Medical Academy, Lodz, Poland

Medical Academy of Łódź was a Polish medical university which functioned in the country’s second-largest city, Łódź, from 1950 to 2002.

Founded on 1 January 1950, the institution merged with the Military Medical Academy of Łódź on 1 October 2002, to form the Medical University of Łódź, known as a leading European research center and Poland’s largest hospital teaching unit.

The Medical University of Lodz was inaugurated on October 1, 2002 as a merger of two Medical Schools: the Medical Academy of Lodz and the Military Medical Academy of Lodz by the Act of the Polish Parliament of July 27, 2002. The Medical Academy of Lodz was founded on October 24,1949 by separating from the University of Lodz three faculties: Medical, Dental and Pharmaceutical.

The Military Medical Academy of Lodz was established by the Order of the Ministry of National Defense of May 1958, however its traditions date back to 1922. In the course of their existence, the Medical Academy and the Military Medical Academy have graduated over 34,000 physicians, dentists, pharmacists and other medical specialists.

The University employs almost 1,600 research and didactic staff, including over 300 independent researchers, i.e. 170 full professors, 190 assistant and associate professors as well as nearly  900 PhD academics. Currently, over 8,000 Polish  students are receiving their education within medical and medicine-related areas at various faculties. The university education offer also comprises advanced studies at the Faculty of Postgraduate Training with over 300 postgraduate students commencing their education each year. Medical teaching  in English was initiated in 2003/2004. Presently  ca 300 foreign students from various countries (USA, Canada, Taiwan, Sweden, Norway, Great Britain, Spain, Kenia, Nigeria, Zambia) attend medical and dental courses.

At present, the Medical University has over 1600 hospital beds in five Teaching Hospitals that provide medical services for patients, being the essential base for research work and undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. Moreover, 34 hospital wards and departments with almost 1200 beds localized in non-University municipal hospitals are used by the Medical University.The University Teaching Hospitals and University-affiliated departments constitute a basic source for highly specialized diagnostic and treatment services provided by more than 1250 medical professionals including 750 specialists with professors and associate professors who take care of health needs of the Lodz region community and promote health-related programs.

Students of the Medical University take part in international  academic exchange programs. At the same time students from European universities come to study at MUL as exchange students in the frame of LLP-Erasmus program.  Each year several  MUL students complete their 3 to 6 month-long hospital  practice in countires around Europe: in  Italy, Germany, France, Slovakia, the U.K. and other.

Studies at the Faculty of Medicine last 6 years (12 terms). The curriculum consists of preclinical subjects such as Normal Anatomy, Chemistry, Biology, Bioorganic Chemistry, Biophysics, Physiology and others, which are taught mainly in first two years; paraclinical subjects (taught in years 2-6) such as Pathomorphology, Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, Microbiology, Immunology, Medical Psychology and more. Teaching clinical subjects (Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Surgery, Neurology, Dermatology and Venerology, Endocrinology, Infectious Diseases etc.) is offered in years three to six. In the course also includdes social sciernces and humanities (Medical Ethics, History of Philosophy, Sociology, History of Medicine etc.) and other subject such as Physical Training , Latin Language and Foreign Languages. The total number of hours of obligatory lectures, seminars and classes is 5380, obligatory holiday work – 700 hours.