Structure of VSMU

Vitebsk State Order of People’s Friendship Medical University state institution was founded in 1934 as a medical school hospital and is one of the oldest educational institutions in the Republic of Belarus. The first director of the institute was appointed Doctor of Medical Sciences, professor Moisey Anaisimovich Hazanov, a graduate of the medical faculty of the University of Bern (Switzerland).

Until 1941 there were seven graduates of doctors. The Great Patriotic War slowed down the development of the university for many years. At the beginning of the war the institute was evacuated in Chelyabinsk, then in 1943 in Yaroslavl. Subsequently the Yaroslavl Medical University was established on the basis of the Vitebsk medical Institute. In 1944 some staff of the institute returned in Minsk and participated in the restoration of the Minsk Medical Institute. It was only in 1946 that the institute returned to the Vitebsk region. From 1946 to 1050 the university was headed by Anisim Ivanovich Savchenko, deputy minister of health of the BSSR. In 1948 the student scientific society was established. In 1951the institute was headed by a graduate of the First Moscow Medical Institute, Professor Ivan Illarionovich Bogdanovich. In 1959 the main academic building was commissioned.

In 1959, the Pharmaceutical Faculty was established along with the current Faculty of Medicine and Prevention. Since 1961, the university has been headed by Professor Glafira Antonovna Medvedeva. In 1962, the Central Research Institute was opened, and two dormitories were built. From 1965 to 1979, the rector of VSMI was Associate Professor Evgeny Nikandrovich Medvetsky. Over the years, a dormitory has been built, and construction of a laboratory and theoretical building has begun. From 1979 to 1996, the rector was Mikhail Grigorievich Sachek, Professor, Honored Scientist of the BSSR. In 1981, a new laboratory and theoretical building with a total area of 14 thousand square meters was commissioned. In 1986, two more dormitories were built, and in 1987– a sports complex and a canteen. Since 1981, doctors and pharmacists have been trained for foreign countries. In 1984, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Vitebsk Medical Institute was awarded the Order of Peoples' Friendship for its services in training personnel for practical healthcare.

From 1997 to 2005, the University was headed by Alexander Nikolaevich Kosinets, MD, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Republic of Belarus, who was elected Deputy Chairman of the All-Belarusian National Assembly on April 24, 2024. Under his leadership, profound transformations have been carried out at the university. The following faculties were opened: training of foreign citizens (1997), advanced training of specialists and retraining of personnel (1997), career guidance and pre-university training (1998), dental (2001), pedagogy and psychology of the Higher Medical School (2001). In 1998, the Institute successfully passed certification and accreditation for the status of a university-type higher educational institution and was transformed into the Vitebsk State Order of Peoples' Friendship Medical University. New departments and professional development courses are being organized at the faculties. A knowledge quality control system has been developed and implemented. A competitive medical education system has been created in the global educational services market. An electronic library has been created, computer classes are connected to world sources of information.

On March 10, 2003, by order of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus, the VSMU Clinic was established. From 2015 to 2023, the University was headed by Anatoly Tadeushevich Shchastny, MD.

In 2022, VSMU was included in the next release of the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking, which, in addition to VSMU, included only 5 institutions of higher education in the Republic of Belarus, which indicates the recognition of VSMU by the international academic community.

In 2022, VSMU passed institutional and programmatic accreditation for compliance of the university's activities with international standards of the World Federation of Medical Education and the Association of Medical Educational Institutions in Europe. In 2023, VSMU was accredited for compliance with the declared type – university and by specialties (4 specialties of higher education and 10 specialties of retraining of managers and specialists).

Currently, the University is headed by Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Alexey Nikolaevich Chukanov. In April 2024, Vitebsk State Medical University was entered on the Republican Board of Honor as the winner of the competition for achieving the best performance among educational organizations in 2023.

There are 8 faculties at VSMU:

• Faculty of Pre-University Education;
• Faculty of Medicine;
• Faculty of Pediatrics;
• Faculty of Pharmacy;
• Faculty of Dentistry;
• Faculty of Training of Foreign Citizens;
• Faculty of Advanced Training and Staff Retraining;
• Faculty of Advanced Training and Retraining in Pedagogy and Psychology.

