Mariann Móré, who had been acting head of the faculty, received her assignment to lead the Faculty of Health from rector Zoltán Szilvássy. She is determined to continue her work, and keep the faculty on track.
- In the following years the faculty will face challenges in terms of education, science and organisational structure as well. Our goal is to create and maintain a range of programmes that fits into both the Hungarian and the international environment – explained Mariann Móré.
Two English-language courses are available at the faculty, and as a novelty, from 2021 the bachelor nursing programme will also be available in English. The promotion of this programme will start soon, with the help of NOK. Mariann Móré said that her colleagues who will be involved in the programme have taken English lessons at the Institute of Health Sciences, in order to facilitate the successful launch of the course.
- As this is a practice-oriented programme, students are trained in English not only in the classroom, but at the places where they receive practical training as well. We have to take the special features of this profession into consideration. Students should be able to communicate with professionals in English, so the opportunity to speak in English should be offered in hospitals and social institutions –she added.
She also said that one of the key objectives of the faculty is to improve in the field of gerontology education, and the development of the accreditation material of the master programme is underway. She added that the present pandemic situation has proved that taking care of the elderly is highly important, and this approach should be integrated into the education of students.
The dean, who will take her position on 1 July, thinks that improvement is also required in relation to science. The three journals of the faculty should achieve better ranking, because they represent important links to the community of professionals and scientists. She also plans to promote the activities of the Health Sociology Coordination Centre, as health sociology, which combines health sciences and social sciences, has been underrepresented at UD. The faculty is also willing to start two training programmes for professionals working in the field of social sciences.
However, one of the key tasks will be to deal with the decrease in the number of students, and to hire younger employees.
- Wages are higher than before in healthcare, so the field offers better career opportunities. The problem is to gain admittance to a university course, as young people are often unable to meet the requirements. We have organised preparatory courses for the advanced final exam in social sciences. Now we would like to do the same in the field of health sciences. Our students will be the first in their families who study at a university, so this could be really helpful. Even though it is not a problem yet, we should also think about how we will ensure that the number of trained lecturers will be sufficient in the future. 25 percent of our teachers are over 65, so we need to start building a new team intentionally. We want to prepare our students who attend the master course for the doctoral school. We have talked to PhD students and those who are willing to start a doctoral programme. They will receive all support they need both professionally and organisationally. Right now we have three students who are about to start their PhD studies – said Mariann Móré.
In the first months of the year, the faculty was occupied taking care of the pandemic situation. The dean believes that the faculty is well-prepared and has learned the lessons.
- Distant learning caused fewer problems at the faculty than at other places, because the system has already been used earlier. Students often wanted personal contact, but it was not possible. It was a test, and we have passed. Now we know that in case of a second wave we will be able to handle the situation. Most of our students have no difficulty using the e-learning system. However, our teachers will have to be available all the time. Now the big question is how we will ensure practical training. This spring we had problems in this field, despite the efforts of our partners – explained Mariann Móré.
Thee dean of the Faculty of Health pointed out that in order to ensure the successful operation of the faculty a community of dedicated lecturers and administrative staff should be established that is able to make efforts for the faculty. Besides, a good relationship should also be established and maintained with Nyíregyháza and the county.
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