“As part of the event series celebrating the university’s 250th anniversary, we have organized a conference in the spring that focuses on the presence of the university’s three main activities (education, patient care, research & innovation) within clinical care,” said Dr. Attila Szabó, vice-rector for clinical affairs and president of the Clinical Center, the event’s main organizer. He pointed out that the academic year started with the Summer University event for students, while in November the Semmelweis Symposium, the university’s most prestigious scientific event, presented basic and translational research in the area of cardiology as it related to Semmelweis University. “The university’s entire clinical care operations will be featured at the Semmelweis 250 Clinical Conference on March 9-10, so it will not be focusing on one specific profession but on presenting the wide spectrum and high quality of patient care, clinical and translational research at Semmelweis University, while also demonstrating our extensive international relations and collaborations,” said rector Dr. Béla Merkely. The conference will feature 70 presenters, including 20 renowned international professors from countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Germany, covering more than more than 20 specialist areas.
The main part of the event will be a traditional conference, where presentations will be held among others by László Palkovics, minister for innovation and technology, the Harvard Medical School, the Asklepios Campus Hamburg, and experts from the Hungarian foreign ministry. Besides the presentations, a forum on curriculum reform will also be held on the first day, where international guests will hold presentations, to be followed by a discussion on clinical training. Topics covered in the various sections of the conference will include cardiology, surgery, pediatrics, emergency medicine, internal medicine, noted Dr. Attila Szabó.
Another important goal is addressing young people: participation in the international program will be worth one credit per day for 4th, 5th and 6th-year students at the ÁOK, FOK and GYTK faculties, and for PhD students, added the vice-rector. There will also be a possibility at the event to take part in small-group practical sessions in three main areas: adult and pediatric emergency care, and imaging diagnostics. The various departments will set up stands presenting their activities, with the aim of introducing themselves to students about to make their choice of residency and to emphasize why it is worth staying at Semmelweis University and choosing the given specialty. “This is because our university is not just and education and research center, but a huge patient care institution as well, which requires human resources to secure its future,” stressed Dr. Béla Merkely, adding that this is also a way to attract colleagues from other institutions to come work at the university. “We naturally expect young people to be active participants, providing them an opportunity to introduce themselves in a poster section, with the best posters to recognized with awards,” said Dr. Attila Szabó.
Being a family-friendly university, organizers also thought of workers who have children or are on parental leave, therefore an interactive child care facility will be provided, where workers from the university’s kindergarten and the András Pető Faculty will take care of the children during the conference.
“We would like to present Semmelweis University as an opinion-forming clinical workshop, not just to our own students and workers, but also to workers of other patient care facilities in around the country,” said Dr. Béla Merkely. Therefore, the leaders of Hungarian partner universities, the National Health Care Service Center (ÁEEK) and the institutions it manages, have also been invited to the event. “As one of the largest health care providers in Hungary it is also our duty to share all of our knowledge with partner institutions and to take on a role in post-graduate training as well, so we hope that many of our partners will attend, seeing the opportunity to gain further knowledge here. Therefore, the program has also been accredited for medical specialists, who will receive 40 credits for attending,” noted Dr. Attila Szabó. Since notable experts from both Hungary and abroad will be present, there will be an opportunity to start a dialog, discuss various topics and build contacts.
Prior registration is required to attend the conference, which will be held in English. You can register until March 2 by clicking on this link.
Eszter Keresztes
Translation: Tamás Deme
Photo (Featured image/illustration): Attila Kovács – Semmelweis University
Video: Eszter Keresztes, Attila Kovács
