Organizer
Polish Institute for Evidence Based Medicine
Co-Organizers
Towarzystwo Lekarskie Krakowskie (Kraków Medical Society)
Institute of National Remembrance
Jagiellonian University Medical College
Okręgowa Izba Lekarska w Krakowie (Regional Medical Chamber in Krakow)
Partners
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
University of Colorado Center for Bioethics and Humanities
Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics
International Chair In Bioethics - WMA Cooperation Center
Śląska Izba Lekarska w Katowicach (Regional Medical Chamber in Katowice)
Official Airport
Kraków Airport
Organizing Committee
Piotr Gajewski, MD, PhD, FACP (Chair)
Karol Polejowski, PhD
Kamil Szkaradek, MA (Coordinator)
Marta Pasiut, MA
Scientific Committee
Rebecca Brendell, MD, JD
Tessa Chelouche, MD
Matthew Wynia, MD, MPH, MSPH, FACP
Aleksander B. Skotnicki, MD, PhD
About Polish Institute for Evidence Based Medicine
The Polish Institute for Evidence Based Medicine (PIEBM) is a foundation established in 2003. Its goal is to promote the concept and methods of evidence-based medicine among medical professionals in order to rationalize and enhance the quality of healthcare in Poland.
Read more...This goal is being fulfilled by:
- producing and distributing up-to-date and reliable information useful in everyday medical practice
- teaching the skills necessary for efficient use of medical information
- initiating and providing methodological support for creation of clinical practice guidelines and disseminating them within the medical community
- conducting research activity in the field of systematic reviews and meta-analyses
- facilitating cooperation between Polish medical professionals and foreign experts in the field of evidence-based medicine
About Institute of National Remembrance
The mission of the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (Instytut Pamięci Narodowej – Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu – the IPN) is to research and popularize the modern history of Poland and to investigate crimes committed from 8 November 1917, throughout the Second World War and the communist period, to 31 July 1990. The Institute is headed by the President appointed by the Polish Parliament.
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The principles defining the work of the Institute of National Remembrance are:
- the preservation of remembrance about the enormity of the number of victims, losses and damages suffered by the Polish Nation during the Second World War and after it ended;
- the patriotic traditions of the Polish Nation’s struggles with its occupants, Nazis and communists;
- the obligation of prosecuting crimes against peace, crimes against humanity and war crimes;
- the actions of Polish citizens in support of the independence of the Polish State and in defense of freedom and human dignity;
- the obligation of the state to compensate all the aggrieved by a state which violated human rights;as an expression of the belief that no unlawful action by the state against the citizens can be classified or forgotten.
These words were transformed into years of arduous work and hundreds of published books, seminars, exhibitions andconferences concerning various, sometimes previously undiscussed, issues. Moreover, this work has resulted in uncovering the truth about the most difficult but also the most triumphant moments in the history of Poland and the Polish Nation. These are also activities aimed at popularizing recent history among the youngest generation, including rallies, competitions and reaching out to them through the Internet and social media. In certain cases the IPN’s work has proved to be a race against time in order to honor the heroes who have been consigned to oblivion for years.
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About Kraków Medical Society
Kraków Medical Society (Towarzystwo Lekarskie Krakowskie) dates back to 1866, when it was founded thanks to the efforts of Doctor Aleksander Kremer. It answered the contemporary needs stemming from the rapid advancements in medicine as well as challenges faced by medical practitioners.
Read more...Kraków Medical Society was the third medical organization of its kind founded by Polish physicians. The activity of Kraków Medical Society was disrupted by World War II. Once the German occupation had come to an end, the society resumed its operation. Since 1951, Kraków Medical Society has been a branch of the Polish Medical Association. The main goal of Kraków Medical Society is the facilitation of continuous medical education and professional development of physicians. To this end, the society has been mainly focusing on producing medical publications and organizing educational events, such as training sessions, scientific meetings and medical conferences. Every year Kraków Medical Society awards a prize named in honour of Professor Marek H. Sych for the best doctoral thesis in medicine. Since 2003, Professor Igor Gościński has been the President of Kraków Medical Society.
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About Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
KL Auschwitz was the largest of the German Nazi concentration camps and extermination centers. Over 1.1 million men, women and children lost their lives here. The post-camp relics are protected by the Museum created in 1947. The Memorial today is i.a. the Archive and Collections as well as research, conservation and publishing center.
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About Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University is the oldest higher education institution in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe. It was founded on 12 May 1364 by the Polish king Casimir the Great. The Jubilee year 2014 marked the 650th anniversary of this remarkable event.
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Since its very beginning, the Jagiellonian University has been an international institution. Poles, Ruthenians, Lithuanians, Hungarians, Germans, Czechs, the Swiss, the English, the Dutch, the French the Spanish, Italians, and even Tatars studied here in the old days. Further development of the University has been inextricably bound with the turbulent and often tragic history of Poland. The institution managed to survive both the partitions of Poland by Russia, Prussia and Austria, and the two world wars, serving as a guardian of Polish culture and identity and educating successive generations of Poles, as well as members of other nations, significantly contributing to the intellectual heritage of Europe. Some of the Jagiellonian University students and academics have been major historical figures, including world famous scholars, such as Nicolaus Copernicus or Karol Olszewski, as well as Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II.
Today, the Jagiellonian University comprises 15 Faculties, where 4 thousand academic staff conduct research and provide education to almost 50 thousand students, within the framework of more than 80 different fields of study. The eminent researchers and state-of-the-art infrastructure make the JU one of the leading Polish scientific institutions, collaborating with major academic centres from all over the world. The Jagiellonian University is also home to about 150 student societies, where young researchers pursue their academic interests and develop friendships with people who share their passion.
