Two words are enough for a wise head

They resounded during a panel discussion on the future of the "new" medical faculties that took place at the end of January at the Royal Castle in Warsaw ("Priorities in Health Care 2024"), now - on the Health Market portal - the rector of the Medical University of Wroclaw, Prof. Piotr Ponikowski says that the Conference of Rectors of Academic Medical Universities (KRAUM) and the Supreme Chamber of Physicians clearly opposed the actions of decision-makers at the time, advocating the quality of education and the adoption of appropriate standards. "In Prof. Ponikowski's opinion, more could not be done, as it was ultimately the ministers who were empowered to approve certain reforms," - reads the port.

With all due respect to a distinguished physician and scientist, however - no. Yes, the Supreme Chamber of Physicians, with great consistency, endangering the Ministry of Health, took up the topic of the decline, degradation and devastation of medical education literally at every possible opportunity. Also, as is known unofficially, during talks and meetings with KRAUM representatives. On the part of the rectors, the response has been, one might say, courteous. Yes, the rectors conceded the point to the authorities of the medical self-government (it would be a huge surprise if they didn't), but publicly on the issue of what the Law and Justice government was doing and wanted to do with physician education, they didn't take it.

The folk adage says: a wise head has enough of two words. Yes, there was first a large conference on the quality of education held last year (hosted by the university just headed by Prof. Ponikowski), and then - in June - a report and recommendations from it were presented at WUM. Yes, they concluded that the newly opened schools were not able to meet the criteria for quality education. Which did not prevent Deputy Minister Piotr Bromber, who was present at the presentation, from making a thesis to the contrary, culminating in the statement that the KRAUM's recommendations are practically identical to the education standards prepared by the government.

A strong voice for decisions that had been made for several months only really resounded after the October elections.

- May we learn a lesson from what happened," says the rector of the Wroclaw UM in the cited interview. But what really happened? "Bad decisions happened," that's for sure. But unprecedented slowness toward those in power "empowered to approve certain reforms" also "happened." Who, if not the academic community, is fully entitled to point out to those in power that "certain reforms" lead astray and are simply dangerous?