Challenging the concerns that technology will render the medical profession obsolete, Founding Dean Prof. Haydar Sur stated, “Medical practices and the profession of medicine will no longer be the same, and we are aware of this. However, the claim that ‘Artificial Intelligence will replace doctors’ is entirely incorrect. Those who make such claims understand neither medicine nor artificial intelligence.”
Prof. Sur: “There are no shortcomings in our educational infrastructure; our cadavers, lecture halls, and library are fully equipped. Our students begin integrating into the scientific world starting from their second year.”
Prof. Haydar Sur, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Üsküdar University, explained that medicine is currently undergoing the most profound and rapid transformation in its history.
The profession of medicine will never become obsolete
Responding to questions and concerns that technology might eliminate the medical profession, Prof. Haydar Sur said: “The times we are living in represent the period of the most rapid and fundamental changes in the tens of thousands of years of medical history. Nothing will remain as it was, and medical practices and the medical profession will also change drastically. We are aware of this. However, the claim that ‘Artificial Intelligence will replace doctors’ is entirely wrong. Those who talk this way do not understand medicine or artificial intelligence. Because the situations in which AI will be beneficial are those where it is kept under human control. Therefore, not only will the medical profession never become obsolete, but it will also become one of the professions that uses AI the most. This makes it easier for us to predict the physician profile of the 21st century.”
Physicians will be the best users of artificial intelligence
“Doctors have always been intelligent individuals; they will also be the best users of artificial intelligence,” said Prof. Sur.
“I can rephrase the claim that AI will replace doctors like this: physicians will be among the professionals who use AI the most. The change will happen in this direction. We will maintain a close relationship with technology, machine learning, and the Internet of Things, and we will ensure that these technologies transfer data to the flawless filter of the human brain. Our work will become much easier, we will practice medicine with much greater accuracy, our skills will improve, and we will become doctors who make far fewer errors in diagnoses, treatment methods, and the evaluation of laboratory findings.”
Medicine and engineering are converging
Noting that their medical education already reflects some of the technological changes, Prof. Sur continued: “But this is not enough. In the coming years, we will have to do much more. Because the truth is this: the medical profession is gradually approaching the engineering profession. Due to fields like bioengineering, biomedical engineering, and molecular biology and genetics, the gap between these two professions is narrowing, and collaborating on joint projects has become a necessity. Neither doctors alone can fully manage this transformation, nor can engineers because they lack knowledge on the healthcare side. By combining our strengths, we will work together to use artificial intelligence to best serve humanity in training future physicians.”
The great importance of multidisciplinary collaboration
Stating that there are joint courses with engineering faculties in the field of health informatics and technologies, Prof. Haydar Sur emphasized, “But that is not enough. From the cellular level to all the diagnostic and treatment methods we use in healthcare, multidisciplinary collaboration is extremely important. There are still many unknowns about the human body. What we know is minimal compared to what we do not. On the journey of discovering these unknowns together, multidisciplinary work will be critical.”
Project-based medicine…
Prof. Haydar Sur also noted that from now on, medicine will increasingly operate on a project management basis, stating: “This requires an innovative stance. In estimating unknowns and saying, ‘I can research this using that method,’ the human brain will still play a role. Machines and artificial intelligence will assist in turning these into hypotheses and testing them by providing us with the necessary data. AI will guide us in producing hypotheses by analyzing big data. However, it will again be the human brain that interprets the results derived from this big data and applies them to the human body, human life, and human spirit to contribute to building healthier individuals and societies. While AI presents data and results to us as dead numbers, it is the human brain that will give them life, apply them to reality, and even contribute significantly to answering the fundamental question: ‘Why am I here in this world?’”
Medical education at Üsküdar University’s Faculty of Medicine
Stating that quality medical education stands on a three-legged foundation, Prof. Sur said: “First, the educational infrastructure, learning environment, and information systems must be well-designed; second, teaching must be effectively conducted in classrooms; and third, the master-apprentice relationship must be established in the practical implementation of the profession. At Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, we offer a solid and intensive education in the first three years with over 40 faculty members from the basic sciences. Our students undergo rigorous training in their 2nd and 3rd years, but courses like physiology, anatomy, and histology draw them into the medical profession. In the 4th, 5th, and 6th years, they complete clinical internships both in our affiliated hospitals and in the Ministry of Health’s Education and Research Hospitals. This ensures they receive solid hands-on training by experiencing every clinical setting.”
