Minister Vulin: Serbian military doctor has taken the hippocratic oath and the oath to Serbia

The ceremony marking the Day of the Military Medical Academy and the 176th anniversary of this military medical, educational and scientific research institution was held this evening at the Guard House in „Topčider“ barracks.

The ceremony was attended by Milorad Veljović  - envoy of the President of the Republic and the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Zoran Đorđević - Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, General Milan Mojsilović - Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Bojan Jocić - State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense, representatives of religious communities, medical and research institutions, as well as numerous friends of the military medical institution.

Congratulating on the jubilee, which goes way back in time, the Minister of Defense, Aleksandar Vulin told the military health professionals, doctors and medical staff of the Military Medical Academy that 176 years is a history in itself, and that many larger and more numerous nations cannot boast such a long overall history.

- Serbs are not like other nations which simply sat and waited for their freedom to be brought about by some distant, worldly storms which blew away their conqueror. They did not wait for the enemy force to collapse by itself or for someone else to win them their freedom. Serbs have been fighting for their freedom and since their inception, they have done everything to be free. When fighting for freedom, lives are lost and health is damaged and then, for every soldier, warrior there is a healer, a doctor, a surgeon – said the Minister of Defense adding that, since the struggle for freedom started, there have always been wounds and medicines, and also people who administered those medicines or even „regreted not being able to help“.

It is Serbian military medicine and Serbian military doctor, Minister Vulin said.

After the battle, when both armies retreat and only the cries of those dying or seeking help can be heard, the only one that remains is the military doctor who steps in front of a gun, risking his or her own life in order to save somebody else's. That is why you, military doctors, are not „just“ doctors. You are the people responsible for human life, your homeland and your armed forces – said Minister Vulin adding that, when the one waiting for help sees, beneath the white doctor's uniform, a green soldier's uniform and rank insignia, he or she knows that everything will be fine because, where there is the army, there is well- being, order, law and knowledge.

- We believe in that, and it is up to you to never prove us wrong, and to always make us feel privileged, because we are taken care of by a military doctor, a person who took the Hippocratic oath and also the oath to Serbia. That is why, when in battles the guns went silent, Serbian military doctor did not ask who needed help, just like Serbian soldiers, while retreating through the Albanian ravines, hungry and freezing, shared a piece of bread with Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war, without asking who they were, knowing that they were human beings in need of help – pointed out the Minister of Denfense, noting the harsh truth that Serbian soldiers never received such acts of kindness in any of the World Wars.

-  However, this does not mean that the Serbian people should be different. They are worth repeating because they are different, because they show humanity when everybody thinks that there is no more humanity, and they show courage when everybody thinks that there can be no greater courage than the one shown, or the humanity and kindness, although they are the people who have suffered so much. That is why you gentlemen, military doctors, are so valuable, so important and worth repeating. And those who come after you will have to reach what you and those before you have left.

Speaking about the past year's results of the largest institution of the military healthcare system, but also about the plans for the coming period, Chief of the Military Medical Academy Colonel Miroslav Vukosavljević, M.D., pointed out that the MMA has become and remains a place which enjoys the trust of all the citizens of our and other countries of the region.

- There would be no good results or valuable acknowledgements if we did not prove daily and in unison that we can accomplish the most difficult tasks. Thanks, first of all, to the support of the line ministry, between two birthdays, we have enriched and renewed the offer of diagnostic services for all our patients. Since the beginning of this year, another major project has been completed – reconstruction of the intensive care unit of the Clinic for Anesthesiology and Intensive Therapy of the Military Medical Academy. Furthermore, a renovated Day Surgery Centre with a new operating room has been officially opened today – said Colonel Vukosavljević.

He emphasized that last year, more than 400 people were employed under full-time contract at all the institutions of military healthcare, namely at the MMA. Most of the newly-employed staff are medical workers, but also personnel necessary for various types of support.

Announcing the future steps, Colonel Vukosavljević mentioned the completion of ongoing projects, starting new ones and the improvement of all branches of medicine.

-  There are plans for future infrastructure works which will result not only in setting up the Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, which aroused great interest among the citizens, but also in improving the work of other organizational units of the MMA, all with the aim of improving the healthcare provided to all our citizens. Major infrastructure works on the reconstruction and renovation of the building is planned as well - concluded the Chief of the Military Medical Academy.

At today’s ceremony the best organizational unit of the MMA in the previous year has been traditionally proclaimed.  The honor went to the Clinic for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, while the Pharmaceutical Service was proclaimed the best service. The heads - Colonel Radoje Doder, MD and dr Vesna Putić were presented the awards by the Minister of Defense, Aleksandar Vulin.

The medal, named after dr Vladan Đorđević, a great Serbian surgeon and one of those responsible for the development of military medicine in general – was presented to dr Lazar Davidović, a vascular surgeon and retired Colonel dr Zoran Jovanović, an orthopedic surgeon by Colonel Radoje Ilić, M.D, PhD - the Head of the Surgical Clinics Group of the MMA.

Among numerous friends and associates of the MMA, who particularly stood out in their support to the institution, awards were presented to Slobodan Basurić from the public company „Putevi Srbije“ and Stefan Milanović from the „Šumadijaput“ company, and acknowledgments were given to tenor Vojislav Spasić and the Artistic Ensemble of the Ministry of Defense „Stanislav Binički“.

In the artistic part of the program, the choir and orchestra of the Artistic Ensemble of the Ministry of Defense „Stanislav Binički“ performed with guests.

The MMA celebrates 2nd March to commemorate the 2nd March 1844 when Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević signed a decree proclaiming the „Law on the establishment of Central Army Hospitals“. On that day the first military hospital in Belgrade was founded and its history was passed on to the MMA.