Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy, NNSMA is one of the medical schools in the Russian Federation which is located in the city of Nizhny Novgorod

Nizhny Novgorod

Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...

.

Organisation

The rector is Professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 Shakhov Boris Yevgenevich (Russian Шахов Борис Евгеньевич), D.Sc., Honored Worker of Science RF.

This medical school is currently ranked number 7 out of 46 higher medical institutions in Russia, acknowledged by World Health Organization

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

and is recognised by the governments of some other countries which send their students to this academy for medical education and training.

This academy also is associated with many teaching hospitals distributed throughout the city, where the students learn many basic clinical skills. There are 70 specialised departments with over 600 teaching staff. It has approximately 3000 students in 7 faculties which include:

• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Pediatrics
• Faculty of Pharmacy
• Faculty of Medico-prophylaxis (Preventive medicine)
• Faculty of Stomatology (Dentistry)
• Faculty of Higher Nursing Education
• Faculty of Preparatory courses (Pre-medical courses)

The administrative office of the academy is situated in Minin and Pozharsky Square (located alongside the Volga River

Volga River

The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...

 and the medical students live in dormitories on Meditsinskaya Street in Prioksky City District

Prioksky City District

Prioksky City District is one of the eight administrative districts of the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. It is located in the upper part of the city on the high right bank of the Oka River and has a land border only with Sovetsky City District along Meditsinskaya Street...

.

Faculty of Foreign Admissions

Besides Russian students, there are also students from foreign countries such as Malaysia, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, Maldives

Maldives

The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...

, Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

, Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 and many others who study in this academy. Some of the foreign students study medicine completely in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 medium, and some others study in Russian language

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

. The current Dean of the Foreign Students Department is Professor Elena Ivanovna Yerlikina, D.Sc., who is also the Head of the Department for Biochemistry.

However, students who study in English medium also have to study Russian language to be able to communicate with local Russian people who have very little knowledge of English, and thus being able to communicate with patients for basic clinical training.

Faculty of Medicine

Most students have to undergo one year of preliminary course for one year, before continuing their undergraduate studies. General Medicine program lasts after 6 years.

The first academic year of the General Medicine course begins with the teaching of fundamental medical sciences such as Medical Biology

Medical biology

Medical biology is a field of biology that has practical applications in medicine, health care and laboratory diagnostics. It includes many biomedical disciplines and areas of specialty that typically contain the "bio-" prefix such as:...

, Biophysics

Biophysics

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...

, General Chemistry

General chemistry

General chemistry is a course often taught at the high school and introductory university level. It is intended to serve as a broad introduction to a variety of concepts in chemistry and is widely taught...

 and Organic Chemistry

Organic chemistry

Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...

, History of Medicine

History of medicine

All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, death, and disease. Throughout history, illness has been attributed to witchcraft, demons, astral influence, or the will of the gods...

, Human Anatomy

Human anatomy

Human anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye...

, and so on. Because of the aforementioned, the course runs in a longer duration (a 6 year programme) as compared to General Medicine courses (5 year programmes) offered by other universities in other countries.

Clinical education starts officially on the third academic year with the so-called "cycles". Every few weeks, students are rotated and exposed to different parts of clinical medicine such as Internal Medicine

Internal medicine

Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...

, General Surgery

General surgery

General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...

, Infectious Diseases, Pediatrics

Pediatrics

Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...

, Obstetrics

Obstetrics

Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...

, Gynecology, Neurology

Neurology

Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...

, Orthopedics

Orthopedics

Orthopedics is the study of the musculoskeletal system. The Greek word 'ortho' means straight or correct and 'pedics' comes from the Greek 'pais' meaning children. For many centuries, orthopedists have been involved in the treatment of crippled children...

, Radiology

Radiology

Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...

, Public Health

Public health

Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...

 and so on. Classes are then conducted in different specialised hospitals within the Nizhny Novgorod region.

Upon graduation, the graduates are awarded a first professional degree

First professional degree

A professional degree prepares the holder for a particular profession by emphasizing competency skills along with theory and analysis. These professions are typically licensed or otherwise regulated by a governmental or government-approved body...

 which is the doctor of medicine

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 or M.D. which is an M.B.B.S. equivalent because the graduates have been trained in the field of general surgery. Students who have achieved very well academically are awarded with a red degree or a first class honor equivalent.

Postgraduate Programmes

Postgraduate courses are also provided for both Russian and international students. Among the courses are Internal Medicine

Internal medicine

Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...

, Pediatrics

Pediatrics

Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...

, Radiology

Radiology

Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...

, General Surgery

General surgery

General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...

, Traumatology

Traumatology

Traumatology is the study of wounds and injuries caused by accidents or violence to a person, and the surgical therapy and repair of the damage. Traumatology is a branch of medicine. It is often considered a subset of surgery and in countries without the specialty of trauma surgery it is most...

 and Orthopedics

Orthopedics

Orthopedics is the study of the musculoskeletal system. The Greek word 'ortho' means straight or correct and 'pedics' comes from the Greek 'pais' meaning children. For many centuries, orthopedists have been involved in the treatment of crippled children...

, Cardiovascular Surgery, Infectious Diseases, Neurology

Neurology

Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...

, Pediatric Surgery

Pediatric surgery

Pediatric surgery or paediatric surgery is a subspecialty of surgery involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults...

, Obstetric and Gynaecology, Epidemiology

Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...

, Hygiene

Hygiene

Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...

, Microbiology

Microbiology

Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...

, Orthodontics

Orthodontics

Orthodontics, orthodontia, or orthodonture is the first specialty of dentistry that is concerned with the study and treatment of malocclusions , which may be a result of tooth irregularity, disproportionate jaw relationships, or both...

etc.