The material and technical base of the university is constantly developing and includes 6 academic buildings, 8 well-equipped dormitories, 3 canteens, a medical library, 2 gyms, a stadium, gyms, 24 clinical bases, a research laboratory with a vivarium, a center for the transfer of medical and pharmaceutical technologies, a VSMU clinic, a university dental clinic, an educational the center for practical training and simulation training. There is a wireless Wi-Fi network with free Internet access in the university buildings, canteen and student dormitories. Lecture halls and study rooms are equipped with LED TVs and multimedia equipment to demonstrate educational materials to students.

Education at VSMU is based on the following principles:

1. Practice-oriented training;
2. Professional orientation;
3. System interaction;
4. Continuing professional education;

The university has established well-known scientific schools not only within the Republic of Belarus, but also abroad.:

• Surgical diseases and trauma;
• Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Biotechnology;
• Infections and biosafety;
• Diseases of the circulatory system;
• A healthy mother is a healthy child;
• Internal diseases;
• Medical rehabilitation;
• Innovative pedagogy.

Four scientific and practical journals are published quarterly at VSMU: Bulletin of the Vitebsk State Medical University, News of Surgery (presented in the International database SCOPUS), Bulletin of Pharmacy and Protection of Motherhood and Childhood. The library of the All-Russian State Medical University contains the largest collection of medical literature in the Vitebsk region, which has about 500,000 copies and is constantly being updated. The library has 5 electronic reading rooms for more than 150 workstations.

VSMU provides high-quality education, professional orientation of applicants and students, close interrelation of education and comprehensive spiritual and moral development of students, student mobility, systematic interaction with organizations that order personnel, practice-oriented training of specialists and continuing professional education. The VSMU operates a distance learning system, an online resource containing educational materials on all subjects taught, accessible to students at any time from anywhere on the Internet, including from mobile devices. A training center for practical training and simulation training has been organized on the basis of VSMU, where students master the technique of performing therapeutic and diagnostic manipulations, modern medical technologies. On mannequins and training simulators, students practice first aid to victims of road accidents, injuries, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, obstetric and gynecological skills, and skills used in laparoscopic surgery. The final certification of students in clinical disciplines is also conducted at this center. Academic mobility of VSMU students is achieved through summer internship at foreign universities, student participation in international academic Olympiads, international student competitions, scientific conferences, forums, international grant programs and summer schools. Starting from the 1st year, students have the opportunity to engage in scientific work. Student scientific circles are actively functioning at each department and laboratory of professional skills.

Educational and ideological work at VSMU is carried out within the framework of the implementation of the state youth policy and the program of patriotic education of the population. For each study group of students in years 1-4, a group supervisor is appointed from among the teachers. Curators assist students in adapting to university studies, strengthen academic discipline, create conditions for successful study, develop independent work skills and self-realization. The Institute of student self-government has been established and is developing at VSMU, which is represented by student councils at each faculty, the council of the student scientific society, the Council for the quality of education, as well as the trade union committee of students, the committee of the primary organization "Belarusian Republican Youth Union", the voluntary student detachment of vigilantes, and the VSMU Volunteer council. In 2021, the Military-Patriotic Club "I Serve the Fatherland" was established at VSMU, within the framework of which students participate in organizing events dedicated to memorable dates in the country's history, conduct exploratory work to preserve the historical memory of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.

Students participate in the work of 16 amateur art groups and interest groups, sports sections, 4 volunteer groups, actively participate in the work of the primary organization "Belarusian Republican Youth Union", the primary organization of the public association "Belarusian Union of Women", the primary organization of the Belarusian Society "Red Cross", the trade union of students, the media center of the university. Since 1997, the Medvuzovets newspaper has been regularly published (11 issues per year). VSMU cooperates with the Orthodox Church as part of the implementation of the Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus and the Belarusian Orthodox Church.

The university has an excellent sports base for active physical education and sports (a stadium, 2 game gyms, a shooting range, a ski base, 4 gyms in dormitories). Students have the opportunity to participate in sports sections in 17 sports, including arm wrestling, sports aerobics, basketball, boxing, volleyball, kettlebell lifting, mini-football, table tennis, orienteering, chess, judo, American football, badminton. VSMU students regularly take part in sports competitions in the Republic of Belarus and abroad and win prizes.

In the message of the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly on March 31, 2023, it is said: "Today Belarus is the educational hub of Eastern Europe, where all conditions are created for obtaining fundamental and applied education in a wide range of specialties." The educational institution Vitebsk State Order of Peoples' Friendship Medical University is successfully fulfilling its task.