Northern Stars-Mifal Hapais Second Cohort Launch

The second cohort of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine Northern Stars residents program was inaugurated on July 15, 2021, thanks to the support of Mifal Hapais.

Northern Stars is a unique program aimed at attracting the most outstanding residents to the Galilee, to specialize in Family Medicine. The first cohort, also thanks to the support of Mifal Hapais, was dedicated to internal medicine and surgery.

Noam David Reshelbach, Administrative Head of the Azrieli Faculty, opened up the ceremony by inviting Prof. Offer Amir, director of the program, to the podium.

Prof. Amir declared that the Faculty has "won the jackpot twice" (Mifal Hapais is the national lottery of Israel), in that this is the second cohort. He anticipates that by leading the attempt to attract the best physicians to the North, and making it possible for them to settle there long term, in the long run not only will the Galilee benefit but all peripheral regions in the country, and Israel as a whole.

Next to speak was Dr. Lilach Malatskey, Vice Dean for Community Education, and Chairman of the Israeli Society of Lifestyle Medicine, Israel Association of Family Physicians. She spoke of three dreams, with the hope that they are shared by the residents: To be a doctor, to specialize in Family Medicine, and to live in and build up the Galilee.

After a short film on the Azrieli Faculty, the Rector of Bar-Ilan University, Prof. Amnon Albeck, spoke, also about dreams, aspirations: ten years ago the dream was to establish a faculty of medicine at Bar-Ilan; now the  dream is to make sure the best medical care reaches the periphery - which is possible thanks to programs such as Northern Stars.

Erez Granit of Mifal Hapais spoke next, about bringing human capital to the periphery, a national priority. He noted that high-tech learned to function well remotely, due to Corona, but that with medicine the human touch is still so crucial.

Prof. Karl Skorecki, Dean of the Azrieli Faculty, thanked all those involved in the program, including Mifal Hapais, the hospitals and Kupat Holim heads who work with the Northern Stars residents, and all those involved in lifelong learning, one of the values stressed at Azrieli. He too mentioned that this is an investment with short as well as long term results.

Also expressing their support from the podium were Dr. Mordy Dayan, director of Clalit Northern Region; Chaim Shulman of the Authority for the Development of the Galilee; and Alexey Belinsky of the Ministry of Health.

Each of the six residents introduced themselves before being presented with a certificate, after which Dr. Dafna Willner, Director of Anesthesiology and Surgery at GMC spoke about plans for the next cohort - in anesthesiology and intensive care.

The group then shifted on to a light lunch with presentations by Prof. Chaim Putterman, Associate Dean for Research, and Dr. Sivan Spitzer-Shohat, Head of Population Health Education. They presented opportunities and research projects currently being carried out at the Faculty.

The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine thanks Mifal Hapayis and the Authority for the Development of the Galilee for their support, and wishes the best of success to the new medical residents:

Dr. Shira Duamel
Dr. Liran Giladi
Dr. Ilia Halifin
Dr. Amit Katz
Dr. Naama Sitri
Dr. Miflach Tatur

Pictures can be seen here.