“All medical professions and disciplines play an essential role in overall health promotion, disease prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. I believe that the power of healing lies in the synthesis of all these, and the cooperation of professionals”, said Dr. Béla Merkely at the ceremony, which was also a public Senate meeting of the university.
We never cure a patient on our own – the team saves a life, not one person
– emphasized the rector, citing as an example the cooperation between the paramedic who stabilizes the patient, the hospital doctor who carries out interventions, and the nurse who supervises the therapy at the patient’s bedside.
“The solution always relies in teamwork. Nurses, midwives, paramedics, dieticians, physiotherapists, radiographers, optometrists, public health inspectors, addiction specialists, physiotherapists, nutritionists, health teachers, health tourism operators, they are all healers,” he pointed out, addressing the graduates, and then said: “You are now part of this team!”
Dr. Béla Merkely emphasized that the mission and most important goal of Semmelweis University is to keep this spirit alive and to perpetuate it. Not simply to pass on knowledge, but to awaken and reveal the talent that lies within everyone. To transmit not only professional skills but also human values,” the rector stressed.
Dr. Béla Merkely also pointed out that the students completed their studies during the most severe and widespread pandemic in modern history, and in the midst of fulfilling their academic obligations, they also participated in the fight against COVID, passing with distinction in terms of ability and dedication.
Without you, Semmelweis University would not have been able to fight the pandemic. We could not have saved so many lives
– Dr. Béla Merkely stressed.
“Our team is called Semmelweis University. And by the festive and elevated moment you receive your diplomas, this relationship does not end, but takes on a new quality,” said the rector, adding that the graduates have now officially become full and indispensable members of the healthcare system, fulfilling what is perhaps one of the most important goals of their lives. According to the rector, they have found their vocation, and Dr. Béla Merkely wished them strength, faith, perseverance and good health in the pursuit of it.
“This academic year, a total of 561 students from 11 bachelor’s, 4 master’s and 1 postgraduate courses passed their final exams and graduated.”
Graduates are in high demand, in many areas of the healthcare system
– Dr. Gabriella Dörnyei, Dean of the Faculty said in her welcome speech, adding that she is confident that all of them will start or continue their professional work, and commit to it throughout their lives. The dean reminded that candidates had been educated at the best medical university in the country, a university committed to providing high quality training in all areas of healthcare.
“We can proudly say that Semmelweis is now one of the most prestigious universities in Europe, since in 2022, it is ranked among the 300 best universities in the world by Times Higher Education,” said Dr. Gabriella Dörnyei, mentioning the ever-expanding range of courses offered by the faculty, the Master’s programmes in Hungarian and English, which are starting in more and more specialised fields, and the Doctoral School of Health Sciences. She also referred to infrastructure improvements, thanks to which teaching will start in the modern, well-equipped Kossuth Zsuzsanna Education Block in September.
The dean thanked the students for their support during the epidemic, adding that based on the feedback from hospitals and clinics, they performed their challenging tasks with devotion and to a high professional standard, then thanked all the families and friends who supported the graduates.
Gallery
At the ceremony, 387 graduating health professionals, including 20 students from the English language programme, were inaugurated. The candidates took an oath that they would carry out their profession with dignity in all respects, and would never use their professional skills in a manner contrary to the requirements of humanity. Following the oath-taking ceremony, Dr. Béla Merkely and Dr. Gabriella Dörnyei shook hands and graduated the students.
After the inauguration, Dorottya Német, a physiotherapist, said farewell on behalf of the Hungarian-speaking students. According to her, this event is the culmination of many years of struggle, perseverance and dedication.
“The fact that we are here today is a symbol of our victory,” she said in her speech, highlighting that they had spent more than half of their studies in an extraordinary situation, full of uncertainty and change. “We took responsibility in a really difficult and challenging period. We helped run vaccination clinics, worked at the bedside, or travelled the country doing screenings.
Speaking about the Faculty of Health Sciences, she said that its beauty relies in its diversity.
“A wide range of professionals are educated here, with different perspectives, different attitudes. Yet there is something that binds us together:
we have all dedicated our lives to helping our fellow human beings in some way – to preserve or regain their health, or helping the development of health sciences
– Dorottya Németh said, also reminding her fellow students that as colleagues, they also have to help each other, then congratulated her fellow students on their graduation.
“We finally graduated! It is a moment we have been waiting for since we started preparing for our first real exam, Anatomy 1! All those late nights studying, the stress and anxiety we had to endure, all that hard work paid off,” said nurse Negin Azodi, representing students in the English programme, who thanked every faculty member – professors, nurses, physiotherapists, midwives and doctors – for their patience, time and knowledge they passed on.
She also expressed gratitude to the graduates’ parents for their support, and encouraged her fellow students to thank themselves for all the hard work.
Four years ago, a new chapter began in all of our lives
– said Negin Azodi, recalling the good times as well as the challenges. “Today, as you close this phase and begin a new one, however daunting and bleak this new chapter may appear at first, rest assured that you are prepared for it. You are all ready,” she encouraged her fellow graduates, then congratulated them, wishing a dazzlingly bright future to everyone.
The event featured the Semmelweis University Medic Orchestra. At the end of the ceremonial Senate meeting, the newly inaugurated medical professionals threw their hats in the air in a traditional manner.
Anita Szepesi
Translation: Viktória Kiss
Photo: Bálint Barta – Semmelweis University
