Bory Hospital in Bratislava became a university hospital in September. The Faculty of Medicine at Comenius University Bratislava has expanded its existing cooperation with the hospital, giving medical students another modern setting in which to connect theoretical knowledge with clinical practice. A total of seven departments of the Faculty of Medicine are being established at Bory Hospital. For the training of future emergency medicine specialists, the hospital will be the only clinical teaching facility in Slovakia with an emergency department. More than a thousand medical students are undertaking clinical placements at the hospital during the current winter semester.
Bory Hospital Expands Cooperation with Comenius University
“The establishment of seven departments of the Faculty of Medicine at Comenius University at Bory Hospital opens up new opportunities for the development of university education, medical research and high-quality healthcare. Students will gain specialist knowledge and practical skills in a modern clinical environment while also learning to take a responsible approach to patients. I believe this partnership will make a significant contribution to the training of future doctors and to the further development of Slovak healthcare,” said prof. JUDr. Marek Števček, DrSc., Rector of Comenius University Bratislava.
“We welcome the expansion of clinical teaching facilities at Bory Hospital as an opportunity to further improve practical training for our students. In a modern hospital setting, they can connect theoretical knowledge with practice, gain valuable experience and contacts, and develop skills they will use in their future medical careers,” added prof. MUDr. Juraj Payer, PhD., MPH, FRCP, FEFIM, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Comenius University Bratislava.
University Hospital Status Supports Medical Education at Bory
“Achieving university hospital status is an important milestone for Bory Hospital and a commitment for the future. Our ambition is to create an environment in which modern medicine and education come together naturally. We are pleased that, in cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine at Comenius University, we can offer future doctors high-quality facilities for clinical practice and help train a new generation of healthcare professionals. We believe that investing in the education of young doctors is also an investment in the quality and future of Slovak healthcare,” said MUDr. Ivan Vulev, PhD., MPH, FCIRSE, CEO of Bory Hospital and the CINRE cardiac centre.
Seven Clinical Departments at Bory Hospital and Emergency Medicine Training
The units at Bory Hospital that provide practical teaching are being designated as academic clinical departments. A total of seven departments are being established in emergency medicine, nuclear medicine, gynaecology and obstetrics, surgery, neurosurgery, urology and otorhinolaryngology. For the training of future emergency medicine specialists, Bory Hospital will be the only clinical teaching facility in Slovakia with an emergency department.
Medical Simulation Training at Bory Hospital’s Education Centre
In addition to hands-on clinical practice and the opportunity to work as part of hospital teams under the supervision of experienced specialists, students can also use Bory Hospital’s modern education centre. It offers simulators on which they can safely practise a range of medical procedures without putting patients at risk. Facilities include a training operating theatre, a childbirth simulator, a fully equipped intensive care training unit and a standard patient room.
Clinical Departments of Bory Hospital and Comenius University:
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University and Bory Hospital
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University and Bory Hospital
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University and Bory Hospital
- 2nd Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University and Bory Hospital
- 2nd Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University and Bory Hospital
- 3rd Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University and Bory Hospital
- 5th Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University and Bory Hospital
The heads of the individual departments will be appointed through the selection procedures currently under way. The results are expected during November.
Practical Training for Over 2000 Students a Year at Bory Hospital
Bory Hospital has provided practical teaching for students since it opened in 2023. Throughout the academic year, hundreds of students come to the hospital, including medical students training to become doctors, students on professional placements, doctors undertaking further training, and nursing students from universities and secondary schools.
Clinical Placements for Comenius University Medical Students
Undergraduate medical education at the hospital takes the form of clinical placements for individual student groups. More than a thousand medical students are undertaking these placements during the current winter semester.
During 2025, 1,475 medical students from the Faculty of Medicine at Comenius University completed placements in Bory Hospital’s clinical units, including surgery, nuclear medicine, gynaecology and obstetrics, and otorhinolaryngology. More than 900 students completed placements in the winter semester and more than 500 in the summer semester.
Alongside compulsory practical teaching, the hospital also offers professional placements, placements before final state examinations and voluntary placements. A total of 107 students completed these in 2025. Students came from universities in Slovakia and abroad, most frequently from the Czech Republic, as well as Poland, Italy, the United Kingdom and Brazil.
Clinical Training for Nursing and Allied Healthcare Students
Students in non-medical healthcare disciplines also come to the hospital for clinical placements, including students training in nursing, practical nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, paramedicine and radiography. They attend universities or secondary healthcare schools in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Approximately 470 students completed various types of placements during 2025.
In May this year, the hospital also hosted its first-ever secondary school leaving examinations. They were taken by 24 students training to become practical nurses at the Secondary Healthcare School on Strečnianska Street in Bratislava. All of them passed the practical component of the examination.