5 Surgery Degree Programs

The Study program Experimental surgery is aimed at studying the theoretical foundations of medical disciplines that use surgical procedures in the broadest sense. The topic of the research is molecular, structural, metabolic, and pathophysiological changes of damaged cells, tissues, and organs which take place during the development of pathological processes, possibly with their experimental induction, and which are surgically affected. Special attention is paid to issues of reparations and healing of various tissue structures. These processes will be explored in genetical, immunological, and endocrinological contexts. Based on the above specialization, experimental surgery will be established topics for graduate studies in various medical fields (disciplines - surgery, orthopedics, urology, plastic surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, otorhinolaryngology). Specific topics in various specializations will be determined by the supervisor always combined clinical and theoretical work.

The mission of the single-cycle Master's Degree Course in Medicine and Surgery is identified with the training of a doctor at an initial professional level with a biomedical-psychosocial culture, who possesses a multidisciplinary and integrated vision of the most common problems of health and disease. The education of the graduate must be oriented towards the community, the territory, and fundamentally towards the prevention of disease as well as towards health promotion, and with a humanistic culture in its medical aspects. This specific mission responds in a more adequate way to the new needs of care and health, as it is centered not only on the disease but above all on the sick person, considered as a whole of soma and psyche and inserted in the social context. The medical training thus oriented is also seen as the first segment of an education that must last over time, and in this perspective the knowledge that the student must acquire in this phase has been calibrated, giving due importance to self-learning, to experiences. not only in hospitals but also in local health facilities, epidemiology, for the development of clinical reasoning and the culture of prevention. The Medical School of the University of Parma has now decided to develop this European and international vocation opening a novel Medicine & Surgery course, entirely held in English, in the nearby city of Piacenza, which offers a hospital system that is not shared with other medical courses but will be uniquely dedicated to the new medical degree.

The goal of the studies in Experimental surgery is the training of the students for independent scientific as well as practical work in the field. The study will provide the doctorands with absolute knowledge of theoretical fields, cell biology, pharmacology, immunology, medical chemistry and biochemistry, physiology and pathology, basic laboratory technology as well as the latest laboratory technology in the field, and above all professional knowledge in the areas of children surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otorhinolaryngology, plastic surgery, stomatology, and urology. The graduates will be capable to set the hypothesis for scientific work, choosing relevant methods for verification of the hypothesis, performing the practical tasks needed, scientifically evaluating and subsequently publishing the results in scientific journals with an impact factor, give talks and presentations at professional conferences, symposiums, and congresses. The graduates will have good prospects for careers in the surgical specialty, for achieving further scientific and educational grades, and participating in the independent development of the field. The program is carried out without any specialization.

Over the last two decades, experimental surgery has undergone substantial development following the advancements of its related fields, which considerably extended its research possibilities. These related fields include oncology, anesthesiology, intensive medicine, imaging methods, molecular biology, tissue engineering, biomechanics, software modeling, etc. These fields enabled the research spectrum of experimental surgery to encompass for example experimental treatment of cancer and non-cancerous diseases, and research of artificial organs. Such progress is also allowed to be an up-to-date implementation of the “3Rs” principle of work with experimental animals. The basic domain is the understanding of the methods and procedures of experimental surgery in conjunction with the bordering fields mentioned above. The connection to the clinical fields is crucial as well, as these often define the research questions and apply the results of the research. All of these fields are available for science and research activities.

The Surgical Technologist program at Swedish Institute provides students with the knowledge and hands-on training that helps prepare them for entry into this in-demand field and be an integral part of the surgical team in various perioperative settings.