Poland
From IFMSA SCOPE Wiki
| IFMSA-Poland | ||||
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| Location | 
change the location image. use Wikipedia | |||
| Participating cities (LC's) |
Bialystok, Bydgoszcz, Gdansk, Katowice, Krakow, Lodz, Lublin, Poznan, Szczecin, Warszawa, Wroclaw | |||
| Languages | Polish | |||
| Currency (How much is a BigMac?) | Zloty (1 zl), BigMac= 7,8 zl | |||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1), Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2) | |||
| Number of Doctors and beds per 1000 people | 3,55 doctors/1000 people and 5,1 beds/1000 people | |||
| Member of IFMSA since... | 1957 | |||
| Number of incoming students per year | 300 | |||
| Who are our NEO's | NEO in - Joanna Deren , NEO out- Joanna Gunarys | |||
| Our official website / Forum / Facebook group | www.ifmsa.pl [1] | |||
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Contents |
Welcome Note
Welcome to SCOPE (Standing Commitee on Professional Exchange) in Poland!
Overview
Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi),making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people,which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world[7] and one of the most populous members of the European Union.
Our health care system
Poland has the health care system based on general health insurance. Insured citizens are entitled to obtain free health services in the territory of Poland.
An insured person and family members are entitled to receive free health services from health care providers who have concluded relevant contracts with the regional branch of the National Health Fund (NFZ).
The hospitals
All medical fields are avaliable.
Our medical education
In Poland it takes 6 years to complete medicine ( 2 years of preclinical subjects, 4 years of clinical subjects). After graduation we have 1 year of intership.
Cultural differences
Poland, with 38,116,000 inhabitants,[ has the eighth-largest population in Europe and the sixth-largest in the European Union. It has a population density of 122 inhabitants per square kilometer (328 per square mile). |- Poland historically contained many languages, cultures and religions on its soil. The country had a particularly large Jewish population prior to World War II, when the Nazi Holocaust caused Poland's Jewish population, estimated at 3 million before the war, to drop to just 300,000. The outcome of the war, particularly the westward shift of Poland's borders to the area between the Curzon Line and the Oder-Neisse line, coupled with post-war expulsion of minorities, significantly reduced the country's ethnic diversity. According to the 2002 census, 36,983,700 people, or 96.74% of the population, consider themselves Polish, while 471,500 (1.23%) declared another nationality, and 774,900 (2.03%) did not declare any nationality. The largest minority nationalities and ethnic groups in Poland are Silesians (about 200,000), Germans (152,897 according to the census, 92% in Opole Voivodeship and Silesian Voivodeship), Belarusians (c. 49,000), Ukrainians (c. 30,000), Lithuanians, Russians, Roma, Jews, Lemkos, Slovaks, Czechs, and Lipka Tatars. Among foreign citizens, the Vietnamese are the largest ethnic group, followed by Greeks and Armenians. |- The Polish language, part of the West Slavic branch of the Slavic languages, functions as the official language of Poland. Until recent decades Russian was commonly learned as a second language but has been replaced by English and German as the most common second languages studied and spoken. |- In recent years, Poland's population has decreased because of an increase in emigration and a sharp drop in the birth rate. Since Poland's accession to the European Union, a significant number of Poles have emigrated to Western European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland in search of work. Some organizations have stated that Polish emigration is primarily caused by Poland's high unemployment rate (10.5% in 2007), with Poles searching for better work opportunities abroad. In April 2007, the Polish population of the United Kingdom had risen to approximately 300,000, and estimates place the Polish population in Ireland at 65,000. Some sources claim that the number of Polish citizens who emigrated to the UK after 2004 is as high as 2 million. This, however, is contrasted by a recent trend that shows that more Poles are leaving the country than coming in. |- Polish minorities are still present in the neighboring countries of Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania, as well as in other countries (see Poles for population numbers). Altogether, the number of ethnic Poles living abroad is estimated to be around 20 million.The largest number of Poles outside of Poland can be found in the United States.
Accommodation & Boarding
Lodging:
Free on bilateral agreement. Participants will usually live in student dormitories.
Board:
Provided by the hospital mensa or pocket money allocated by the LEO. The cost of unilateral units are 250 Euros (has to be PAID into an account number which will be provided by Contact Person or LEO at least 6 weeks before the exchnge starts. Not paying the money will result in cancelling the exchange)
Social program
Social activities will be organised by individual Local Committees. A student representative will be avaliable for contact and responsible for the well being of exchange participants. Excursions, sight-seeing, grill parties, night life activities etc will also be arranged. There will be plenty of opportunities for socialising with around 5-20 foreign students in each city per month.
Local & National transportation
There is an extensive, efficient and cheap transport system.
TRAIN:
Prices vary according to class and type of train. Intercity trains are the most expensive, express are the next level (listed on timetables in red), ordinary trains are the cheapest (listed in black). The sign 'R inside a box' means that a seat reservation is compulsory on that train. Agencies (usually less queues and the commission is 10%). Time tables: white backed =Arrivals (Przyjazdy) Yellow backed = Departures (Odjazdy). Time tables at train stations.
Student Discounts Reductions usually between 10-20% on international tickets if you have an ISIC card. Foreigners don't qualify for student discounts on National services unless they are studying in Poland. Wasteels Travel Agency sell train tickets with discount to students and under 25's.
BUS:
The semi-state run bus company PKS operates throughout Poland. There are a number of private bus companies.
Most cities and tourist areas have a cheap and efficient public transport system. Warsaw has a limited metro system. Tickets are available from 'Ruch' kiosks, news-stands or machines. Sometimes it is possible to buy tickets from the driver but they will usually cost more. Day tickets are recommended to save money. |- Rental ANN Rent a Car: available at most airports. from 55zl/day with insurance.
Weather
The climate is mostly temperate throughout the country. The climate is oceanic in the north and west and becomes gradually warmer and continental as one moves south and east. Summers are generally warm, with average temperatures between 20 °C (68 °F) and 27 °C (81 °F). Winters are cold, with average temperatures around 3 °C (37 °F) in the northwest and −8 °C (17.6 °F) in the northeast. Precipitation falls throughout the year, although, especially in the east; winter is drier than summer.
Social life
Come and try!
Exchange conditions
All information you will find on www.ifmsa.net -> IFMSA-Poland [2]
Feedback
Cities offered for exchange
- Bialystok- July, August - Bydgoszcz - July,August - Gdansk - July,August - Katowice - July, September* - Krakow - July, August - Lodz - July, August - Lublin - July, August - Poznan - July,August - Szczecin - July, August - Warszawa - July, August - Wroclaw - July, August