The university's prestige in both Poland and abroad is illustrated by its widely recognised research achievements. The scientists and physicians from the JU Medical College carry out pioneer studies, e.g. in cardiac surgery, urology and neurology, often leading to the development of novel treatment methods. Their findings have been published in some of the most prestigious international journals, for instance European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, and Lancet. JU archaeologists explore the secrets of ancient sites in various parts of the world, including Egypt, Cyprus, Central America, South Asia and Altay. The astronomers take part in the most important international projects in their field, including H.E.S.S. and VIPERS, whereas the results of research by JU biotechnologists have been published in such reputable specialist journals as Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, Molecular Ecology Resources or European Journal of Human Genetics. These are only some examples of remarkable successes for which the Jagiellonian University has been famous in recent years. The current position of the JU is also reflected in the growing number of patent applications and the growing number of patents granted to its academic staff members – there were 8 applications and 2 patents in 2007 and as many as 60 applications and 11 patents in 2013. Unsurprisingly, the Jagiellonian University staff have been honoured with a number of prestigious distinctions and awards, including the elite awards of the Foundation for Polish Science ("Polish Nobel Prizes") bestowed upon JU professors: Jan Woleński, Tomasz Guzik, and Jan Potempa during the years 2010–2013.
The most unique large-scale projects run by the Jagiellonian University include the Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics, Małopolska Centre for Biotechnology, Molecular Biotechnology for Health, OMICRON, and Synchrotron Radiation Centre "Solaris". Yet another advantage of the Jagiellonian University is its location in the historic city of Kraków, the former capital of Poland and a great cultural centre, visited by millions of tourists. Some of the University buildings are major historical sites themselves.
Department of Bioethics and the Holocaust, International Chair in Bioethics (Haifa)
On June 24, 2001 an agreement was signed by the Director-General of UNESCO and the Rector of the Haifa University, Israel, concerning the establishment of a UNESCO Chair in Bioethics at the International Center of Health, Law and Ethics, University of Haifa.
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Article 2 of the Agreement defined the purpose of the Chair. To coordinate and stimulate an International Network of Institutes for Medical Ethics Training (NIMED), associating higher education institutes in both the developed and developing countries, and to develop an up-to-date syllabus for medical ethics education which will satisfy the requirements of medical schools in the world.
The reason for that important initiative resulted from two international researches carried by the International Center in 1996 and 2001 under the guidance of Prof. Carmi (see below). The aim of the project was to check whether the lack of proper study of ethics in medical schools was one of the reasons for the deterioration phenomenon in the relationship between doctors and patients. Apparently, the findings offered a validation to this assumption and brought about the establishment of an international Steering Committee that undertook the mission of preparing a new method for ethics education. The Committee consisted of six members: Prof. A. Carmi (chairperson), Prof. M. Cotler (USA), Mr. S. Fluss (UK), Dr. G. Kutukdjian(France), Prof. A. Okasha (Egypt), and Prof. N. Sartorius (Switzerland).
The International Center for Health, Law and Ethics at the University of Haifa has initiated an international project, the aim of which is to form a new, modern curriculum of medical ethics to be taught in medical schools all over the world.
The UNESCO Chair adopted the idea and undertook the mission. The Chair started to establish a network of Unit within universities and research centers committed to disseminating, improving and monitoring education in ethics in medical schools. The work will be bolstered by an international advisory committee. In addition, the Chair develops an updated and modern curriculum, reflecting the need for integration of ethics in daily practice, increasing interest and respect to values involved in health care delivery and raising awareness for competing interests. Students are introduced to various non-medical facets of medicine: sociology, economics, and public administration. The Chair develops novel, modern and sophisticated educational tools and materials that facilitate attractive teaching. The Chair produces a series of training manuals . Each manual contains actual cases, up to thirty in number, which presents ethical problems to members of the medical profession all over the world. The cases are preceded by a general description of the type of ethical problems involved and each case is followed by general guidelines for the edification of students who must themselves, under the guidance of their lecturer, study the case, discuss the possible solutions and reject what they consider unsuitable before reaching their own decision.
The Chair holds world conferences: 2000 (Israel, Eilat), 2002 (Eilat), 2004 (Eilat), 2005 (Israel, Haifa), 2007 (Eilat), 2009 (Israel, Zefat), 2010 (Israel, Zefat), 2011 (Singapore), 2012 (Israel, Kinar), 2013 (Italy, Napoli), 2015 (Israel, Jerusalem), 2015 (Italy, Napoli), 2017 (Cyprus, Limassol), 2018 (Israel, Jerusalem).
About the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics
The Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics was launched to ensure that values and ethics are always part of medical training, laboratory and clinical research, and professional education. The Center’s mission is to bring together the rich intellectual resources of the medical school faculty with health professionals and scientists from our affiliated teaching hospitals, departments across Harvard, and colleagues from other institutions worldwide to ensure that scientific progress, medical therapeutics and health care practices proceed hand-in-hand with reflection about the profound moral questions raised by advances in the life sciences.
About the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado
The Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, engages today’s and tomorrow’s health professionals and the community in substantive, interdisciplinary dialogue about the ethical issues surrounding contemporary healthcare.
- Educating the next generation of health care professionals who can balance the humanistic, scientific
and technical dimensions of their profession
- Encouraging responsible development and use of emerging technologies
- Involving diverse and previously unrepresented voices in community dialogue
- Bridging the precision of science and the complexity of patients' live?s