General description:

The UMCG is the only university medical center in the northern part of the Netherlands, and therefore the final point of referral for many patients.

Patients go to the UMCG for basic care as well as highly specialist top clinical and top reference care, such as organ transplants, complex neuro-surgery, neonatology, clinical genetics, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), pediatric oncology, renal dialysis and traumatology. All medical specialties are represented, as well as education programs for all medical disciplines. The final assessment of the specific disorder a patient is suffering from, is usually a matter of research. Especially when that disorder is rare, hard to diagnose and difficult to treat. The eight Dutch university medical centers, like the UMCG, have been appointed to render this top reference care. However, not every disease can be cured. That is why the UMCG devotes much attention to chronic diseases, pain relief, and palliative care. How to live with limitations - whether due to illness or disability - has to be learnt. After an illness or accident, rehabilitation is often necessary. The UMCG also provides this service. Research and development are combined with many years of practical experience in the Center for Rehabilitation.

Focus on healthy ageing

The UMCG focuses on healthy ageing in all priority areas: research, clinical care and education. The healthy ageing-related research is bundled in the Institute of Healthy Ageing. This institute forms the shell in which the healthy ageing activities are embedded, such as the cohort study LifeLines, the UMCG Center for Geriatric Medicine (UCO) and the European Research Institute on the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA).

City inside a city

The more than 10000 employees and 1300 beds make the UMCG one of the largest hospitals in The Netherlands. It is sometimes called ‘a city inside a city’, because of the architecture, with covered streets that lead to the nursing units and outpatients clinics. Moreover, thousands of employees provide numerous services to even a greater number of patients and visitors. Each year, many symposia are organized in the hospital, with participants from abroad. There are shops, a branch of one of the national banks, gardens, as well as lunchrooms, in order to make patients less aware that they are in a hospital. This philosophy has led to a hospital that is unique in Europe.

Research

Research at the UMCG is characterized by a combination of fundamental and patient oriented clinical research. The interaction between these two stimulates the development of new clinical and research opportunities. Problems that occur in the clinical practice act as a catalyst which sets new fundamental research in motion, whereas fundamental research can come up with new clinical possibilities.

Education

The UMCG is demonstrably among the best scientific educational institutes in the Netherlands in the area of medicine, dentistry and human movement sciences. Groningen is not only renowned for its successful modernization of scientific education, but also has a reputation for its innovation of nursing education and competency-based continuing education, training and courses to (para)medics and nurses. The fact that the UMCG is a forerunner in the development of education and training is underlined by the hyper-modern UMCG Wenckebach Skills Center. In this mini hospital, with operating and patient rooms and an Intensive Care Unit, healthcare providers from different disciplines and educational levels undergo virtual and ‘almost real’ training to practice skills, new surgery techniques and treatment methods. Training for other aspects, such as teamwork, is also available in the Skills Center.

Roles in the ITN:  Supervise and train a PhD student who will work on long-term of ADAS on the driving behaviour of midly impaired older drivers

Researcher:

Wiebo Brouwer