On 19 September 2025, the fifth Graduation Ceremony of the Medical Programme took place at the Podkarpacka Philharmonic. Diplomas were awarded to 131 graduates of the Medical Programme and 13 graduates of the Medicine Programme in English. The ceremony brought together university authorities, faculty members, families, and friends of the graduates, who accompanied them on this special day.

The graduates took the medical oath in the presence of Dr. Krzysztof Marchewka, President of the Regional Medical Chamber. His Magnificence, the Rector of the University of Rzeszów, also presented awards to individuals and institutions particularly distinguished in supporting the development of the Medical Programme, emphasizing the importance of their contribution to the education of future doctors.

Awards were also given to the top graduates:

For Academic Excellence:

• Dr. Izabela Czaja
• Dr. Barbara Tomaszek
• Dr. Aleksandra Roztoczyńska
• Dr. Berenike Paulmann (Medicine Programme in English)

For Outstanding Scientific Activity:

• Dr. Dagmara Gładysz
• Dr. Anna Głowacka
• Dr. Joanna Barwacz

For Exceptional Organizational and Social Activity:

• Dr. Mikołaj Grodzki
• Dr. Rafał Kołodziej

For Outstanding Sports Achievements:

• Dr. Vijay Kandeepan Akeepan (Medicine Programme in English)

The graduation lecture was delivered by Professor Janusz Skalski, who posed the question: “Do we know the Hippocratic Oath?”

Professor Janusz Skalski is a graduate of the Medical Academy in Kraków, specializing in pediatric surgery and cardiac surgery. He began his career at the Institute of Pediatrics of the Medical Academy in Kraków, where from the mid-1970s he co-developed pediatric cardiac surgery. He later worked in Katowice and Zabrze, gaining recognition as a pioneer in treating children with severe heart defects. He was the first in Poland to apply mechanical circulatory support using ECMO in a child and later co-developed the country’s first ECMO program. He also performed the first implantation of artificial heart chambers in a child in Poland, saved a boy who had been cooled to a record-low temperature of 11.8°C, and implanted a long-term centrifugal heart pump.

Letters of congratulations were sent by:

• Mr. Marcin Kulasek – Minister of Science and Higher Education
• Mr. Zdzisław Pupa – Senator of the Republic of Poland
• Mr. Marcin Rusiniak – Director of the University Clinical Hospital in Rzeszów