The School of Medicine (Croatian: Medicinski fakultet or MEF) in Zagreb is a Croatian medical school affiliated with the University of Zagreb. It is the oldest and biggest of the four medical schools in Croatia (the other three being in Osijek, Rijeka and Split), having been established in 1917 and with 1,775 students enrolled as of 2008. 

School profile 

The School of Medicine in Zagreb was originally envisioned as one of the four founding members of the modern University of Zagreb in the Croatian Parliament's piece of legislation passed on 13 January 1874, at the time when Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia was a constituent part of Austria-Hungary. The university was officially inaugurated by Ivan Mažuranić on 19 October 1874. The Faculty of Catholic Theology and the Faculty of Law had already been operating and the Faculty of Philosophy was launched that year with the first generation of students. However, the School of Medicine's official launch was postponed due to lack of funding. 

This situation prolonged and the school had to wait for more than 40 years to open its doors to students. On 13 November 1917 the Croatian Parliament passed a decree, approved by the Viennese Court Chancellery (Hofkanzlei), which stipulated that the School of Medicine is to be established, and that three professors are to be appointed to organise the school and hire the required teaching staff. Thus, the school's first professors became Theodor Wickerhauser, Miroslav Čačković and Dragutin Mašek. 

On 17 December 1917 the first professors' conference was held, and this date is officially celebrated as the school's day. The very first lecture was held on 12 January 1918, delivered by professor Drago Perović. In the following years, the school significantly expanded its teaching staff, and a number of specialised clinics affiliated with the school were established, such as the clinics for internal medicine (1920), obstetrics and gynaecology (1920), neuropsychiatry (1921), otolaryngology (1921), pediatrics (1922), dermatology and venereal diseases (1922), orthopedics (1922), stomatology (1922), and an institute for radiology and occupational therapy (1922). In the early 1980s the school moved into their new central building in the Šalata neighborhood in northern Zagreb. The building was officially opened on 25 May 1981, when Frano Kršinić's sculpture Girl Holding a Book (Djevojka s knjigom) was unveiled. 

History 

The first requests for the establishment of a medical study in Croatia date back to 1790. After the founding of the modern university in Zagreb (1874), a long, persistent and arduous struggle for the establishment of a medical faculty began. At that time, the Faculty of Law and Theology were already operating within the University, it was developing philosophically, and only, for political reasons, the establishment of the Faculty of Medicine was repeatedly postponed. The goal was finally achieved only in 1917, on the eve of the inevitable collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. 

University Mission Statement

The mission of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb includes the Faculty's efforts to educate competent health professionals who will use their knowledge to improve medical practice, education and science. The aim of the Faculty is to enroll excellent students who will understand the theoretical and practical, psychological, sociological, economic and cultural factors that affect health and disease, be willing to take care of their patients, take the necessary actions and show compassion for the patient and his loved ones on promoting the health of the individual and the community. 

The Faculty of Medicine wants to offer a student-centered program that integrates basic sciences, excellent clinical education, professional standards and ethical principles, applies the best educational methods, and recognizes and rewards the best students. The research mission of the Faculty of Medicine consists of the implementation of research programs based on cooperation, focused on innovation and connecting scientists in the field of basic, public health and clinical sciences. The faculty wants to create a stimulating intellectual environment, promote scientific and humanitarian aspects of medical practice while conducting scientific research in international and national projects that result in scientific progress, application in the teaching process and improvement of health care.

University Vision Statement

The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zagreb is a national, internationally recognized faculty for excellence in education, scientific research and knowledge transfer and application in the field of biomedicine and health.