MEDICAL HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING (1959)

In late November 1944, just after the liberation, the first free courses on personal hygiene took place in Zaječar, attended by numerous young people from town and nearby villages. After several months, it was concluded there was a need for a more permanent School of People’s Health and which open on March 1st, 1945 while the World War II was still raging in Yugoslavia. The main goal of the newly opened School of People’s Health was to educate different levels of medical assistants in the Timok Region. The teachers were doctors and medical specialists from Zaječar, while the school educated “nurses, pediatric nurses, neonatal nurses, and pharmacy assistants.” 

The Ministry of People’s Health signed a Decree on July 30th, 1948 founding a school for medical nurses in Zaječar, which was named in the beginning the School for Medical Assistants. Doctor Božidar Ivković was the first principal who previously run the first aid courses for firemen and workers. The classes were held at the former Girls’ Primary School, today “Jelena Majstorović” school. For a while, the classes were also held at the current Youth Center building. After changing five addresses, it had a more permanent stay at the old Gymnasium building since 1952. During all that time, the students were expected to contribute to health education of the people and help in the fight against ignorance, superstition and charlatans. For a long time, the classes were mainly theoretical, until the first laboratories and specialized classrooms were created in 1956 – for nursing, microbiology, biochemistry, analytic chemistry, dentistry, hematology, anatomy, physiology, obstetric, and physics. School library was founded in 1954, and dietetic kitchen opened in 1957. 

Since 1959 the school is located at a newly built High School Center. That same year a new department was founded – for laboratory assistants, as well as the department for sanitary technicians in 1960. After those changes, its name was changed as well: the Medical High School. In 1964 the Department for obstetric nurses was added to the program, and the school changed name in 1973 into “Dr Ivko Đolović”, a doctor from Boljevac killed during World War II. 

The theory was taught part-time by the best doctors and specialists from Zaječar Medical Center. According to many sources, without them and their enthusiasm there would be no medical school either. The school was attended from early days by students from all over eastern Serbia, and some of them lived in a boarding school, while others had to rent rooms.

Red Cross was the most popular organization in the school and all teachers and students were members, organizing for all villages and municipalities in the region the classes and workshops on healthy eating, first aid, etc. The school organized many extracurricular activities, such as Journal “The Medicine Man”, Club of Young Marxists, clubs for biology, French language, scouts, sports, arts and culture, etc. 

From 1977 to 1987 the Medical High School formed with three other high schools – Gymnasium, Economics and Trade, and Technical – the joint Center of Directed Education “AVNOJ”. After two years of joint basic education, the school provided education for the following specializations: pedagogy, pediatric, laboratory, obstetrical nursing, and dentistry. After the closing of the Centre, the independent Medical High School was reopened in 1987 and today offers education for the following professions: medical nurse – technician, pharmacy technician, pediatric nurse – technician, gynecological-obstetric nurse, and medical nurse-educator. 

SOURCES: 

Žarko Milošević, Medicinska škola u Zaječaru1948-1998. Zaječar, 1998.

Gimnazija i stručne škole u Zaječaru 1836/37–1986/87. Zaječar, 1987.

School Official Web Page: http://www.medicinskazajecar.edu.rs/