the Instituto de Ciências Sociais e Políticas (formerly Instituto de Ciências Sociais e Política Ultramarina), at the Burnay Palace, in Junqueira street, as well as in hospitals which began to be affiliated with the school, starting with Egas Moniz Hospital.

This first cohort took 7 years to complete their studies due to constraints arising from uncertainty regarding the legal status of what was then known as the “Faculdade do Campo de Santana”. These were only resolved in 1977 when the Faculty legally established.

The school was innovative from start, using modern audiovisual tools and video recording classes, so that students could watch them at convenient times, something particularly beneficially for student workers.  

The first class to receive a degree from this newly created school was the 1977 one, named “From the Public,” because although they spent their first years as Faculdade de Medidina de Lisboa / Hospital de Santa Maria students, afterwards, from 1976 on they had final clinical education at the Public Hospitals of Lisbon.  In 1978 this class received their Medical Doctor Degrees issued by Faculdade de Ciências Médicas.

Knowledge about these early years is paramount to understand the history of the school, founded right around the political unrest of 1974 and several other tribulations, thus shaping from the beginning a strong team spirit and a truly new and modern culture.

ECO-CAMPUS

A NOVA Medical School é desde 2015 uma Eco-Escola, reconhecimento atribuído pela ABAE (Associação Bandeira Azul Europa), tendo recebido, desde então, simbolicamente, a Bandeira Verde de Eco-Escola.

O Eco-Escolas é um programa internacional desenvolvido em Portugal desde 1996 pela ABAE, que pretende encorajar ações e reconhecer o trabalho de qualidade desenvolvido pelos estabelecimentos de ensino, no âmbito da Educação Ambiental e Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável. Este programa fornece metodologia, formação, materiais pedagógicos, apoio e enquadramento ao trabalho desenvolvido pelos estabelecimentos.

Na NMS todos os anos são desenvolvidas diversas atividades que envolvem toda a comunidade e que promovem os valores defendidos pelo Programa. O Conselho Eco-Escolas da NMS, composto atualmente por 6 estudantes, 4 docentes e 6 não docentes, reúne trimestralmente para planear atividades a implementar, numa ótica de melhoria contínua e adaptada à realidade da faculdade. O grande empenho e envolvimento dos estudantes, conhecedores desta realidade, tem sido o maior contributo na concretização deste Programa na NMS.

Em 2022 a NMS recebeu o 1º Galardão “EcoCampus Portugal”, a atribuir às instituições que integram já a rede Eco-Escolas no Ensino Superior (faculdades, escolas superiores, universidades e politécnicos). Este será um desafio na adoção da metodologia dos “7 passos“, envolvendo ativamente as diversas valências do “campus”, agilizando a concretização dos princípios da Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ESD) e contribuindo para a concretização das metas dos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS). Este galardão está alinhado a nível internacional com a rede FEE EcoCampus.

Conheça o Eco-Código 2022, elaborado em colaboração com os estudantes da NMS e que visa promover um melhor comportamento sustentável de toda a comunidade.

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