This autumn, the first medical students will begin their studies in Bielsko-Biała. This is because a branch of the Silesian Medical University will be operating in the city. For the upcoming 2023/2024 academic year, SUM plans to enrol 75 students in the medical faculty, including 51 full-time students. An inauguration ceremony will be held on 9 October, while today (25 August 2023) representatives of the University Authorities received from the hands of Grzegorz Puda, Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, a decision issued by the Ministry of Education and Science. The Ministry granted permission to the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice to establish a single master's degree programme with a general-academic profile in medicine outside the University's premises, i.e. in the Bielsko-Biała Branch.
- The day has come when we can confidently say that our dream has been fulfilled. The creation of the SUM Branch in Bielsko-Biała is a landmark moment for all of us. As Vice-Chancellor for Development and Technology Transfer of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, and also as a Bielsko-Biała resident, I am proud that it is here that we will educate the next generation of students," said Professor Edward Wylęgała, MD, who also added: - It was the dream of our University and all the people connected with it that our Alma Mater would continue to develop. The document we have just received from the hands of the Minister is crucial, as it sanctions the subsidies we will receive from the Ministry of Education and Science. As a result, the first students will appear within the walls of our new branch in October.
- The Medical University of Silesia in Katowice is not only a University with 75 years of history and tradition. Above all, it is a University that educates the largest number of students in medical faculties of all medical universities in the country. As of October, our capacity will be even greater. We are expanding our teaching offer to make it as attractive as possible," said Professor Jerzy Stojko, Vice-Chancellor for Studies and Students. - Here, in the heart of the Podbeskidzie region, students of the SUM Branch will function as they would at a full-fledged university. They will gain access not only to a didactic base, so that they can learn all the theory of medicine, but also to a clinical base. Classes will be conducted on the basis of healthcare units located in Bielsko-Biała. There will also be a real anatomy for the students," he emphasised.
- Our meeting today is the proverbial icing on the cake. We can solemnly announce that the SUM's branch in Bielsko-Biała will function and this opening of a medical faculty will take place - said Grzegorz Puda, Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, who also said: - 'Thanks to the creation of the branch, students from our region will not have to go to Katowice, Kraków or other large cities to study. They will be able to stay in Bielsko-Biała, which is important from our perspective, as those who have left the city so far have not often returned here. By opening a branch of SUM, we are developing medicine and taking care of our hospitals. In turn, young people living in the southern sub-region and smaller towns are being given the chance to get an education without having to leave their family home.
The meeting, which took place at the Silesian Voivodeship Office in Katowice - Bielsko-Biała Branch, was also attended by, among others, Jan Chrząszcz, Deputy Governor of Silesia; Stanisław Szwed, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Family Affairs, Labour and Social Policy; Jarosław Klimaszewski, Mayor of Bielsko-Biała; Andrzej Płonka, starost of Bielsko; Andrzej Kalata, starost of Żywiec; and local MPs.
- History is happening before our eyes. I am delighted that the Ministry of Education and Science and the Medical University of Silesia have recognised the potential of our city. What we are particularly pleased about is that many classes will also be held on the premises of our Bielsko-Biała hospitals," said Jarosław Klimaszewski, the Mayor of Bielsko-Biała, during the meeting.
The new SUM branch will be located at 45 1 Armoured Division St. The building will host classes in subjects such as:
- histology, cytology and embryology,
- biochemistry with elements of chemistry,
- molecular biology,
- genetics,
- qualified first aid and elements of nursing,
- biophysics
- computer science,
- fundamentals of research,
- history of medicine
- medical ethics,
- English language.
In turn, classes in anatomy will be conducted in the Prosectorium located on the premises of the Beskidzki Oncology Centre - City Hospital located at 18 Wyzwolenia Street (Pavilion No. 7). Work is currently underway on adapting the premises for teaching purposes.
In support of the teaching process, students will have the opportunity to use solutions such as:
- Anatomy using Virtual Reality.
The software provides a full overview of anatomical systems and preparations in 3D space using virtual reality. Classes will also be supported by varied, interactive quizzes and tests to verify knowledge. Students will be able to work together in multiplayer mode, using relevant subject material prepared by the instructors.
Autonomous Virtual Reality stations have also been prepared for first-year students in Bielsko-Biała, with full access to tools using VR in medicine (including anatomy).
- An interactive mobile viewer of high-resolution Histology and Cytophysiology slides.
The system allows each student an advanced and interactive review of high-resolution slides selected by the instructors. Materials are prepared from high-resolution scans of slides available in the teaching and research unit, together with descriptions of the relevant structures.
- Virtual Operating Theatre
This is a project of an operating theatre simulator using virtual reality. The models used in the application were faithfully reproduced from a real operating theatre sited at the Centre for Medical Didactics and Simulation in Katowice, along with its full equipment. Several figures were designed both as mannequins and as reproduced patient models, while adding natural character movements and facial expressions. The app has several scenarios that the simulation participant can complete, including attaching electrodes to the appropriate locations on the patient's body, administering oxygen, intubation, checking pupils, chest auscultation with feedback in the form of sounds (murmurs).
Clinical classes in hospitals will take place in, among others:
1. the Bielsko-Biała Regional Hospital,
2. Paediatric Hospital in Bielsko-Biała
3. the Beskidzkie Oncology Centre of the John Paul II Municipal Hospital in Bielsko-Biała
4. the Silesian Centre for Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation in Ustroń.
The ceremonial inauguration of the academic year 2023/2024 for students of the Branch of the Silesian Medical University in Katowice will take place on 9 October in the Polish Theatre in Bielsko-Biała.
