A conversation with the new dean Vladimír Komárek about his priorities in leading the Faculty
Photo: Vlastimil Stárek (2nd LF).
Prof. MUDr. Vladimír Komárek was born in Prague and studied at the Charles University Department of Paediatrics. He became a children's doctor in Teplice and later a paediatric neurologist in Prague 4. Since 1984 he has been working in the Department of Paediatric Neurology in the Charles University 2nd Faculty of Medicine and in 1991 he became department head. His graduate work was in paediatrics and he specialised in paediatric neurology. He was named associate professor of neurology in 1993 and made professor in 2009. Between 2009 and 2014 he was president of the academic senate.
When and how did you decide to put yourself forward for the post of dean? Were you persuaded to run or did you join the fray yourself?
First I was persuaded and then I joined the fray. (Laughs)
I had already tried my hand at leading the faculty at the end of the 1990s, as the assistant dean of teaching. In 2006, when the elections for the new dean took place, I decided not to run. My primary interest at that time was the Department of Paediatric Neurology, which had moved several times, closed down some of its sections, opened up others, etc. Now I have highly capable successors there and I can devote more time to the Faculty. I have been president of the senate for some time so I have a good idea where the Faculty is heading and where, in my opinion, it should head. I decided that I would like to have a direct influence on its development instead of just criticising. So last year, at the end of the summer, after the endless: ‘Vladimír, are you going to have a go?’ questions from my colleagues and other department heads I finally said: ‘Yes.’
What do you expect from the position?
The satisfaction of completing and accomplishing something. It's the same feeling a good gardener gets from looking after his garden, or that you feel when you build your home on strong foundations. That said, I also hope that I won't neglect my family, children, grandchildren or the department too much.
Will you continue to work in research and teaching?
I'm completing some research on developmental dysphasia and I'll continue to work on some of my younger co-workers' projects, but I won't be starting any new international projects. In recent years our team has had a successful record of publications and I hope that this will continue. I'm confident that being dean will not prevent me from considering and preparing new research work. I'll also be looking into creating new interdisciplinary areas in paediatric neurology. Finally, there are times as dean when you are very busy and times when you are less so, so I'll find the time to supervise student and doctoral work even if it's only as a consultant. Naturally, I'll continue teaching too.
High standards must be maintained...
How can we get a higher number of international applicants to apply?
We will need to reduce the bureaucratic burden on students, simplify the application process, etc. I have a few cards up my sleeve. (Laughs)
How can you prevent the loss of international students in the first to third years?
We need to make certain that teaching in English is of a high quality, readily available and fully comprehensible. We want more international students to graduate than have done in recent years. High standards must be maintained in entrance exams and we mustn't keep artificially supporting weaker students during their studies. We can't be worse doctors because we don't have much money, and we can't be worse teachers because we want to save more money.
„We can't be worse doctors because we don't have much money, and we can't be worse teachers because we want to save more money.“
I don't want to educate managers and businessmen
A graduate becomes a Medicinae Universae doctor, and should be able to do anything: work in the field as a GP for children or adults, work in a hospital as a junior consultant, or in any clinical centre. Students want the greatest possible amount of practical education to try out medicine for themselves and learn how to manage their patients. The introduction of K10 was a very good step in this direction.
As a rule, about 60% of graduates should take up positions straight away and about 30% should gravitate towards research or clinical medicine; a significant proportion of those will specialise in paediatrics. I definitely don't want us to educate healthcare managers or businessmen; that's the job of other departments.
What was the practical work like when you were a student?
Students these days are much worse off in some ways than we were in the 1970s, when there were very few legal restrictions and there was no auditing or accreditation of hospitals. At that time almost anything was allowed (even if it was quite risky!). In my summer work as a student I oversaw the births of sixteen children; we did the stitching in the operating theatre, worked as junior consultants and did ward rounds. In the fifth and sixth years we took full responsibility for our patients. These days I'd say that both we and the senior consultants were pretty brave.
For today's medics, that kind of work is no longer realistic; they do their practical work more on models or simulators, where students can decide from a range of diagnoses and cures.
As dean, what have you started work on first?
First and foremost, we're working on finishing the rebuilding on Plzeňská and discussing the steps necessary for the reconstruction of the lecture rooms and the construction work on the dean's offices. After that come our efforts to increase both the interest from and the number of international students, and our consideration of how to keep the best of them in the Faculty. Thirdly, I've also had meetings on how to increase and improve practical teaching. And fourthly, I'm working on strengthening the specialist growth of younger scientific and medical workers as well as the mobility of our young scientists abroad.
