B a c k g r o u n d
The St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical Academy was founded in 1925 as the Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute. The Academy is one of the leading medical schools in Russia and is proud that it has the oldest autonomous medical pediatric graduate program in the world. The programs The Academy currently runs 2 bilingual graduate MD programs for either General Medicine or an MD in Pediatrics (the choice of the language of instruction is between Russian and English). Reputation Its history and experience of teaching both General Medicine and Pediatrics means that it is ideally placed and equipped to train Family Doctors and General Practitioners. Indeed, the Academy is recognized by the World Health Organization and is listed in its World Medical Schools Directory. The Academy outranks more than 50 Russian Medical Schools to take an impressive and honorable 4th place in the Russian Ministry of Health's national rating list of medical schools. For Pediatrics, the Academy's reputation is second to none.
A c t i v i t i e s
The principal activities of the Academy are the graduate and post-graduate training of MD's, improvement of their skills and proficiency, the post-graduate training of academic personnel and scientific research. Alumni A great many prominent medical scientists have worked at the Academy during the past 75 years, some of whom remain active to this day. To name but a few are the world famous physiologists Kvasov, Glebovsky and Ginetsinsky, morphologists Lavrentjev, Zavarzin and Knorre, pathologists London, Lokhov and Perelman, therapeutists Vladman and Kedrov, surgeons Rusanov, Bairov and Doletsky, pediatricians Maslov and Tour. Today, the Academy maintains its world leadership in fields of medicine such as surgical treatment of endocrine oncologic pathology, congenital malformations, immunopathology and many others. The Academy has a good employment rate, with about 40' % of past students employed in adult and theoretical medicine, with 60% employed in Pediatrics. About 14% of all doctors treating children within the CIS (and those countries formerly part of the USSR) graduated from the Academy. The Academy has taught students from over 70 countries and from 4 continents in the past and currently teaches students from over 50 countries.
T h e P r o g r a m
The duration of the curriculum is 6 years and the total number of hours required is the same for both the MD in General Medicine and the MD in Pediatrics. This is 10,972 hours with 777 hours of electives for General Medicine and 225 hours of electives for Pediatrics. The program is taught over a total of 302 weeks, which includes 219 weeks of study, 24 weeks of examination, 17 weeks of supervised summer practical work and 42 weeks of vacation. The program includes all subjects compulsory to all Russian State medical higher schools, with additional emphasis given to ontogenic dynamics and structural and functional characteristics peculiar to children and adolescents of differing ages.
T h e A c a d e m y
One of the reasons for the success of the Academy is that it uses a model of classical medical education. This gives the student the advantage of early contact with patients and encompasses an interdisciplinary approach to basic science teaching and the permanent integration of basic and clinical knowledge. The scope of medical education is broad. As well as modem teaching facilities, laboratory studies include handling real objects such as tissue specimens for Microscopic Anatomy, dissection of cadavers for Gross Anatomy, laboratory animals and operative training on animals for, amongst other things. Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology and Operative Surgery. The Academy has the benefit of a complete set of excellent academic facilities. These include dissecting rooms, microscopic laboratories, chemical, biochemical, biophysical, microbiological, physiological and pathological laboratories, an electron microscopy laboratory, cadaver tables, a medical photography/illustration shop, facilities for computer and data processing and an audio-visual multiple media viewing area. The Academy has its own park for laboratory animals with the capacity for over 5,000 large and small laboratory animals, whilst the library has over 700,000 volumes with a seating capacity of 172 places. There is also a conference hall and 8 lecture halls with a total capacity of 1865 places. The main campus includes 20 academic, clinical and administrative buildings which span over 60,000 square metres. Presently, 2,000 students are enrolled in the Academy.
A f f i l i a t i o n s
For the purpose of the clinical training of Fourth and Fifth Year students (see below) the Academy is, within St Petersburg and its regions, affiliated to more than 100 hospitals, polyclinics and maternity hospitals. In particular, the Academy is affiliated to the Mariinskaya adult clinical hospital (one of the oldest and most authoritative in Russia), City Hospital number 2 (the largest in Europe) and Central Medical Department number 122 (the only Russia Hospital recognized in the USA by the Premier American Hospitals Association. There is, attached to the Academy, a Pediatric Clinical Hospital which serves as a base for instruction in clinical subjects and, with 1060 beds is one of the largest in Russia).
T h e F i r s t 3 Y e a r s
During this period a profound training in basic biological and medical sciences is provided over a period of 123 weeks (including 13 weeks of examination) In the first year students will complete a pre-medical course and in the second and third years courses in basic medical sciences.
