Graduation ceremony for second class of Brandenburg medical model curriculum

Neuruppin/Brandenburg an der Havel, 11 July 2022

The Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane (MHB) invited family, friends and companions to the farewell ceremony for the second class of the Brandenburg medical model curriculum at the Paulikloster/Brandenburg an der Havel last Saturday.

In his words of welcome, MHB president Prof. Hans-Uwe Simon looked back to the farewell ceremony for the first class of medical graduates in August 2021 as a milestone in the history of the MHB and the State of Brandenburg: “The majority of these first graduates are currently in specialist training at hospitals of the region and will therefore stay in Brandenburg for the coming years. So, the intended bonding effect – often evoked when the MHB was founded - actually works! Although exact figures are not yet available, we expect that around two thirds of this year’s graduates will also start their careers in one of our cooperating hospitals and thus contribute to the provision of medical care in Brandenburg.”

MHB has made an impact

Ursula Nonnemacher, Brandenburg’s Health Minister and a physician by training, said she felt honoured and pleased to dispatch the graduates of this still very young university into working life. She complimented not only the graduates but also the MHB and its dedicated staff on their remarkable achievements.

She reported excellent feedback from her visits to hospitals and surgeries where MHB students are active: “All physicians I meet in Brandenburg’s hospitals are highly satisfied with their young colleagues. The MHB with its options of medical training and its dedication has a broad and perceptibly positive effect in the region. As a social and science business, the MHB has societal impact in Brandenburg and beyond.”

In his keynote address, Dean Prof. Markus Deckert expanded on fundamental historical, ethical and anthropological aspects of the medical profession. He described support in distress as the very beginning of civilisation, while underlining the importance and virtue of humility.

Trip through time

Much applause was given to graduates Maximilian Fichtl and Can Gero Leineweber for their entertaining speech. They took the audience along on a trip in five acts through the six years and three months of their medical studies: covering more than 500 hours of problem-oriented learning (POL), almost 200 hours of TRIK (teamwork, reflection, interaction, communication), ten so called Medical Progress Tests, ten end-of-term exams, four months of electives, two state exams and finally a Practical Year. They told about new friends they made, about travel activities and parties, and about student initiatives and the acceptance of social responsibility in times of the Corona pandemic. In summary and as expected, the time at the MHB turned out to be not a drama and tragedy but a comedy with a happy ending.

The Berlin Jazz Ensemble provided the musical framework for the event. Carla Kniestedt who had welcomed the new students in Neuruppin six years ago again acted as the presented of the farewell ceremony.

The graduation ceremony was also offered online as a live stream (see here).