The lawyer Pietro Marino President of Vitambiente and Prof. Raffaele Serra Professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, as well as head of the social sciences department of Vitambiente jointly intervene on the matter of the Faculty of Medicine. Disinformation, provincialism and sometimes even the ambition of solons without cause and effect – a statement reads – risks generating confusion in public opinion, even assigning non-existent political or administrative blame, in this case for Noi di Vitambiente there they are just merits we applaud the choice of De Sarro and Leone respectively Magnifici Rectors of Unicz and Unical, as we will specify below.
An inter-university agreement signed by the two Rectors of the Universities of Catanzaro and Cosenza dates back to December 2020, for curb scientific and brain migration from Calabria activating one of the most innovative courses in Europe and perhaps in the world in the current scientific panorama, the course in question is present for the level of study and curriculum only at the Politecnico di Torino. We are talking about a degree course that will change the figure of the doctor by creating an expert in precision medicine, but also in artificial intelligence, big data and neurobotics. It could be called doctor-engineer and it is certainly one of the jobs of the future. In fact, Anvur (National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research System) has authorized the activation of all new study courses proposed by the University of Calabria, including the innovative degree in Medicine and Digital Technologies, inter-university with Catanzaro, from this agreement a new degree course was born that integrates the skills of the surgeon with those of the biomedical engineer. The course provides for the joint release of a double degree: the master’s degree in Medicine and Surgery and the three-year degree in Computer Engineering, the Bioinformatics curriculum, according to the two universities, is a unique course in the world.
The goal is to train doctors who know how to understand and manage the advanced technologies that will be increasingly present in the operating room and in the ward, in order to offer patients increasingly precise, innovative and above all personalized treatments. Internet of things, big data analysis, telemedicine will increasingly become part of the daily life of the medical profession. And now there too blockchain is entering the wards. In short, technologies have upset medicine too. White coats are no longer just what they used to be and their training also needs to make progress, also with a view to reducing healthcare costs.
The Calabrian health dispute represents the one with the greatest shortage of medical personnel within the framework of the medical profession: currently it is estimated that 1,410 professionals are missing, mainly in the areas of emergency medicine, anesthesia and resuscitation, gynecology, general surgery, paediatrics and psychiatry. To these deficiencies are added those of general practitioners, pediatricians and medical guards. On the other hand, the demand for training in Medicine and Surgery is growing: in Italy the number of applications from aspiring doctors far exceeds the number of places available, with one place for every 5 candidates; in Calabria the demand is even greater, with one place for every 10 candidates. However, it is not enough to train new doctors: the rapid evolution in healthcare, increasingly influenced by new technologies, requires new doctors, who master data science and artificial intelligence methods and tools. A recent OECD study finds that health professionals report an asymmetry between the skills they possess and those required to effectively perform their role in an ever-changing environment. The new figure of doctor with bioinformatics engineering skills that will be formed by the jointly proposed course from the University of Calabria and the Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, will therefore combine skills in the field of robotics with the preparation in the medical-surgical field, logistics, bioinformatics engineering, Artificial Intelligence: all sectors that now have a very strong impact on medical practice, from prevention to diagnosis and treatment. The new degree course will rely on the skills and experience of the School of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Catanzaro and the Departments of ‘Pharmacy and Health and Nutrition Sciences’ and of ‘Computer Engineering, Modeling, Electronics and Systems’ dell’Unical, structures of excellence recognized by the Ministry.
This new synergy between the universities will be of great use to Calabria and to Europe which will have to face the challenges of the future for the treatment and prevention of diseases with a biogenetic perspective. We welcome this course as a strengthening of the southern axis of research and study that will place the Magna Graecia University and Unical at the center of an epochal change!