Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University

St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University (SPbSPMU), formerly known as Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute (LPMI) is the oldest independent pediatric university in the world. It was founded in 1925 as the Institute for Protection of Maternity and Infancy. The main building of University was settled on the territory of City Children's Hospital, which had been founded in 1905. The Children's Hospital was built as a series of separated pavilions to prevent spreading of infectious diseases. There were 650 beds in the hospital which had a staff consisting of 28 physicians, 2 paramedics, 56 sisters of mercy, 232 nurses and a number of other staff.[3]

During the period of Russian Civil War(1918–1920) the hospital was neglected, but the large number of orphaned children after the war led authorities to provide more funding, and on January 7, 1925, the Scientific-Practical Institute of Maternity and Infancy Protection, named after Clara Zetkin, opened. The structure of the institute was remodeled and included 11 clinical departments, a baby house, an infant house, the department to qualify children conditions, 3 clinics with up to 500 beds in each of them, an outpatient clinic, a children consulting center, and milk stations. From the year of 1925 until 1949, the institute was headed by Yulia Aronovna Mendeleeva.[4] The chief of hospital was D.S. Tumarkin.

In 1928, the scientific work began in the institute. The first departments of science and the PhD department emerged. Later, the institute became the Scientific Research Institute of Maternity and Infancy Protection and kept this status till 1932. The newly created departments of Physiology, Social Hygiene of Woman and Child, Hygiene and Nutrition Science Early Ages, Pathology of Children, Roentgenology, Child Phthisiatry, Acute Child Infections got involved in intensive teaching and research activities.

In 1932 the institute was transformed into the higher medical educational institution- "the clinic-med school". The country struggled with getting enough qualified medical specialists, and the child mortality still remained high. The government had to expand a net of clinical and preventive institutions and to establish health care in houses and correctional institutions for orphans. Soon, the whole department of maternity and infancy protection with professors and students of the First Leningrad Medical Institute was transferred to the Pediatric Institute. 82 students were registered for the fall semester of their first year. In 1935 "the clinic-med school" was reorganized into Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute (LPMI), the first in the world specialized medical school for pediatricians training. There was the first graduate class of 51 child doctors in 1936. Upon the beginning of WWII, the institute trained 530 and improved training of 300 physicians. There were somatic, surgical, infectious, neurological, tuberculosis, venereal, obstetric, gynecological departments in the institute. Special attention was paid to prevention of infectious diseases. The quantity of beds in the hospital approached 1215 in 1940.

Throughout all years of World War II, the institute continued clinical, research, educational and organizational work. The majority of faculty and clinical staff remained in Leningrad, surrounded by German troops. On the German military maps, the pediatric institute had a specific number of 708[3] and had to be vanished. On the territory of institute, surgical and infectious hospitals were opened to treat soldiers and citizens. The Siege of Leningrad captured more than 400 thousands of children, interrupting their evacuation. Many of those children survived only because of self-sacrificing work of Leningrad's pediatricians. To save lives of little citizens of Leningrad, there were created 18 baby formulas with soy, malt, and other components. Every day, the institute's milk station fed more than 8000 babies. The main theme of research work changed and became closely related to the wartime. Distrophic conditions in children, vitamins deficiencies, war traumas were studied, described in monographies and PhD works. There were opened classes with studying of blood transfusion, the system of "the only pediatrician", nutrition of healthy and sick children, and infectious diseases and classes of continuing education for state infection control and prevention controllers, district pediatricians, and school physicians. Two times a month, pediatricians of Leningrad visited clinical rounds. Moreover, the institute trained staff of factories for diseases control and prevention.

In the 50s, the institute increased quantity of applicants up to 600. Experience and knowledge of faculty members became a base of Russian pediatrics and were summarised in medical textbooks and monographies: Studies of Child, Diagnosis and Prognosis, M.S.Maslov's Textbook of Child Diseases and Handbook of Dietetics of Yearly Child Ages, A.F.Tur's Child Hematology, M.D. Danilevitch's Basics of Child Infections, G.A.Bairov's Urgent Surgery of Newborns, N.P.Shabalov's Neonatology.

