Elevating medical education and research across Latin America

At the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), tomorrow’s doctors are learning to think critically, act decisively, and publish research with global impact. By embedding BMJ Group’s evidence based tools directly into teaching, clinical rotations, and research training, UNAM is reshaping medical education and strengthening healthcare outcomes across Latin America.

UNAM is Latin America’s largest and most prestigious university, with over 380,000 students enrolled across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and is responsible for producing around a third of all Mexican research. Its Faculty of Medicine is one of the oldest in the Americas, and today, it trains thousands of healthcare professionals annually.

Facing rising demands, including the burden of non-communicable diseases, which now account for three quarters of deaths nationally, relies on BMJ Group to move learning beyond the classroom, creating measurable skills in research, clinical judgment, and open publishing.

Since 2010, the UNAM faculty of medicine has successfully integrated the Group’s resources into its competency based curriculum. Research to Publication (R2P) has expanded research capability, offering structured training and mentorship. 

Within 12 months of completing the programme:

At the bedside, BMJ Best Practice has become the backbone of clinical teaching. Over the past two years, UNAM’s analytics show students accessed it daily on rotations to check diagnoses and treatment plans, averaging more than 550 page views a day. App use consistently outperforms peer institutions, with the most viewed topics reflecting Mexico’s prevalent conditions and supporting safer decisions guided by best evidence during rotations.

At UNAM, BMJ Group’s tools connect the entire pathway from learning to clinical decision making to publishing research. Students progress seamlessly: applying evidence at the point of care with BMJ Best Practice, reinforcing core skills via BMJ Learning, and advancing to authorship with Research to Publication.

In 2024, UNAM became BMJ Group’s first Read and Publish partner in Latin America. This landmark agreement expanded open access opportunities for faculty and students, raising UNAM’s global research visibility while further embedding evidence based practice.

With BMJ Group, our students and faculty move seamlessly from learning to bedside to publication.

Dr Ana Carolina Sepúlveda Vildósola, 
Dean, faculty of medicine, UNAM, Mexico

In 2024, UNAM became BMJ Group’s first Read and Publish partner in Latin America. This landmark agreement expanded open access opportunities for faculty and students, raising UNAM’s global research visibility while further embedding evidence-based practice.