President Kornelia Król, MD was an honorary guest at Poznań University of Medical Sciences (PUMS) this May. During her stay, Dr. Król spoke to PUMS students on the residency application process in the United States, visited many of Pozań’s new academic structures, and was asked to be the official commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2015.

On May 30^th, Dr. Król presented her speech titled “Considering your options before the MATCH” at an event organized by the North American Student Government (NASG). The event was held at the PUMS library and was attended by some of this year’s PAMS Scholarship recipients: Marc Dziuba from Glenview, IL and Jan Morawski from Milwaukee, WI.

Two days later, during the PUMS 2015 Graduation Ceremony, Dr. Król eloquently emphasized the immense responsibility associated with the title Medical Doctor and inspired the graduating class to be positive leaders amongst future colleagues. This year, 47 students graduated from the 4-year MD program, 59 students from the 6-year MD program, 36 students from the DDS program, 6 students from the Pharmacy program, and 10 students from the Physical Therapy program. The graduating class represented 17 different countries and spoke 16 different languages. Fourty-six were citizens of the United States, and 16 from Canada. The ceremony was also attended by Vice-President Prof. Grzegorz Oszkinis, M.D., Ph.D., Dean of Medical Faculty I Prof. Ryszard Marciniak, M.D., Ph.D., Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy Prof. Lucjusz Zaprutko, M.Sc., Ph.D., Dean of Faculty of Health Sciences Prof. Włodzimierz Samborski, M.D., Ph.D., as well as Vice-Deans of respective faculties and Associate Deans of the Center of Medical Education in English.

After the ceremony, Dr. Król met with the heads of the university to discuss the fate of PUMS graduates returning to the United States. Professor Oszkinis proudly shared PUMS’ new approach to helping students tackle the USMLE exams. Currently, PUMS provides a full Kaplan prep course as well as NBME exams (USMLE-like exams) for all of the core subjects. These additions to the standard curriculum have significantly improved pass rates.

Dr. Król concluded her stay by visiting some of PUMS’ main structures. She saw the Didactic Center, the ‘Karolek’ student dorms, The Medical Biology Center, and The Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic at the University Hospital of Medical Sciences. She also visited the new Alzheimer’s Rehabilitation Center founded by our very own, honorary PAMS member, Professor Jadwiga Roguska. This impressive project was funded entirely by the Roguska-Kyts Foundation.

Written by:

Marta Worwag, MD

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