Half a century ago

It was indeed with some pride, great satisfaction and a fair amount of nostalgia that I read the ever popular Half a Century Ago in The Times (August 31) referring to Wednesday, August 31, 1955.

It all referred to momentous steps in the history of our Medical School as it recalled a milestone in that it was the first-ever clinical clerkship of two German medical students, who spent three months at St Luke's Hospital and were also, incidentally, a boost to the fledging Maltese tourism industry.

It had all started back in October 1954, in Rome at the Third General Assembly of the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA), which the then British Medical Students Association (Malta Branch) attended for the first time. The association was represented by Edward De Bono, now professor and the lateral thinking pioneer; the late Joseph De Martino, who passed away at the start of a very promising medical career; Anthony Jaccarini, later professor at the University, and yours truly, who, in fact, subsequently became the first Professional Exchange Officer when this post was created soon after the Rome meeting - I later became the association's president until I graduated MD in 1958.

At the Rome meeting, a historical decision was concluded wherein after talks with the BMSA, it was agreed that we, as a Malta Association, become completely independent, a participant of international bodies, and financially solvent - remember this was 1955 and no one, in politics or otherwise, had ever mentioned independence. This agreement was subsequently fully endorsed by fellow medical students back in Malta, and our association hence became the Malta Medical Students Association (MMSA), which it still is up to this day.

I still vividly recall the day when these two German medical students had crossed, by sea, from Syracuse to Malta after travelling by train from Munich. They were met at our port by John Casaletto, later orthopaedic surgeon and still working in England, and myself, and The Times had also published photos of this new venture.

Most importantly, it was just the very start as up to this day innumerable medical students, from all over the world, have come and gone to do clerkships at our prestigious Medical School at St Luke's Hospital. Let us hope that this will always continue in the years to come, just as Maltese medical students, in virtue of these exchanges, go abroad on such assignments.

That same year and some weeks after John Mangion, Vincent Mansueto - both since doctors and working in the UK - and I went to a clerkship at Belgrade General Hospital along with others who went all over Europe as clerking pioneers and all did exceedingly well - a credit to our Alma Mater.