According to the order of Ministry of Healthcare, the institute became Saint-Petersburg Pediatric Medical Institute in 1992 and then received a status of academy in 1994. In 2012 received a status of university. Currently, the University has 70 departments. More than 700 applicants become students of the University every year. To the year of 2000, more than 25000 physicians graduated from SpbSPMU, including 2000 physicians from foreign countries. The training of foreign students started in 1949. More than 3500 physicians improved their qualification on the Faculty of Continuing Education. Now, the University hospital is a multiprofile healthcare institution with 815 beds and contains 5 clinics of a somatic profile and 10 specialized departments.

Scientists of the University have significantly influenced the development of basic science studies and clinical pediatric studies. The most famous of them were E.S.London in Pathophysiology; F.I.Valker, D.D.Lokhov, A.G.Knorre in Morphology; A.G. Gynecinsky in Physiology; B.M. Berman in Microbiology; E.F.Davidenkova in Medical Genetics; V.A.Valdman in Internal Diseases; N.N.Elansky, R.R.Vreden, A.A.Rusanov in Surgery; S.A.Novoselsky, V.V.Paevsky in Medical Demographycs; S.S. Mnukhin in Psychiatry; K.K.Skrobansky in Obstetrics; L.I.Tchulitskaya in Paedology.

There are several scientific schools in the University, and they continue to develop:

• Pathology of young children of M.S.Maslov
• Pediatrics of A.F.Tur
• Infectious Diseases of M.G.Danilevich
• Cardiorheumatology of A.B.Volovik
• Phthisiopulmonology of P.S.Medovikov
• Pediatric Surgery of G.A.Bayirov
• Pediatric Nephrology of A.V.Papayan
• Pediatric Gynecology of N.V.Kobozev
• Social Pediatrics of N.G.Veselov

In the postwar years:

1950-1960 Prof. Nina Timofeevna Shutova (проф. Нина Тимофеевна Шутова)

1960-1965 Associate Professor E.P.Semenova (доцент Е. П. Семёнова)

1965-1975 Prof. Gally Abgarovna Kaisar'iants (проф. Галия Абгаровна Кайсарьянц)

1975 -1984 Prof. Galina Alexandrovna Timofeeva (проф. Галина Александровна Тимофеева)

1984-1991 Prof. Vyacheslav Petrovitch Alferov (проф. Вячеслав Петрович Алфёров)

1991-1999 Prof. Mikhail Vasilevitch Nezhentsev (проф. Михаил Васильевич Неженцев)

1999 Prof. Valentina Ivanovna Guzeva (проф. Валентина Ивановна Гузева)

since 1999 Prof. Vladimir Victorovitch Levanovich (проф. Владимир Викторович Леванович)

Currently, the University has several faculties:

• The Faculty of Medical Science
• The Faculty of Pediatrics
• The Faculty of Clinical Psychology
• The Faculty of Stomatology
• The Faculty of Dentistry
• The Faculty of Post Graduate & Additional Professional Education

In 2005, the University obtained a license to open a vocational education program, specializing in Dentistry. There are the preparatory department and the faculty of training and vocational retraining.

• St. Petersburg Mariinsky Hospital
• Central Medical Sanitary Unit #122
• Children City Hospital #1
• Children City Hospital #5
• Children Hospital of SpbSPMU
• Children District Clinical Hospital
• City Infectious Hospital of Botkin #30

• City Hospitals ##2,9,15,38,46
• Psychiatric Hospital of Skvortcov-Stepanov #3
• Psychiatric Hospital #6
• Children Hospital of St. Maria Magdalena #2
• Children Hospital of Rauhfuss #19
• Children Hospital of St. Olga #4
• Children Hospital #22
• N.N.Petrov Research Institute of Oncology
• Research Institute of Children Infections
• Research Institute of Human Brain
• Children Outpatient Clinics ##10,17,20,41,44,109
• City Oncology Center
• Medico-Genetic Diagnostic Center
• Consultative-Diagnostic Center
• Medical Sanitary Unit #7
• Medical Sanitary Unit #144
• Children Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Pushkin City
• Maternity hospitals ##1,9,15,16,18
• Multiple others

