Francesc Cardellach López: "Recognition as a Campus of International Excellence means that we're going about things the right way"
Francesc Cardellach López (Terrassa, 1951), Professor of Medicine and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine since 2008, is also a senior consultant at the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona and Director of the Mitochondrial Research Laboratory at the August Pi I Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS). Dr. Cardellachʼs relationship with the Faculty of Medicine stretches back more than 40 years, covering his period of undergraduate study and his doctoral training under the guidance of Ciril Rozman. He was co-director of Farreras and Rozmanʼs seminal work Medicina interna and specializes as a researcher in the field of mitochondrial disease, focusing particularly on muscular pathologies. He has been the principal investigator or co-investigator for twelve competitively-funded research projects and has directed five doctoral theses. He has also published over 200 papers in scientific journals and received the 2004 Prize for Professional Excellence, awarded by the Official College of Physicians of Catalonia. He is a member of several prestigious institutions and associations including the Royal Academy of Medicine of Catalonia.
Francesc Cardellach López (Terrassa, 1951), Professor of Medicine and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine since 2008, is also a senior consultant at the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona and Director of the Mitochondrial Research Laboratory at the August Pi I Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS). Dr. Cardellachʼs relationship with the Faculty of Medicine stretches back more than 40 years, covering his period of undergraduate study and his doctoral training under the guidance of Ciril Rozman. He was co-director of Farreras and Rozmanʼs seminal work Medicina interna and specializes as a researcher in the field of mitochondrial disease, focusing particularly on muscular pathologies. He has been the principal investigator or co-investigator for twelve competitively-funded research projects and has directed five doctoral theses. He has also published over 200 papers in scientific journals and received the 2004 Prize for Professional Excellence, awarded by the Official College of Physicians of Catalonia. He is a member of several prestigious institutions and associations including the Royal Academy of Medicine of Catalonia.
The Health Universitat de Barcelona Campus (HUBc) project has recently received official recognition as a Campus of International Excellence. What effect does this have on the Faculty?
I think that the recognition in itself means that we are going about things the right way. Forming part of a campus of excellence can also be a good way to attract new students to bachelor's and master's programmes. The fact that this accolade brings additional funding for improving research activities and infrastructures could facilitate exchange of experiences between teaching, research, the care sector and industry. Overall it is excellent news for us.
In any case, The Faculty is a guarantee of quality, and this can be seen in the fact that the cut-off grade for prospective students of the EHEA bachelorʼs degree in Medicine is higher than at any other Catalan university. This is also the case of our postgraduate and masterʼs programmes, because students will always want to learn from the best institution and are aware of what the UB Faculty of Medicine can offer them. This challenges us to continue to improve.
The UB is one of the top 100 universities in the world in clinical medicine and pharmacy (according to the 2010 ARWU report). What are secrets behind the Faculty of Medicineʼs success in these rankings?
Our greatest strengths are the Facultyʼs long history and its privileged relationship with prestigious healthcare institutions, which allow us to conduct extensive basic, translational and clinical research and to enhance our scientific productivity. This, and other, aspects, such as the expertise of our teaching staff and the contribution of leading research professionals, has enabled us to establish a position at the top of university rankings.
Why did you decide to stand for the position of Dean? Were you intimidated by the size of the Faculty?
When I began my medicine degree in 1969 I went straight into an intern position at the Hospital Clínic, so my life has always been tied to this Faculty and the Hospital. I also started teaching - as an assistant in practical sessions - at a very young age, and I have been involved in academic work ever since. Later I become more involved in management, and eventually became Vice-Dean of the Faculty, a position I held for seven years. When the previous dean Teresa Estrach, came to the end of her term, I decided that I was the right time to stand myself, because many of the projects we had begun under her direction were still underway and had to be pushed on. So enthusiasm and the feeling that I could make an important contribution were my main motivations. You donʼt take on this sort of role to make a living - you do it because you enjoy it.
Personally, I set simple but highly ambitious goals. By this I mean that what the Faculty should be aiming to achieve is to provide its students with quality teaching, since our fundamental purpose is to train doctors, and we must ensure that they leave us fully prepared for professional practice. I did not set this goal because the existing teaching was in any way below par, but because I believe we must strive to raise it to even higher levels, and this challenge should inform all of our decisions.
Another goal is to accelerate improvements in research. Without good research you cannot hope to offer good teaching. We need to strengthen translational research - to consolidate the links between basic and clinical research and support cooperative work between the Faculty and our hospitals. The Faculty of Medicine and its university hospitals must work together at all times. This is vital if we want to move forward in research and if we intend to produce better qualified graduates.
Another goal is to consolidate two new bachelorʼs degrees: Basic Medical Sciences (researcher training in biomedicine) and Biomedical Engineering. These are challenges that we are determined to excel in, since we have the best health facilities in which to make the courses work, a fact that contributes greatly to guaranteeing the success of the two degrees. We also want to rationalize the range of masterʼs degrees on offer, an area in which the Faculty of Medicine is also particularly successful, as it has access to a first-rate team of professionals from quality research institutes and prestigious hospitals.
Finally, we want to give the final push to complete the building and remodelling work currently underway in the Faculty.
One of the changes you have had to accommodate is the implantation of the European Higher Education Area. How does this new system influence the courses offered by the Faculty?
In the case of Medicine, the Bologna Plan has not required us to change any content, but we have had to adapt the form in which our degrees are taught. In this Faculty we have always placed particular importance on clinical practice, since our main aim is to introduce students to the job itself. In the last four years of the degree students receive a substantial amount of clinical teaching, and this is one of the key points of the Bologna process. It is true that the EHEA requires minor changes to the methodology, such as more continuous assessment and fewer lectures, smaller groups, seminars and practical sessions, but the essential aspects of the degree do not need to be touched. Perhaps a certain degree of change is required in the mentality of teaching staff, who have to adapt to the new methodology and accept the introduction of new criteria for the accreditation of teaching quality.
How do you view the fact that the Faculty is spread across three sites?
I think itʼs a very positive fact. Having three sites - Medicine Campus-August Pi i Sunyer, Bellvitge Health Sciences Campus and Sant Joan de Déu University School of Nursing - that combine the potential of three excellent university hospitals means that our students also have access to these three healthcare institutes of the highest quality. This configuration also creates better opportunities for students to learn about medicine through more frequent contact with patients, so we are extremely fortunate to have this type of set-up. We work closely with eight other hospitals, each with an excellent reputation, to provide extensive clinical teaching, an area that is supported by the participation of 22 primary care centres. Together, these facilities form an immense network of centres and staff for teaching medicine, which is a privileged situation to be in. Although the administrative side can be somewhat complex, it is only a minor problem.
How do you think societyʼs perception of doctors has changed?
In the mid-20th century, society viewed doctors as figures with great professional and social prestige and it was unusual to question their judgement or decisions. At the same time, doctors took a highly paternalistic approach to their patients. This has changed in recent years, and it is natural for it to do so, since technological advances have enabled patients to become better and better informed about the diseases they suffer from. Itʼs what we could call informed patient syndrome, where the patient raises a series of questions and demands explanations of every aspect that might affect their health or any treatment proposed.