47 students from the first year group on the UVic-UCC bachelor's degree course in Medicine graduate

The graduation ceremony for 47 students in the first year group of the bachelor's degree programme in Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, which took place yesterday at the Atlàntida theatre in Vic, had a twofold academic and institutional aspect. The ceremony, which was presided over by the Minister of the Presidency of the Government of Catalonia, Laura Vilagrà, was attended by more than 800 people, including the students, their relatives, teaching staff and representatives of the university and various health institutions, among others. The graduation of the students who began the bachelor's degree programme in Medicine in the 2017-2018 academic year, who launched the Faculty, is a milestone in the centre's history. A new era will begin in the 2023-2024 academic year, with the addition of another two more qualifications to the bachelor's degree in Medicine: the bachelor's degree in Dentistry, and the UVic-specific bachelor's degree course in General Audiology.

The graduation ceremony began with the more academic aspect, in which Ramon Pujol, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine since it was launched, provided an overview of the centre's first six years. Pujol highlighted the Faculty's own unique teaching method, saying that "the personality of our methodology, based on clinical cases, is and will remain a hallmark of our success." The dean referred to Covid-19 as one of the main challenges that have been overcome over the past six years, and said that "dealing with uncertainties helps people to mature, and the pandemic has taught us how to overcome a major crisis together." In the final part of his speech, he addressed the graduates, inviting them to be ambassadors for the Faculty and saying: "Always keep your senses alert; thinking that you are never wrong is the best way not to improve." 

At the end of his speech, Pujol invited the dean Roberto Elosua, who will take over as dean next academic year, to the stage. Adopting a simile with the rain that had fallen the previous afternoon, he said they were like the students' tears; tears of sadness for a time that is coming to an end, but also tears of "joy, hope and the conviction that you will have a future full of success." Elosua thanked all the healthcare and social centres in the territory and the medical staff who had worked with the Faculty for the opportunity "to experience the profession and the art of being a doctor" and acknowledged that it had been a very intense six years for everyone involved. He also addressed the students of the first year group directly, saying that: "You have made a substantial contribution to co-creating the bachelor's degree in Medicine at UVic-UCC."

He was followed by speeches by the year group's sponsors Joan Carles Trullàs (of the Vic Territorial Teaching Unit) and Jordi Aligué (of the Manresa Territorial Teaching Unit), who thanked them for having been chosen as sponsors. They acknowledged that the first year group of a course is a little like an oldest child: "being the first is a mixture of being a little spoilt, and receiving one or two nasty surprises." Trullàs and Aligué gave the students some advice and recommendations, telling them to choose what they really like, to be humble and never to stop learning, and to help both patients as well as colleagues in their profession. 

Their speeches were followed by those by the delegates of the sixth year of Medicine, Aina Bosch, Maria Nadal, Pablo Cornago and Àlex Boada, who took stock of the past six years, and pointed out that "medicine is a way of understanding the world and it loses its meaning if we don't share it with others." Their contribution was followed by a screening of the video of the students of the first year group to graduate from the bachelor's degree course in Medicine.

The more academic side of the ceremony involved the presentation of the diplomas, by Josep Eladi Baños, the rector of UVic-UCC; Elvira Bisbe, the vice-president of the Official College of Doctors of Barcelona (COMB); the deans Ramon Pujol and Roberto Elosua, and the sponsors of the year group, Joan Carles Trullàs and Jordi Aligué. All the students went up on stage in alphabetical order and in groups of six to receive their diplomas. Then they all addressed the audience, reciting the Hippocratic Oath together. This part concluded with the screening of the UAlumni video.

Institutional speeches

The next part of the ceremony focused on institutional speeches. The first speaker was Jaume Padrós, president of the Official College of Doctors of Barcelona, who began his speech by saying that "it has been a long time since I felt as excited as I do today." Padrós was referring to the launch of the Faculty of Medicine, and the fact that it ultimately became a reality despite all the setbacks. "We are here today to share a piece of history, the visionary efforts of Dr Josep Arimany," he said. The president of the College of Doctors of Barcelona also mentioned the lack of medical professionals Catalonia is currently experiencing, and in this regard, pointed out that "UVic-UCC has been able to respond with the doctors we need: who know how to serve the society to which they belong, and who are competent, highly educated, altruistic, generous, committed, with integrity...." He also gave some recommendations to the future doctors, advising them to remember the humanistic side of the profession and to learn from their patients, as "they will help you to be better doctors and better people," he said.

Josep Arimany, president of the Foundation for Advanced Health Sciences Studies (FESS), the institution that owns the Faculty of Medicine, made his speech accompanied by Anna Erra, the president of the Balmes University Foundation and the mayor of Vic, who he invited onto the stage. Arimany provided a chronology of the project for the Faculty of Medicine and "a dream that began in 2010," thanks in part to the trust placed in it by Erra. He offered words of thanks to the collaborating health centres, families and members of the FESS Board of Trustees, among others, and said that "the bachelor's degree course was created to train excellent doctors, with an advanced training and with the values of medical humanism." 

Anna Erra referred to the Faculty of Medicine as "a project for the city of Vic that we have made stronger with the passing of time, because with the strength and perseverance of Dr Arimany, we believed that the University should also have Medicine." She told the graduates: "With your efforts, dedication and perseverance, you have shown that in addition to your vocation and love for your profession you will be good doctors." Erra concluded her speech by hoping that they would cherish their memories of the cities of Vic and Manresa. The ceremony was also attended by Marc Aloy, president of the Board of Trustees of the Bages University Foundation and the mayor of Manresa, the city where the graduation ceremony of the Medicine students will take place next year.

Medical professionals of the future

Laura Vilagrà, the Minister of the Presidency of the Government of Catalonia, apologised for the absence of the Minister of Health, Manel Balcells, before going on to say: "Everything I have seen today is the result of the hard work done in recent years. UVic-UCC is a young university, but with a marvellous future ahead of it." The minister highlighted the value of the Catalan health system, and she said that its strengths must be "enhanced" based on an increasing range of training, consolidated professionals, adapting templates to needs, etc. She told the graduates: "We need you in the Catalan healthcare system because you are well trained, and we believe in you because your successes are our good fortune."

The final speech was given by the rector of UVic-UCC, Josep Eladi Baños, who discussed the meaning of graduation ceremonies based on some personal reflections from his own medical perspective. Baños told the graduates: "Today is the end of your time at the university, but you will probably return to this institution or to another one as a result of a need to update your training." He also referred to the "reality of the outside world" and pointed out that graduation is metaphorically the transition to professional adulthood. "Today is the end of a long road. You will soon take on a great social responsibility, because medicine is not just a job, it is a way of life." He told them that the MIR examination to become an Assistant Physician is just one examination among many, and that the most important thing is that "now it's your turn to learn how to be doctors." 
The rector's speech was followed by the hymn Gaudeamus Igitur, sung by Magalí Sare, who together with the students on bachelor's degree course in Medicine Claudia Minguell and Kenya Martí, was responsible for the musical performances which were interspersed throughout the ceremony. 

The event, which was presented by the TV3 television journalist Cristina Riba, ended with a group photo of all the graduating students on stage with a glass of cava outside the Atlàntida theatre.