Medial University of Silesia School History The Medical University of Silesia, currently the largest medical school in Poland, was established on March 20, 1948. Initially, it was located in Rokitnica Bytomska under the name “Medical Academy”, but it soon changed its name to Medical University of Silesia in 1949 and moved to Katowice, Poland in 1971 where it remains until present day (1). The organizer and first Rector of the school, Professor Nowakowski, was a renowned specialist in the fields of hygiene and epidemiology (1 and 2). The Silesian region was characterized by rapidly increasing air and water pollution along with soil contamination. Therefore, the original vision and purpose of the school was to train and produce broadly educated physicians who would provide the best possible health services to the residents of the largest industrial region of Poland. This vision was manifested into reality as the first lectures for its 135 students of medicine and 96 students of dentistry at the Medical University of Silesia began in October 1948 (1). The Medical University of Silesia rapidly flourished, surpassing all expectations. By the 10 year anniversary in 1958, there were 2,657 students and the school had 37 departments and 18 university hospital units with 1,800 hospital beds. By the same time the Medical University of Silesia awarded 111 doctoral titles and nearly 1000 scientific works were published. In 1971, the Headquarters of the Medical University of Silesia moved from Rokitnica Bytomska to Katowice and the College of Pharmacy was established (1). The school continued to expand as it provided much needed services to residents and workers in the region of Silesia. In 1974, the Central University Hospital in Katowice-Ligota began admitting patients, and the College of Nursing in Katowice-Ligota, currently the School of Health Care, had been established. By 1975 the school grew so big that that a second medical school was established in Zabrze in addition the one in Katowice (1). By the 1990’s the Medical University of Silesia growth and development was so successful that it saw the potential to expand internationally, and this vision was especially possible due to the recent changes in national political system. In August 1995 the Medical University of Silesia entered in agreement with Hope Medical Institute located in Newport News, Virginia, USA. A four-year English language program was born, and the first American students came to study medicine in Katowice, Poland in February 1996 (1 and 2). There are currently practicing physicians, residents, and students doing clinical rotations from the Medical University of Silesia in the USA. As the English division continues to grow and expand internally and globally with each new semester, the Medical University of Silesia is quickly becoming one of the most attractive medical institutions in the world as evidenced by the many new students from all parts of Europe, North America, East and South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. “The teaching program comprises all branches of modern medicine and is comparable to medical programs of the best medical teaching centers in the USA…” (2). Currently, there are 6,402 total students within the 5 schools of the Medical University of Silesia. The School of Medicine in Katowice has 1,617 students, including 404 students enrolled in the English language program. The School of Health Care in Katowice has 1,394 students, the School of Medicine with the Division of Dentistry in Zabrze has 1,238 students, the School of Pharmacy with the Division of Laboratory Medicine in Sosnowiec has 1,579 students, and the School of Public Health in Bytom has 574 students. In addition, the total number of students enrolled in either evening or extramural studies in the fields of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, obstetrics & gynecology, or public health, is 1,120 (1). The Medical University of Silesia has granted diplomas to 32,095 alumni, including 26,036 to physicians and dentists, 3,646 to pharmacists, medical analysts, and cosmetologists, 2,172 to nurses and physiotherapists, and 241 to public health specialists and is continuing to grow each year (1). Written by Nikhil Singh Bhalla - class of 2014 Sources 1. smk.sum.edu.pl/. Medical University of Silesia School of Medicine in Katowice official website. Welcome tab. History. Accessed on September 10, 2013 2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_University_of_Silesia Wikipedia page Medical University of Silesia. Accessed on September 10, 2013.
Posted on: Mon, 05 May 2014 15:37:13 +0000