The first Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery in Poland officially inaugurated its operations yesterday at the Wroclaw Medical University. The event, which took place at the WMU Medical Information Centre, was combined with the presentation of diplomas to several dozen graduates of the following fields: nursing, midwifery and emergency medical services.
The Wroclaw Medical University is the first university in the country to educate nurses and midwives at a separate faculty, which also includes the Department of Emergency Medicine. The changes in the structure are the result of the need to adapt education to the challenges of the health care sector, changes in the labor market and social needs. There is currently a shortage of about 100,000 nurses in Poland, and the average age of those who are professionally active is over 54 years.
Next year, the university plans to launch nursing studies in English. – We hope to become an important center in Central Europe that educates nurses at the highest, international level – said Prof. Piotr Ponikowski, Rector of the Wroclaw Medical University.
Prof. Piotr Ponikowski, congratulating the graduates, emphasized that they will receive diplomas from the best Polish university, as evidenced by the results of the latest edition of the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
The new WMU faculty plans to establish contacts with leading research centers around the world to enable development and access to the latest achievements for both teaching staff and students. Greater emphasis than before will also be placed on scientific work and new technologies, which are increasingly boldly entering health care.
The ceremony was attended by students, their families and friends, as well as the rector, dean and administrative authorities of the university and invited guests. The program included a lecture “Digital tools for heart health” by Lis Neubeck, who is a professor at the School of Health and Social care at Edinburgh Napier University in the UK, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Flinders in Adelaide and a visiting professor at the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at WMU.
Photo: Tomasz Walow