The Third Year
This is the year that students enter the introductory courses in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Surgery. The Pediatric introduction course covers General Diagnostics, Semiology and basic doctor's skills. However, it also gives a great deal of emphasis to the development, behavior and diet of healthy children. The student will be a certified nurse after the end of the third year as he/she will have completed two weeks of summer practical work as a junior nurse (Year 2) and 3 weeks of summer practical work as a senior nurse (Year 3).
The Fourth Year
By now the student will have spent 4 weeks as subordinate doctors in supervised clinical practices. Students will undertake advanced training in the clinical disciplines of, amongst other things, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery and infectious diseases (both in adults and children). In this year students begin the clinical rotations in the affiliated medical institutions mentioned above ("Affiliations"). These rotations continue in the Fifth Year.
The Fifth Year
After the Fourth Year and upon completion of 6 weeks of supervised practical experience as a doctor's assistant, the students are awarded the title of "Doctor's Assistant". During the Fourth and Fifth Years the Internal Medicine course focuses on diseases, with particular emphasis on etiology, pathogenesis and diagnosis, the student will receive profound training in the major clinical disciplines and will benefit from time spent in minor clinics, such as Skin & Sexually Transmitted Diseases, ENT, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Physiology, Urology, Anesthesiology & Intensive Care, Ophthamology, Psychiatry, Public Health, Health Care Management & Costs Containment, there is 72 weeks of study and 9 weeks of exams.
The Sixth Year
The whole of this year is spent mastering the "Hospital" (advanced) courses in Internal Medicine, Surgery and Pediatrics. The effect of disease on patients is studied together with the specifics of differential diagnostics, with an emphasis on treatment and prophylaxis. The year covers 37 weeks of study and 3 weeks of State exams (which are governed by the Russian Federation's National Standards and Regulations and awarded by a Special Federal Board).
G r a d u a t i o n
The award of the Academy's Diploma means that the graduate is entitled to commence an internship (residency). The award of an MD and subsequent completion of a year's internship entitles the graduate to practice independently. The Academy also offers Postgraduate programs, such as a PhD in basic or clinical sciences (3/4 academic years, full time or by correspondence course) and PhD in clinical residency (2-5 academic years of clinical specialization). A graduate is eligible to obtain the National Licensing Board's qualification of Foreign Medical graduate, recognized in all World Health Organization countries (as indeed are the graduates of any Russian State Medical Academy).
O t h e r P r o g r a m s
The Academy also offers programs in Advanced Training for Medical College Teachers and Refreshers and Postgraduate Training for MD's.
T e a c h i n g S t a f f
There are over 50 different chairs with more than 480 staff teachers. All clinical teachers and the majority of Basic Science Teachers are themselves MD's. Of those, 360 teachers have PhD's, including 40 Full and 111 Associate Professors.
A d m i s s i o n s p o l i c y
The Academy is an equal opportunities institution and welcomes persons of any nation, sex, race, religion, political orientation (the list is not exhaustive) to the Academy, but the applicant must be a citizen of a country which maintains official diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation. For admission to an MD Program the applicant must have graduated from High School (an 11 year secondary school education). If a student has, in his or her home country, completed a pre-medical college or University Course then he or she may be able to take advantage of one of the Academy's advanced programs, which has a shorter duration than the basic course. Applicants from countries which do not maintain official diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation may apply for a 1 year Preparation Course in either the Academy or another Russian State Medical or Pharmaceutical School. This course will teach in Russian an Introductory pre-medical course consisting of Biology, Physics and Chemistry.
A p p l y i n g f o r a p l a c e
You should submit to the Admission Committee an application form, an High School Certificate (or equivalent), a passport and 6 passport-sized photographs. The Admission Committee sits throughout the year and will decide all questions of admission, transfer to and from other medical schools etc. A successful applicant will have passed 3 oral examinations, in Russian Language, Biology and Chemistry.
F i n a n c e
The tuition fee is US $2,000 per year and the student will enter into a 6 year contract with the Academy. Payments are divided between and made in each semester. The tuition fee does not include compulsory medical insurance which is approximately US $45 per year.
A c c o m m o d a t i o n
The Academy has 4 student dormitories, one of which is a "hotel" type and the student can choose whether or not to stay in them. The fee for a place in a basic dormitory is US $ 255 per year, whilst the tariff for the "hotel" dormitory depends on the level of accommodation and facilities requested. All dormitories have their own libraries, reading areas, classrooms, coffee shops and communal kitchens.
P r a c t i c e
Graduates are licensed to practice throughout the world and thousands of Academy graduates practice, amongst others, General Medicine and Pediatrics in over 70 different countries.
A d d r e s s
Litovskaya Street 2, St Petersburg 194100, Russia (Tel 7 812 245 0646, 7 812 542 6456 & Fax 7 812 245 8045).