The application process is over, how are you doing? Have you chosen your faculty yet? If not, don't despair, today we will introduce you to the 1st Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Prague with student Anna Pavlíková.
As the name suggests, it is the first ever medical faculty in the Czech Republic, founded by Emperor Charles IV in 1348. Charles University ala "studium generale" is the first ever Central European higher education in the medical field. By founding the faculty, the emperor aimed to create an educated medical elite and increase the availability of quality medical care. The Faculty of Medicine taught medics and conferred the academic degrees of Bachelors and Masters of Medicine until 1419.
Since then, the faculty has undergone many changes, but its commitment to high quality, expertise and tradition persists today. The faculty has produced many physicians and scientists who have influenced medicine worldwide. Notable figures include John Evangelista Purkyně, discoverer of the Purkinje cell, and Gerty Cori, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
In research, the faculty focuses on a wide range of topics, from biomedical research to clinical trials. It actively collaborates with other scientific institutions and participates in international research projects, strengthening its position in the global medical community. In recent years, the teaching facilities have undergone renovation, providing students with modern facilities full of interactive tools.
https://www.facebook.com/anatomie1.LF/photos/pb.100082855766371.-2207520000/116400544390380/?type=3
The faculty is located in the historical centre of Prague, so it is easily accessible, either by public transport or by bicycle. There is a park right next door where you can recharge your batteries between seminars.
Applicants can choose from several fields of study, namely traditional general and dental medicine, as well as non-medical fields such as physiotherapy, midwifery and addictionology. And how does the student Anička evaluate her studies?
What led you to study medicine?
I didn't really know what I wanted to study until the last moment. I sent in a lot of applications for various unrelated courses and wondered which one I wanted to get into the most. I then chose medicine because it seemed like a field that made sense, had a future and where I wasn't in danger of ending up unemployed. I also found it terribly interesting what the human body holds and I wanted to know more. It seemed like a little universe where everything works and fits together inside each of us. :)
Plus, I got into college with an average, so I was tempted to not have to study for the entrance exams. Also, I was curious if medicine was really as challenging as they say it is, and I wondered if I would be up to it.
Why did you choose this particular college?
I chose the 1st Faculty of Medicine because it was the only faculty that offered the option of teaching German instead of English. At the other faculties, English was a compulsory language and German could only be taken as an elective. What I also liked about this faculty was that it was the only medical faculty in Prague that also took students on the average of their high school grades, so there was an option not to write entrance exams. Moreover, the faculty had a sort of friendly effect on me when we received an email with a freshman guide, which, besides practical advice and organizational stuff, also included tips on where to go after school to relax.
Also, my friend from high school was planning to go to this faculty, so we agreed to go together. I found it reassuring that at least I would have one familiar person in my circle (it's possible to write to the study department to be placed in the same circle) and everything wouldn't be completely foreign and unfamiliar to me.
https://www.vysokeskoly.cz/katalog-vs/univerzita-karlova/1-lekarska-fakulta/153
What do you like most about the faculty?
My friends. In the circle I met absolutely amazing people, with whom we form our group of eight. Med students usually have an amazing sense of humor, and at a school as hard as medical school, friends are sorely needed. We can comfort and support each other as we are all going through the same thing, and learn and help each other together.
What would you like to know before freshman year? Any advice and tips on what to prepare for and what to avoid?
I guess I'd like to know more about what I'm getting into. I wasn't really sure what to expect before starting college, so I was pretty surprised afterwards.
It's also definitely important not to believe everything you hear from others about the 1st LF. Before coming here, I learned that there is a huge rivalry between classmates and that students even tell each other wrong information in order to "knock their opponent out of the game" and have a better chance of getting into the second year. This is not true. I have amazing people around me that we help each other. And it's not just my circle mates, others including older students are very nice and helpful. People also say that the teachers at the 1st Faculty of Medicine treat us shitty and that compared to other medical schools, we have it all much harder. It's true that I've met a few lecturers who were not professional and who were really mean. But much more often I encounter very nice or at least neutral teachers. So I'd say it's pretty similar to any other school. As for the higher difficulty level compared to other LFs, I can't really judge. I haven't studied any other LF, so I don't know. But you definitely can't believe everything you hear.
https://www.vysokeskoly.cz/katalog-vs/univerzita-karlova/1-lekarska-fakulta/153
What is the biggest scare of your freshman year and what was your least fear?
