The event on ‘The Meaning and Importance of March 14th Medical Day’ was held by Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine at the Ibn Sina Auditorium. Prof. Dr. Nil Sarı, Head of the Department of Medical History and Ethics at Biruni University Faculty of Medicine, participated as a speaker in the program, which covered the history of Medical Day and medical students.
The event, moderated by Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine Department of Cardiovascular Surgery Head and Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak, was attended by Prof. Dr. Tayfun Uzbay, Head of the Internal Medical Sciences Department of the Faculty of Medicine and Rector's Advisor; Prof. Dr. Şefik Dursun, Head of the Occupational Therapy Department of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Rector's Advisor; Prof. Dr. Arif Aktuğ Ertekin, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences; Prof. Dr. Yumuşhan Günay, Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry; Prof. Dr. Halis Köylü, Head of the Department of Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine; Prof. Dr. İbrahim Öztek, Head of the Department of Medical Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine; Prof. Dr. Sadettin Çalışkan, Professor in Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine; and Prof. Dr. Mevlüt Sait Keleş, Head of the Department of Medical Biochemistry within the Basic Medical Sciences Department of the Faculty of Medicine.
Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak: “A professional group living not for themselves, but for others”
Underlining that a sacred profession is being performed in his speech, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak said: “This year’s March 14th Medical Day took place in a somewhat sorrowful atmosphere. The beginning of Medical Day is also like that. First and foremost, I wish God’s mercy upon all our citizens and healthcare workers who lost their lives in the earthquake. Healthcare professionals are, at one point, a professional group that lives not for themselves, but for others. We are a professional group that rushes to the hospital, leaving their children and spouses at home when an incident occurs. We are a group that has adopted a lifestyle and struggles with that lifestyle. That is why we are performing a sacred profession. In that period, too, a bright morning dawned after a dark night amid difficulties.”
Prof. Dr. Nil Sarı: “Medical Day is our unique, national holiday”
Providing information about the history and purpose of March 14th Medical Day, Prof. Dr. Nil Sarı, Head of the Department of Medical History and Ethics at Biruni University Faculty of Medicine, said: “Our Medical Day has a special characteristic. This holiday is not celebrated by the world. It is our unique national holiday. It is only celebrated in Turkey and holds great significance for us. On October 30, 1918, the Armistice of Mudros was signed. The Allied Powers inserted a clause; they said, ‘If we feel a security threat, we will be able to occupy any place.’ A short time after the occupation in 1919, in a photo taken in 1920, they are attending class in pajamas. After the events, some medical students joined the Kuvay-i Milliye to participate in the War of Independence. Medical students thought, ‘What can we do for a revolt against this occupation?’ There was also a risk of arrest, and administrators warned, ‘Do not get into trouble.’ They thought, ‘This country is ours, we will protect it, what can we do for this?’ To protest, they chose the date of the opening of Tıphane-i Amire to celebrate. In 1827, modern medical education was initiated. The education you receive is modern medical education. It is evidence-based. It is medicine developed in the West that we adopted and learned much later.”
The reflection of the spirit of independence displayed by medical students against the occupation of the homeland…
Prof. Dr. Nil Sarı pointed out that the March 14th holiday also reflects the spirit of independence displayed by medical students against the occupation of the homeland; “Memduh Necdet Bey also spoke at the first celebration on March 14, 1919. He expressed the contribution of Tıbbiye (Military Medical School) to the defense of the homeland in World War I with numbers. It was announced that during World War I, a total of 765 medical students—680 Turks, 40 Greeks, 35 Armenians, and 10 Jews—served in the army, and 415 of them were martyred. Our March 14th Holiday, celebrated annually to represent the official transition of our medical education from Eastern to Western medicine due to the opening of Tıphane-i Amire on March 14, 1827, is also a reflection of the spirit of independence displayed by medical students against the occupation of the homeland. Whether in the Ottoman or Seljuk periods, their architecture never touched nature. Burning, destroying, annihilating is this European mentality. Harming nature, experimenting on humans and harming them is the European mentality. We need to abandon this now.”
Prof. Dr. İbrahim Öztek: “The hoisted flag is the first torch of our war of independence”
Prof. Dr. İbrahim Öztek, Head of the Department of Medical Pathology at Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, touched upon the great importance of Tıbbiyeli Hikmet. Öztek said: “Tıbbiyeli Hikmet is very important. On March 14, 1919, during those days of enemy occupation, today’s Health Sciences University building, more commonly known as Haydarpaşa High School in Istanbul, was founded by Sultan Abdülhamit. 8-10 years before that, Haydarpaşa Military Hospital was established. During the time of Sultan Abdülmecid, the wisdom and importance of Tıbbiye comes from this: while the Faculty of Medicine building was the headquarters of the occupying forces, Tıbbiyeli Hikmet and his friends wanted to celebrate March 14th. Despite various obstacles, that building has two large structures. They hung a Turkish flag between those towers, visible from all over Istanbul. That flag waved there, and all of Istanbul saw it, and the occupying forces were horrified by this sight. The flag hoisted there by Tıbbiyeli Hikmet is, in my opinion, the first torch of our war of independence.”
The program, which attracted considerable interest from students, concluded after a group photo session.