Minister Orazio Schillaci and Councillor Luisa Regimenti were among the guests at the first meeting
On Tuesday 7th November, in the lecture theatre of the UniCamillus UniLabs buildings, a series of Third Mission conferences entitled “Horizons of Medicine: where Science meets Society — A multicultural interdisciplinary dimension for future health professionals” began with the first of eight meetings planned for the academic year 2023/2024. Among the guests were the Italian Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, and the Councillor for Personnel, Local Police, Local Authorities and Urban Safety of the Lazio Region, Luisa Regimenti. They were joined by the Rector of UniCamillus, Gianni Profita, the President of the UniCamillus Faculty of Medicine, Barbara Tavazzi, the UniCamillus Delegate for Medical Pedagogy, Federica Wolf, and the UniCamillus Scientific Representative and Third Mission Delegate, Donatella Padua.
The event was opened by the Rector, who declared in his institutional greetings: “The best foreign policy is the one that brings health to the countries that need it most. Doctors and nurses, with clinics and ambulances, can testify better than any warship to the generosity and excellence of our great country. All the young people from dozens of countries who graduate from UniCamillus in health disciplines are the best ambassadors of this unique and noble foreign policy”.
“Three are the key directions for the future: to improve public health, to make it accessible to all and to make it sustainable”, the Minister emphasised, reiterating the concept of sustainability within the One-Health framework, an integrated approach to health that closely links human, animal and environmental health. But it is not just about sustainability, as the Minister stressed when he spoke of the present as a “turning point: behind us is the pandemic, and in the future, digital health”. A healthcare system that makes health accessible to all, even where it’s not easily accessible. “But it’s not just about equipment”, added Councillor Luisa Regimenti, who is also a Medical Examiner: “human nature is the foundation of it all: a true and sincere vocation is the spirit to carry out the mission of a doctor”.
The conference also looked at the future of medicine from a multidisciplinary perspective, focusing on the various political, health, social and educational aspects of the issue. In her speech, Professor Wolf stressed that “the figure of the future is that of the Medical Expert, a doctor who can communicate and promote health, as well as constantly keeping up to date to provide quality care”. Professor Tavazzi added: “The world of medicine is changing at the same pace as technology in all areas of biomedicine. The doctor of the future needs to be trained in technology, but at the same time he must not lose sight of the patient as a person”. Professor Padua concluded by emphasising humanity: “Between the future of medicine and the medicine of the future lies the irreplaceability of the human being both as a doctor and as a patient”.