At our faculty, the biggest scare is the summer exam period, when students have two big exams, in anatomy and histology, where a lot of things are thrown out. My biggest fear was anatomy, which is the one that scares probably every freshman the most. Ironically, the histology was worse than the anatomy. Anatomy is harder to learn, because it's longer, and the material often resembles a phone book, which is sometimes quite difficult to memorize. But anatomy is usually tested by fair professors, which is often not the case with histology.
I guess I don't know what I feared the least, since enrolling to study medicine scared me as much as it scared me in general (which was helped a lot by the first year study officer, I really feel like sometimes they pick people for the study department based on how unsympathetic they look) and for a while I wondered where I was going. :)
How did you prepare for the exams? What helped you the most in your preparation?
I studied for the exams from books. I did look at lectures during the year, but it didn't suit me at all to study from a pdf of a lecture for an exam, much better is a book that I write my notes in during the semester. It's also terribly important not to combine too many sources, so for example I had two books to study from - one was kind of the main book for me, and I mostly looked at the second book when I found a chapter in the first book incomprehensible or when I felt it was too brief.
Unlike my classmates, tons of highlighters didn't help me much, at most I would underline important information in the book with a pencil. And I also drew the important stuff (especially the anatomy sections), that helps a lot. Similarly, it worked well for me to make brief summaries for some of the more complicated and obscure chapters (like cranial nerves or the autonomic system).
How do you rate the faculty facilities? What do you like the most?
The background of our faculty is quite a disaster, in the beginning you don't get oriented at all, because you are overwhelmed with a lot of information, but not everything you need to know, rather you get better at misunderstanding what you really should know. And then there is the phase when, on the other hand, students are not informed about anything at all and have to find out everything for themselves. The 1st Faculty of Arts is quite a mess organizationally and the study department doesn't help much. It's much better to ask your tutor or senior students about organisational matters, they've been through this chaos before so they can give you the best advice. And on the other hand, the chaotic organisation and the not-so-sympathetic study officer has its advantages - it works as a rewarding topic to introduce a conversation with your new classmates and swear at them for hours together. :D
How do you rate your first year of medical school?
I'll be starting my fourth year this year, so I've already had my next big scarecrow - pathology, and I honestly think freshman year was the worst. It's a huge shock at first, I didn't expect it to take so much time. The first week of school I even felt like I didn't really have the time or energy to eat.
I also wasn't prepared for having to keep up with so many things at once, so it was often quite mentally challenging. Several times during my first year I thought about leaving and going somewhere else where it wouldn't be so stressful for me. It helped me to talk about it with others - these feelings are completely normal and everyone has them. The important thing is to schedule your nervous breakdown for a different time than your friends, so that at least one of you is always cool at the time and can reassure others. :) The summer exam period is also very mentally demanding, especially if you don't get everything right the first time and have to retake an exam. I had to take histology twice before I passed. But you have to remember that this is also normal, on the contrary, it's expected, that's why there are three attempts on the exam. :) And when you pass your freshman year, it only gets better.
What would you say to future students of the faculty?
Find out as much information as you can beforehand and decide if you really want to come here. I didn't really know what to expect before coming to college, and I was really surprised at how time-consuming freshman year is. It's also important not to set your goals too high, it's totally fine that you won't be able to do everything (you can't), that you might not be able to keep up with part-time jobs because of school like you did before. It's also quite common for students to feel like they're not keeping up and can't do anything, so you need to not let that throw you off, I think everyone has that. It's also good to have some friends among the older students, they can often help you out a lot.
And it's also important to keep up with other things besides school, don't forget your hobbies and do things you enjoy and relax with.
https://www.vysokeskoly.cz/katalog-vs/univerzita-karlova/1-lekarska-fakulta/153
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
In conclusion, I think I would like to say that studying medicine, especially in the first year, is challenging. When I first read the textbooks there were so many technical, Latin and chemical names that at times I wasn't sure what I was reading. That's when you think you don't have a chance and you get kicked out anyway. But over time I got better and better at it, so it was still challenging, but at least I knew what I was reading. :) I mean, it's never going to be easy, but you get used to it and then it seems easier. And even though you have to devote a lot of time to it, I don't regret going to this faculty. This field of study is very interesting, in three years I haven't found any subject that I didn't enjoy (although I was afraid of some subjects, because I knew I didn't have a very good foundation from high school) and if I had to decide again, I would choose medicine at the 1st Faculty of Medicine again.
Is the faculty your favorite or do you have other favorites? We hope you enjoyed the interview with Annika and we would like to thank her and wish her the best for the remaining years of her studies.
@ann_p001
article written by: Jana and Daniela
