The Declaration by the Dean of MF MU Regarding On-Campus Learning Courses

Very carefully, I have been watching the current epidemiological situation in our Czech Republic and I must express my conflicting feelings. Mainly due to regulations complicating and restricting potentially completely limiting on-campus learning courses at MF MU. On one hand, there are restrictions being made within university studies, on the other hand, many inessential society-wide activities have been kept. For us, doctors, and health care professionals as well as academics, the protection of human health, keeping the functionality of our health care system, and providing fully-fledged learning courses has the highest priority.

For all the foregoing reasons, I perceive nowadays and any possible regulations and restrictions limiting the education of doctors and other health-care students at our faculty with my concern and certain displeasure. Faculties of Medicine are the faculties which prepare students for their medical and other health-care professions. The restrictions of in-person teaching mean limiting students in their preparation for their future professions which are expected by our health-care system during the following years. The beginning of this year, specifically the spring semester 2020, was critical, but due to forward-looking steps made by authorities of MU and postponing the spring semester to the later period of summer months and holiday time, not only the theoretical but also the practical courses, both limited by the state of emergency, could be substituted. We are very proud of our students who were helping during the state of emergency, nevertheless, this experience did not develop their skills required by the study plan and subjects and all had to be caught up with no excuses. So, the future possible redeployment pending of medical students needed by our health-care system will make their practical education impossible.   

I must point out that the upcoming autumn semester is completely different. In the case of the next loss of education, there is no possibility to make up for the lost time because this spring semester connects with no valuable time gap. The epidemiological situation of the spring semester 2021 is not known, and what is more, within the study curriculum, there is the specified number of not only theoretical courses but also, and mainly, the number of practical courses as well as the skills which must be acquired and become routine actions for students and their future use inpatient care. Not only for these reasons, above all, but students also have to study and prepare for their future profession. Knowledge, the right attitude, and mainly a great many skills are at risk.

At this situation, Masaryk University as well as our Faculty of Medicine take the most responsible attitude. Unfortunately, this effort for responsible behaviour does not meet the behaviour of some part of our society. Behaviours carried out in relation to university education and especially to vocational study programmes can damage Czech health care system for the next several years and influence the recent quality, but most importantly, the future quality of patient care. Currently, we have been facing the lack of health care professionals in clinical practice and the failure to allow further education would make this situation even worse in terms of quantity of graduates and future health care professionals as well as in terms of quality of their vocational training.

From the position of the Dean at MF MU, I would like to make an appeal to all interested, responsible persons and institutions to respect and to accentuate the meaning and specificities of education at our faculty as well as at other Faculties of Medicine in the Czech Republic when making decisions on university education. Ill-conceived and non-systematic regulatory measures put our health at hazard with long-lasting danger and real impact on the entire health care system. Keeping of in-person teaching at Faculties of Medicine, with full respect for epidemiological regulations, is the essential condition of future health care system functioning at a required quality level.

prof. MUDr. Martin Repko, Ph.D.

Dean

In Brno on 25th September 2020