Student Union of the Faculty of Medicine University of Rijeka 
 

The Student Union with continuous and full support of the Administration and employees of the Faculty as well as student associations being active at the Faculty: FOSS MedRI (Faculty Committee of all Students of the Faculty of Medicine Rijeka), CroMSIC (International association of Croatian Students in Medicine), EMSA (European Medicine Student Association), CroADS (Croatian Association of Dental Medicine Students), student groups and individual students organise numerous student activities at the Faculty of Medicine University of Rijeka. At the beginning, it is to be emphasized that the FOSS MedRi is active at the Faculty of Medicine almost from the very establishment of the Faculty and constitutes the oldest student organisation at the University of Rijeka. 

The organisation of extracurricular activities is mainly directed to implementation of international exchanges, participation in and organisation of international and local student scientific conferences/symposiums, improving studying quality and standard, popularisation and integration into scientific-research work, organisation of public-health, medical-popularisation and humanitarian projects, cultural and sport activities and other student and extracurricular initiatives. 

The international medical student exchange is organised by the student association CroMSIC in which process some fifty student in medicine have an opportunity to participate, at annual level, in clinical practice at various clinics and faculties of medicine all over he world for a period of one month as well as during he summer months the same number of students from the whole world exercise their clinical practice through the student exchange at Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka. In addition, yearly three students participate in bilateral exchange with the Hyogo College of Medicine in Japan and four students with the University of Rochester in the USA. Besides professional and scientific exchange, the students take an active and passive part in numerous international scientific congresses and conferences as well as meetings of international student associations of which they are members (IFMSA, EMSA, IADS). Since the year 2010, the International Student Congress Nutrition and Clinical Dietotherapy has been convened every year and since the year 2011 the international Student Congress Neuroscience – NeuRi has been convened on an annual basis too.  

 

The Student Union and Teaching Committee  (NOSS) whose members (representatives of students) take active part in the Faculty Senate as well as other boards of the Faculty are specially in charge of studying quality and standard in which progress they are involved in preparing and making decisions and measures referring to continuous improvement of studying conditions at all levels. In this respect, digital support is available also by means of regular updating of internet portal foss.hr with on-line guides for freshmen and undergraduate eligible for their degree finals and with a large amount of free teaching, scientific and professional programs. In student premises, students may use without limits four computers with access to internet as well as LAN with wireless network. 

Organising traditional Humanitarian Concert of Croatian Students in Medicine, medical students of Rijeka have arranged the unique cultural/artistic event already for the fifth year consecutively. On the other side, gathered around the initiative Art-Anatomy, in the year 2013, they staged the visual exhibition of students and doctors in medicine and at the Faculty is a person in charge for students of Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc.  The student paper Speculum has been published for many years, the Humanitarian Ball is also a traditional event and during the year 2014, the students launched the initiative to form the Mixed Student Choir of the Faculty of Medicine. 

Involvement of students in different aspects of scientific-research process and popularisation of science through project activities is implemented through activity of the Science Committee (ZOSS) winning recognition for scientific-research work. It organises popular-scientific lectures, platforms and workshops on scientific methodology with continuity. Dozens of students are directly involved in various phases of scientific researches at certain clinics and institutes. In addition, students are members of editorial board of professional-scientific journal published at the Faculty (Acta Medico - Historica Adriatica and Medicina Fluminensis) as well as members of organisational boards for organisation of conferences (co-)arranged by the Faculty, with technical-logistic support primarily.  
 

Within the University Sport Union of Rijeka as well as Student Sport Society SOSS the students are, in addition to regular teaching of physical and health culture , involved in numerous activities, tournaments and competitions at university local, national and international level. Every year they take part also in regional sport competition for students of faculties of (bio) medicine – Humanijada /Humanitarian Purpose Games/ of which they were organisational host in the year 2014. 

Finally, among numerous extracurricular activities medical students being with their professional vocation fully oriented to prevention of diseases and health improvement arrange numerous public health, medical-popularisation and humanitarian projects. Very successful preventive activities assigned to general citizens are implemented during the whole year in which several hundreds of students and employees of the Faculty take part as volunteers. Some of these activities are: Kapi života /Drops of Life/ (FOSS), Dani zdravlja /Health Days/ (FOSS), Tjedan mozga /Brain Week/ (FOSS), Stani uz mene /Stay with Me/ - campaign for destigmatisation of mental illnesses (SZ ), Dan sestrinstva /Sisterhood Day/  (FOSS), Čiste ručice /Clean Small Hands/ (FOSS), Zdravi otoci i Zdrave planine planine /Healthy Islands and Healthy Mountains/ (FOSS), Vrijeme sazrijevanja /Maturing Time/ (EMSA), forums about addiction and sexually transmitted diseases (CroMSIC and EMSA), debate tournaments (FOSS) and  commemorative celebration of the World Health Day (EMSA), /World Day of Mental Health/  (SZ), /Course of Surgical Stitching/ (CroMSIC), Svjetskog dana borbe protiv raka i AIDS-a /Anti-Cancer and Anti-AIDS Word Day/ (CroMSIC), Zubić vile vile /Tooth Fairy/  (CroADS), Teddy Bear Hospital (EMSA) etc. Numerous programs of entertainment nature may not be avoided (Krvavica, Brucošijda, and participation in International Carnival of Rijeka, FOSS and CroMSIC parties).            

 

Finally, during their education the students of Faculty of Medicine have opportunity to participate in numerous extracurricular activities, which under motto “Student for Students” are organized by the Student Senate and student associations being active at the Faculty. As evidence of this are also three Rector’s awards for student activism and volunteerism (established in the year 2011) of which laureates are students of the Faculty of Medicine. Involving students in some of the projects, initiatives and manifestations raises the quality and standard of studying and bring up future experts in biomedicine and health of higher quality.