Medical University of Gdansk
Encyclopedia
The Medical University of Gdańsk is the largest medical academic institution in northern Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. It educates more than 5000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in four faculties.

History

The Akademia Lekarska in Gdańsk was founded on 8 October 1945. Its history is related to the tradition of medical practice of surgeons associated in the Surgeons Guild (active since 1454), as well as teaching and medical and scientific research, particularly in Gdańskie Gimnazjum Akademickie (Atheneum Gedanese) established in 1558. This institution set up the Department of Science and Medicine (physices et medicinae), which was managed and supervised by eminent scholars. Among the most famous lecturers were: Joachim Oelhafius, a native of Gdańsk, who in 1613 was the first to perform a public autopsy of a newborn child in northern Europe, and Dr Jan Adam Kulmus, the author of the anatomical atlas Tabulae anatomicae, published in 1932. The work went into several editions and was translated into many languages. The Gimnazjum Akademickie represented a high standard of achievement and its graduates were accepted in the third year of medical studies at universities in western Europe. After the closing of the Gimnazjum Akademickie at the beginning of the 19th century, it was not until the first years of the 20th century that another academic school was established.

Pharmaceutical sciences in Gdańsk date back to the times of Johannes Placotomus, author and founder of the first pharmacy in Gdańsk in 1527, and Johannes Schmiedt, alias Fabritius, the co-author of the oldest Polish pharmacopoeia
Pharmacopoeia
Pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea, , in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of samples and the preparation of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a government or a medical or pharmaceutical society.In a broader sense it is...

, published in 1665.
In 1935 the Gdańsk Senate, already represented mostly by German nationalists (members of the NSDAP) went about establishing Akademia Medycyny Praktycznej (Die Staatliche Akademie für Praktische Medizin zu Danzig) on the basis of the municipal hospital built between 1907 and 1911. Teaching medicine in the newly opened college involved clinical courses. In 1940, following the introduction of pre-clinical courses, the college’s name was changed to Medizinische Akademie in Danzig, offering full 5-year medical studies.

After the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Akademia Lekarska was founded in Gdańsk. In 1950 its name was changed to Akademia Medyczna (The Medical University of Gdansk). Among the professors of the newly established college, there were many eminent Polish scholars from the University of Stefan Batory in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

, who had come to Gdańsk after Vilnius was incorporated into the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, and a handful of scholars from other pre-war Polish academic centers. Initially, Akademia Lekarska conducted studies in two majors: medical and pharmaceutical. In May 1947 the Faculty of Stomatology was created and later on in January 1950 the name was changed to the Subfaculty of Dentistry at the Faculty of Medicine. In 1975 Medical University of Gdansk (MUG) opened a branch in Bydgoszcz, which in 1984 became an independent college. In 1993, as a joint unit of Medical University of Gdansk and Gdańsk University
Gdansk University
- History :The University of Gdańsk was established in 1970 by the amalgamation of the Higher School of Economics in Sopot and Gdańsk College of Education .- School Authorities :* Rector: Prof. dr hab. Bernard Lammek...

, the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology was founded. In the academic year 2005/2006 Medical University started the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Faculties

The faculties are:
  • Faculty of Health Sciences
  • Faculty of Medicine
  • Faculty of Pharmacy
  • The Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdańsk and the Medical University of Gdańsk.


Teaching activities are carried out by nearly one thousand of academic teachers, with over one hundred of them holding the professor position. Currently, MUG offers education in nearly all medical professions and classes are also conducted in English (English Division of the Faculty of Medicine).

Research

Aside from the educational activity, the MUG focuses on scientific research. It scored highly in the ranking of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The Award of the Foundation for Polish Science was received by Professor Roman Kaliszan in 2003 and Professor Janusz Limon in 2004.

When the ranking system of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education was established, the Medical University of Gdańsk introduced an internal system of parametric assessment of particular research units. Today, three faculties of the MUG – Medicine, Pharmacy, and the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology have top positions in the ranking, as does the unique Interdepartmental Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine. The Faculty of Health Sciences, founded in the year 2006, is preparing for the parametric assessment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and it has also submitted an application to be granted the right to award PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 degrees.

The main funding sources for research are: statutory activity (118 research topics), commissioned projects, development projects, own projects, promoter projects, post doctorate projects (altogether 109 projects), own research (345 research topics), and research support activity (37 projects). Moreover, the academic teachers perform scientific research under contract with external entities, primarily with pharmaceutical enterprises (19 service and research projects). The University staff also carries out projects financed by the EU framework programmes and other community initiatives, as well as structural funds, including the Sector Operational Programme –Increased Enterprise Competition.

The high level of research work and the highest qualifications of our academic teaching staff are reflected in individual distinctions, among many – the Polish Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

s – the prize awarded by the Foundation for Polish Science to professors: Roman Kaliszan in 2003 and Janusz Limon in 2004. In the previous academic year the Prime Minister gave the award for scientific activity to professor Jacek Jassem and post doctorate teacher Michał Markuszewski was the laureate of the prestigious academic scholarship of the Minister of Science and Higher Education. The scholarship was addressed to eminent young scientists in the category of research for the sake of scientific development.

Developments

Many new research institutes and clinics have been established, the equipment has been modernized, new facilities have been created and all the buildings including the campus have been equipped with computers and a computer network. In 2007 the modernization of the main teaching hospital, Academic Clinical Centre was launched. The investment is co-financed by the state budget with the subsidy of 480 million Polish zlotys.

International links

The university cooperates with more than 50 universities and scientific centers abroad. It exchanges students and teachers in the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme and is an active member of many European organizations and institutions. It is a founding member of two regional organizations: ScanBalt and the Baltic Sea Region University Network.

Clinical mission

Aside from fulfilling its teaching and research roles, the Medical University is the founding body of four health care institutes, including two clinical hospitals: the University Clinical Center – the MUG Hospital and the Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine. Their significance for the health care system is shown in the number of hospitalized patients (almost 60,000), outpatient visits (over 250,000), surgery procedures (over 21,000, including about 1,500 open-heart surgeries) and laboratory tests (over 2 million a year). The clinical hospitals offer medical treatments unavailable anywhere else in Northern Poland, such as: organ transplant
Organ transplant
Organ transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. The emerging field of regenerative medicine is allowing scientists and engineers to create organs to be...

s (kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...

s, bone marrow
Bone marrow
Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...

 and heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...

), radiotherapy and oncological chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....

, child and adult hematology
Hematology
Hematology, also spelled haematology , is the branch of biology physiology, internal medicine, pathology, clinical laboratory work, and pediatrics that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases...

, invasive cardiology
Cardiology
Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...

 and electro-cardiology, organ surgery, hyperbaric medicine, tropical and nuclear medicine.

The Medical University of Gdańsk and its hospitals operate locally, as well as outside the region. As a result, they cater for the health and security of around 3.5 million Poles.

Cooperation

The Medical University of Gdańsk provides health care for the people of Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...

 and inhabitants of neighboring regions, as the founder of clinical hospitals and other health-care facilities.

It undertakes expert work for the public authorities, for example in the Health for Pomerania Programme, which aims at health improvement for the inhabitants of the region. The university is actively involved in work on the Strategy of Pomeranian Voivodship Development, Regional Innovation Strategy and the Pomeranian Voivodship Regional Operational Programme.

The university's initiatives for the community spread awareness of preventive treatment and a healthy lifestyle, e.g. Good Health Picnic (Piknik na Zdrowie) and the local implementation of large-scale prophylaxis programmes, e.g. The 400 Cities Programme. The University actively participates in the Baltic Science Festival.

External links

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