PRAGUE SELECTIVE
DIRECTOR’S REPORT – August 2023
It is once again my pleasure to submit this annual report concerning the annual St. George’s University School of Medicine (SGUSOM) Prague Selective, held during the two weeks of July 9 – July 20, 2023. After the CoVid-induced pause, this was the twenty-second year of the Selective!
This year, we re-started the Selective with 17 students from SGUSOM; to-date, almost 2000 US and international medical students from a total of 57 medical schools have participated in the program, making it the largest and most successful program of its type in the world.
All students completed the Selective successfully in terms of attendance and passing the Final exam, making them eligible to receive two credit points on their medical transcripts for taking the course. I must state, that the students from SGUSOM who attended this year were exceptionally bright, motivated and informed and made an excellent impression on all of us who run the program.
As opposed to previous years, as the decision to run the Selective was delayed, the Selective was shortened to a two-seek program so that all students could be accommodated due to limited last-minute slots at hospitals. The morning program featured rotations in surgery, transplant surgery, hematology, neurology, and infectious disease in three Prague faculty teaching hospitals. Group size was kept at a max. 8 students/group.
Afternoon sessions featured group discussions on history and physical diagnosis (live patients), exploration and comparison of different health-care systems, and global trends in infectious diseases as well as a meeting with Czech medical students.
As part of the Selective, all students were again asked to fill out and submit a questionnaire. The questionnaire continues to guide us in making the Selective better each year. This year, the responses were again hugely positive, with the overwhelming majority of students rating the Selective in positive terms and recommending it to others as a valuable experience.
This year, I can again confidently state that all of the aims of the course were met. Specifically, students were exposed to a wide variety of healthcare settings and issues, exploring both the thinking process of clinical medicine, as well as various medical systems. Virtually all students felt the experience was extremely valuable, both in terms of getting a “jump start” on certain aspects of patient care, as well as serving as an invaluable comparative experience.
It is our aim to continue the Selective for 2024; at this point the length (two vs. three weeks) has not been determined. Expected dates are in the last three weeks of July 2024. Complete details on the program and registration information can be found on our website at www.pragueselective.com
Sincerely,
MUDr. Martin Jan Stránský, M.D., F.A.C.P.
Director, Prague Selective.
Assistant Clinical Professor in Neurology, Yale School of Medicine
Ombudsman for Healthcare, Czech Republic
Visiting Professor in Neurology, SGUSOM
Lecturer, Charles University School of Medicine, Prague
Panel Physician to the Embassies of the United States and Great Britain, Prague