Education is conducted in Russian for Russian students and English for foreign students. SPbSPMU is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools(joint database of FAIMER’s International Medical Education Directory (IMED) and WFME’s Avicenna Directory).[5][6] The University has a high status among pediatric medical schools. SPbSPMU provides medical training to undergraduate and graduate.

The education is provided by the Faculty of Pediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine for 6 years. Medical students spend the first three years of training studying science, biomedical, liberal, and disease-preventive disciplines. The educational program includes all subjects required by any Russian medical school. The unique trait of education at SPbSPMU is paying close attention to the ontogenetic features in medical science studies. Moreover, students receive an extensive laboratory training in human anatomy, general chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, histology, physiology and pathology .Students have access to patients in their clinical class.

Using the most advanced methods and technology, students learn classical techniques of manipulation with real objects. They sample tissues for histological research, prepare corpses to refine surgical skills in the courses of normal anatomy and operative surgery, work with laboratory animals for experiments in the courses of pathological physiology, pharmacology, etc. The University's Library provide sufficient amount of books. In the main building of University, there are 20 educational, clinical and administrative buildings over the area of 60000 m². Students of their third year of education begin to explore introductory courses of Internal Diseases, Surgery and Pediatrics. In addition to general diagnostics and semiotics, the basic skills of the doctor, much attention is paid to the peculiarities of development, nutrition and behavior of healthy children. Successfully finishing the third year and passing summer clinical practices, students obtain the qualification of student nurses ("the honey brother").

The Children's Hospital of the University is the largest in Russia and is also used as the primary clinical base for pediatric disciplines. At fourth and fifth courses students study classical clinical cases within the Faculty courses of Internal Diseases, Surgery and Pediatrics, with emphasis in the etiology, diagnosis and pathogenesis of diseases. In total, these courses are provided within 72 weeks of clinical rotations and 9 weeks of lectures and examinations.

The final state certification is conducted by the special State Committee, according to the Russian federal standards and norms for medical universities. Also, the University guarantees the opportunity to continue training in clinical internships in more than 20 residencies for selected medical specialties and get into the postgraduate school at the department with a theoretical profile.

Currently, SPbSPMU trains more than 4000 students.[1] University graduates receive comprehensive health education to practice Medicine as general practitioners, medical specialists, including pediatricians, and medical researchers. Approximately 60% of graduates work in various areas of Pediatrics, the remaining 40% work in "adult" medicine or in experimental medical research. The University conducts extensive research work. The main attention is focused on the normal development of organism and pathology within an age aspect. Medical students participate in research as members of student scientific associations and academic societies.

Many pediatricians are graduated from the former (Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute (LPMI) - SPbSPMU. Many physicians of other specialties are emerged from the walls of the University. Also, for many decades, the University is an international center of higher medical education. Over the past half century, several thousands of foreign students from 70 countries and from 4 continents have graduated from the Pediatric University. Currently, students from over 50 countries are training here.Application to university are considered without discrimination and preparatory courses are conduct for foreign students.

The University has 4 dormitories, built as apartments/flats. There are local libraries, kitchens, bars and cafes, classrooms, reading and sports halls, etc. in dormitories. Several thousand MDs, the University graduates practicing in Arab countries, Israel, Canada, the U.S. and other countries, maintain relations with their Alma mater, SPbSPMU.

• List of universities in Russia
• Education in Russia
• List of higher education and academic institutions in Saint Petersburg

• Nice Review of SpbSPMU
• Associated Students Organization of SpbSPMU
• Additional information about SpbSPMU in English
• Forum of SpbSPMU students and graduates
• Education in Russia