Students integrate into the scientific world starting from the second year
Prof. Sur shared that alumni often say, “When we went out into the field, we received great praise. We realized how valuable the things you taught us in the first three years were.”
“We have no shortcomings in our educational infrastructure; our cadavers, lecture halls, and library are fully equipped. Our students begin integrating into the scientific world starting from the second year. When I see students working passionately and encouraging one another in the library, the fatigue of 60 years lifts from my shoulders.”
The pride of being the founding dean
Prof. Haydar Sur also shared his feelings about the faculty, which has given its first graduates this year: “I was very excited when I graduated in 1986. But to be honest, I was even more excited when I handed diplomas to the first graduates of the faculty we built with our own hands. For a professor, instilling values such as medical ethics, love for humanity, and the importance of health in young people as they enter the professional world is an incomparable joy and immense fulfillment.”
Prof. Sur noted that students who choose the medical faculty, especially Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, make a highly informed decision. “They often say, ‘We read the CVs of all the professors before coming, and we already knew who you were.’ Families sit down together and read through all the faculty members’ CVs. This is one of the faculty’s strengths. You will not find a single professor here who just ended up here by chance. Every one of them has a success story from some of Türkiye’s most established medical faculties. They brought that experience here. We started out as if we were already a 40-year-old faculty. If our students were not so conscious and inquisitive, I would have no reason to strive as much. One of my students once asked a question, and I had to admit, ‘I do not know the answer—let me study it and get back to you next week.’ I did just that. The next week, I explained the topic. The student said, ‘Professor, I did not think you’d actually look into it, but now I see that you took it seriously, you have shown me I matter to you.’ A teacher’s greatest source of energy, that is their battery, is their students,” he concluded.
The challenge of medical education and the importance of cadavers
“Medical school is a six-year program with 42 departments. A general practitioner is expected to have knowledge and experience in all 42 of these fields. And that experience is not gained in a classroom, but in practice,” said Prof. Haydar Sur, continuing: “Cadaver-based education is extremely important in medical training. At our university, we have both a model laboratory equipped with anatomical figures from the most prestigious brands and a cadaver lab. First, we demonstrate on the models, and then proceed to the cadaver. Although lifeless, the cadaver is the first encounter with a human body. It is there that we teach both the anatomy of the human body and respect for the human being and human structure. We tell our students: ‘This person has donated their body to science, allowing you to potentially save many lives. If you cannot respect this person, you will not be able to respect a living human being either.’ That lab is sacred to us. The discipline students develop there is vital in shaping what kind of physicians they will become.”
A message to future medical students
Addressing future doctors, Prof. Sur added: “If you love working with people, if you want to be part of a profession that directly impacts human life, and if you want to earn not only a financial income but also love and gratitude from people, and there is no better profession than medicine. Becoming a physician may be a challenge, but it’s not impossible. Nothing done with love feels difficult. Place your hand over your heart and ask yourself, ‘Do I love people? Do I want to pursue a profession that deals with human life?’ If the answer is yes, then medicine is the best profession you can choose.”
A groundbreaking minor opportunity for medical students!
Prof. Sur highlighted Üsküdar University’s thematic education model in health and behavioral sciences, noting that the university is also breaking traditional boundaries in medical and dental education, opening new horizons for students. He emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary development through minor programs: “Students from the Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry can now pursue minors in a variety of fields from engineering to psychology, forensic sciences to health management, adding a multidisciplinary vision to their careers. Thanks to this opportunity, a medical student can minor in Computer or Software Engineering and specialize in areas such as AI applications in healthcare or telemedicine systems in the future. Similarly, a student who chooses Bioengineering as a minor can gain in-depth knowledge in areas like genetics or tissue engineering. A dentistry student can minor in Psychology and stand out by learning how to communicate with and manage patients suffering from dental anxiety. This multidisciplinary approach not only provides graduates with a second area of specialization, but also equips them with the skills to develop innovative solutions to the complex problems of the modern healthcare sector.”
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)