Slovak Medical Association

Legionárska 4, 813 22 Bratislava
Tel:	+421 2/ 554 24 015
	+421 2/ 555 656 75
Fax.:	+421 2/ 554 22 363
E -mail : secretarysma@ba.telecom.sk

The Slovak Medical Association (SkMA), as an affiliation of professional medical and pharmaceutical companies, regional societies of doctors and pharmacists, is a civil association representing almost a 20,000 member base, of which more than 15,000 are doctors and other university-educated specialists working in healthcare and almost 4,000 healthcare workers with a secondary or higher education (nurses, care workers, technical assistants).

The tradition of the SkMA goes back to the 19th century: on 5 January 1833 a group of young people studying at the Medical Faculty in Pest led by Jonáš Bohumil Guoth established the Slavonic Medical Society, as a self-learning medical society. It was an important national-cultural step, by which our medical community joined the ranks of the network of medical societies in Central Europe, comparable with the activity of Czech doctors, who led by J.E.Purkyne at that time established the Czech Medical Society (1862), or with the already established Society of Hungarian Doctors set up in former Hungary (1840).

The new tradition developed from the first years following the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic, with the establishment of the first doctor's associations (e.g. in Košice in 1919, and in Bratislava in 1920) and professional medical societies (e.g. Czechoslovak surgery- gynaecology society in 1921, followed by others), which in 1969 comprised the organisational units of the unified Slovak Medical Association. The Slovak Medical Association freely affiliates top medical specialists, pedagogues and scientific workers (professors, associated professors, hospital directors, department heads etc.), operating in both the public and private spheres.

The Slovak Medical Association is a non-governmental voluntary organisation, without the participation of governmental, political or commercial institutions, which affiliates people working in public or private healthcare facilities, research and faculty institutions, or in private surgeries and clinics. It affiliates individual members from the ranks of doctors and medical specialists from all fields.

The Slovak Medical Association represents medical professions, and initiates, submits, promotes and publishes proposals and standpoints:

1. to issues concerning the professionalism and science of individual medical professions,
2. to issues concerning the possibilities of applying top diagnostic and treatment procedures to medical practice,
3. to issues on ethics of doctors and healthcare workers as individuals and as those who apply diagnostic and therapeutic procedures,
4. to issues concerning existing and prepared legislative norms in healthcare,
5. to issues concerning specialised tasks in the system of further education,
6. on the nomination of experts to various committees.

It initiates and mediates the practical transfer of the latest scientific, specialised, medical, diagnostic and treatment observations by way of non-institutional education.

The Slovak Medical Association associates its members horizontally in Associations of medical experts by region or by jurisdiction in hospitals, regardless of the field or specialisation (doctors associations, pharmacists associations and associations of healthcare workers with secondary and higher education) as well as vertically depending on the specialisation in Professional associations, regardless of the regional jurisdiction. Membership in regional Associations (48) and in nationwide Professional associations (85) is only possible via individual membership in the Slovak Medical Association.

The mission of the Slovak Medical Association is to make broad medical circles aware of the latest scientific findings and professional observations by way of organised scientific events and scientific congresses, conferences, symposiums and other professional meetings with domestic and foreign participation, to support the involvement of our own experts in similar events abroad and to publish and support the issue of professional magazines and publications.

Of growing importance are activities with regard to international contacts, pursuant to membership of the SMA in international non-governmental organisations - WMA (World Medical Association), EFMA and WHO (European Forum of Medical Associations and World Health Organization), UEMS (Union of European Medical Specialists), CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences), CP (Standing Committee of European Doctors) as well as membership of professional associations in partner European and world organisations. In the majority of them the SMA is the sole national representative for the Slovak Republic.

This mission and standing of the Slovak Medical Association has always been acknowledged not only by its own member base, but also by professional communities and executive social institutions at both home and abroad.

	Doc. MUDr. Peter Pružinec, CSc.		Prof. MUDr. Peter Krištúfek, CSc.
	Secretary General		President

General Information about the Slovak Republic