Social Psychiatry, Vol. 44 No. 4, 2016.
Editorial
Vrapče Hospital as an education center (The place and role of Vrapče Hospital in psychiatric education)
Vlado Jukić
; Vrapče Hospital
Abstract
The University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče (under the name „Stenjevec Department for the Mentally
Ill“) was built in 1878 and 1879. In addition to housing and treatment of patients, it was also intended to
perform the role of an educational institution from its inception. During construction, it was emphasized
that „since the madhouse is not only for treatment and storage, but has to also be a place of learning, it
must be built near Zagreb, where the university is being formed“…. The inital educational programs were
intended for the first employees of the hospital and were developed and conducted by the first Director of
the hospital, Dr. Ivan Rohaček. Later, the educational programs were directed towards other employees, and
soon towards those who encounter persons with mental illness in their work but are not employed at the
hospital. Initially, psychiatry classes were organized in the hospital for Medical School students, and later
also for students of other branches of the University of Zagreb (the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Education and
Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry
and the Centre for Croatian Studies) and the University of Applied Health Sciences. A particularly high level
of educational programs is provided for postgraduate students (from individual branches of psychiatry,
psychology, and pharmacy) and psychiatry specialists and subspecialists in forensic psychiatry (and other branches). Another aspect of education is the organization of various lectures, consulting, symposiums
and round tables. A large number of prominent Vrapče Hospital professionals have been taking part in
all of these education programs, i.e. in the education of those for whom the programs are intended (27
professionals from the Vrapče Hospital received teaching or research positions at the university; nine former
employees of the hospital, based on the knowledge that was imparted to them at Vrapče Hospital, achieved
positions in other educational fields). The hospital has an excellent infrastructure for conducting all these
education programs (an Education Center with a lecture hall for 250 participants that can be divided into
two halls with 100 seats each, five halls with around fifty and seven halls with 20 to 30 seats).
Keywords
Vrapče Hospital; Education in psychiatry
Hrčak ID:
174627
URI
Publication date:
5.12.2016.
Visits: 4.557 *