In the academic year 2023/24, a total of 223 residents will start their studies in the third cycle programmes at the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University (VU MF) to improve their knowledge in the fields of medicine or dentistry.
“The admission process to medical residency has always been complex, involved great responsibility, and the preparations for it start in December. First, discussions within the expert group of the Ministry of Health of Lithuania, which advises the state committee that takes decisions regarding the state-funded places, on the distribution of residency places between specialties and universities. We had received requests from various institutions to establish additional residency places in certain specialities, which could be financed by personal healthcare institutions. We tried to accommodate these requests where possible. Subsequently, motivational interviews were organised in May, and admission, competition and the announcement of the results took place in June and July. We are pleased that this year, like last year, all the residency places allocated by the state have been filled. The extension of the residency programme did not affect the enrolment results,” Prof. Vytautas Kasiulevičius, Vice-Dean of Postgraduate Studies at the Faculty of Medicine, noted. He also added that as many as 53 graduates from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences chose Vilnius University.
Vilnius University offers 50 study programmes in the field of Medicine. For several years in a row, the most popular study programmes have been Dermatovenerology, Cardiology, Medical Oncology, Otorhinolaryngology and Ophthalmology, and the applicants had to face huge competition. The least popular programmes have been Geriatrics, Forensic Medicine and Infectious Diseases. In total, 205 medical residents chose to study in the residency programme at Vilnius University, of which 167 will study in state-funded places.
Of the residency programmes in Dentistry, Oral Surgery has been the most popular this year. A total of eight residents will start their residency studies in Dentistry, who, in addition to the above-mentioned programme, also chose Endodontics, Orthodontics and Paediatric Dentistry.
© VU archive.
The entry of female students to the study programmes in the field of medicine has been on the increase for some time now. This year, 161 female and 62 male future medical specialists will start their first year in the residency programme. In addition, eight international students have been admitted to the residency programme.
According to Prof. Vytautas Kasiulevičius, this year's resident doctors will already be studying in the framework of the sub-competences or, to be more precise, the entrusted professional activities. This will enable many residents to become independent service providers in the middle of their studies. “In redesigning the residency programmes, we wanted to ensure that the specificity of learning tasks, the continuous assessment of progress, the delegation of responsibilities and the autonomy would lead to better training of young doctors,” said Vice-Dean of Postgraduate Studies.
In the academic year 2023/24, a total of 811 residents will study at the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius university.