The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine
The Faculty Goes On
Established to strengthen the healthcare landscape in Israel’s northern periphery, Bar-Ilan’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine called on the strength of its leadership, teaching staff, and students to persevere despite the stresses of wartime.
The Faculty Goes On
All medical schools seek to identify candidates with not only outstanding academic credentials and personal characteristics, but also the ability to excel in stressful situations. For the new Azrieli Faculty of Medicine cohort, however, there was no need for guesswork: On the day of their personal interviews, consecutive missile attacks from Lebanon sent everyone rushing for safe rooms. Then, in the quiet between the sirens, they picked up where they had left off. It’s an exceptional—to say the least—situation that became the norm last year, when constant rocket salvos disrupted research (and concentration); forced teaching to move online, and faculty and students from their homes; and made the already challenging work of learning and practicing medicine even more stressful and complicated.
Above: Students in Class Banner: From left to right: Prof. Lior Lowenstein, director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Galilee Medical Center, Prof. Orly Avni, dean of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, and Prof. Omry Koren, vice dean of resource development.
“It’s a testament to the strength and dedication of our community that we not only managed to remain open under the past year’s near-constant fire but also grew in critical areas of teaching and research,” explains Dean of Medicine Prof. Orly Avni, citing two new clinical-research centers established by the faculty in collaboration with physicians from affiliated hospitals. Both centers build on areas of faculty excellence and address issues of special relevance to the Galilee’s population. Avni also noted the launch of a full six-year medical degree program, which will help address Israel’s critical shortage of doctors, particularly in the periphery. And on that point, Avni is happy to offer an important reason for optimism.
“The events of the past year also testify to the commitment of our students, who recognize physicians’ critical contribution to strengthening this hard-hit region. In fact, almost all of our admitted students eagerly accepted our offer of enrollment, despite—and in some cases, even because—of the challenges faced by the Galilee.”
Growth Under Fire: 2024 in Numbers
Regional physicians who teach at the faculty benefitted from enrichment workshops on medical instruction and pedagogy.
Clinical-research centers were established, the first focusing on women’s health and the second on immunology. Seven additional centers, for the study of cancer and genetic disease; personalized medicine; and cardiovascular and metabolic disease, among others, are set to be established in the coming years.
Grants were secured for faculty research, totaling over NIS 16M.
Pre-clinical medical students were trained to lead resilience seminars in northern high schools, which aim to reduce stigmas surrounding mental health and equip teens to recognize distress.
