The Single cycle degree Course in Medicine and Surgery aims at training medical doctors with multidisciplinary theoretical-practical and methodological knowledge and professional, decision-making and operational autonomy for health promotion, prevention and the treatment of diseases in Italy as well as within international contexts; it also provides the methodological foundations of scientific research and the methodological and cultural bases for lifelong learning.

The students have 18 ECTS available for the preparation of the thesis and can personalize their study plan with elective didactic activities of their particular interest, for a total of 8 ECTS (seminars, monographic courses, participation in conferences and congresses, clinical and research internships in Italy and abroad, etc.).

The course of study lasts six years which include altogether 360 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), in accordance to current Italian and European legislation. At least 60 ECTS are to be acquired through training activities aimed at the maturation of specific professional skills. The professional activities are essentially carried out in the Operative Units of the "G. Martino" University Hospital in Messina, where care and assistance to the patient are combined with teaching and scientific research, and in the studios of the General Practitioners. The students can also personalize their study plan with elective didactic activities in fields of their own interest which allow for total acquisition of 8 credits (seminars, monographic courses, participation in conferences and congresses, clinical and research internships in Italy and abroad, etc.). The Course ends with the discussion of the thesis which is worth of 18 ECTS.

The first year is dedicated to the acquisition of fundamental and methodological notions of physics, computer science and statistics, knowledge of living matter, molecular, cellular, together with genetic information, and tissue organization of living organisms, ontogeny and architecture of the human body and a course that immediately brings the student closer to the clinical dimension.

The second year leads to the knowledge of the morphology and normal functioning of the organs and systems and of the basic mechanisms of the pathological processes, further consolidating the first knowledge of the clinical dimension.

From the third to the fifth year the preparation is aimed at the acquisition of clinical skills, through integrated courses of medical-surgical disciplines in which frontal teaching goes on along with the professional activity.

The sixth year is focused on making students capable of clinical reasoning, through applying knowledge and the scientific methods from former learning years to the examination of clinical and surgical cases, even in emergency situations. In order to be able to carry out the activity of  medical doctor in the several roles of clinical, health and bio-physicians professional fields, the learning course ends with the preparation and discussion of the thesis, which represents an important learning moment for the maturation of original speculative skills based on the scientific method.

Pursuant to article 102, paragraph 1, of law decree no. 18/2020, the final exam of the Single Cycle Medicine and Surgery Degrees relating to the LM-41 class in Medicine and Surgery has the value of a state exam enabling the exercise of the profession of Medical Doctor, after passing the practical-evaluation traineeship governed by the Decree of the Minister of Education, University and Research 9 May 2018, n. 58.

The educational path is characterized by:

- the harmonious and progressive acquisition of knowledge provided by basic sciences and clinical skills;

- the enhancement from the very beginning of the course of the doctor-patient relationship  through early contact integrated to the basic and clinical sciences;

- a considerable number of credits arising from strong clinical practice and a wide use of didactics provided by tutors, able to transform theoretical knowledge into personal experience  in order to build his own scale of values and interests, to manage the complexity of medicine by  proper  approach;

- a multidisciplinary and integrated vision of the most common problems of health and disease, with learning oriented towards prevention and promotion of human-centered health in its entirety, gender differences and intercultural communication;

- the use of scientific, clinical and professional methodology aimed at the health problems of the individual and the community, with due attention to the differences in population and gender;

- the application of interactive teaching methodologies, that allow the student to play an active role, such as Problem Based Learning, Case Method, Problem Solving, Concept Maps, discussion of clinical cases and clinical triggers, as well as laboratories, training, teaching to small groups, interdisciplinary conferences and seminars;

- exams are based upon traditional oral or written procedures as well as sequence of items useful to verify the acquired knowledge such as multiple choice tests or short written answers organized on problems or clinical cases of an interdisciplinary nature, followed by tests useful to ascertain the acquired clinical skills, such as the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, the Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise, the Direct Observation of Procedural Skills.

English is the official language of the Course for lessons, practical activities and exams. In order to guarantee productive learning during the professional activities at the patient's bed, Italian language courses are organized, in the first two years, at the University Language Center (CLAM), or equivalent organizations, which certify the achievement of the required level of knowledge: B1 (Common European Framework of Reference of languages).