Professor Juraj Payer elected President of the Slovak Medical Association for the 2026–2029 term
The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University Bratislava will assume the post on 1 January 2026.
The delegates of the electoral congress of the Slovak Medical Association (SkMA) elected the members of the SkMA Presidium. Subsequently, the newly formed 15-member Presidium elected Juraj Payer, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University Bratislava, to be its President by secret ballot.
“I have been actively involved in the Slovak Medical Association for many years, and as a member of the Presidium and President of several professional associations, I have had the opportunity to become thoroughly familiar with how it operates. Over the past two electoral terms, I have served in the organisation as First Vice-President, so I know it very well. All the more so, I am keenly aware of the responsibility that this office entails,” said Professor Juraj Payer.
In Slovakia, the emergence and activities of professional medical associations are closely linked to the establishment of Comenius University and its oldest faculty, the Faculty of Medicine. When Professor Hynek, the founder of Comenius University, came from Prague to Bratislava, he formulated three ambitious goals: to establish a university teaching in the national language, to create an association of physicians, and to begin publishing a professional medical journal. The University was established in 1919, followed a year later by the Association of Czechoslovak Physicians in Bratislava, which served as a forum for presenting scientific and clinical research and as a space for professional discussion among physicians. The professional journal Bratislavské lekárske listy (Bratislava Medical Journal) began publishing in 1921. The Association of Czechoslovak Physicians in Bratislava later became the cradle of the Slovak Medical Association.
“Therefore, I regard the combination of the two offices, that of the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University, and the President of the Slovak Medical Association, as a natural continuation of this historical tradition and as a commitment to contribute to the development of the Slovak medical profession in the spirit of the values on which it was originally built,” Juraj Payer added.
The Slovak Medical Association is the oldest and most respected umbrella organisation of the medical community in Slovakia. It is a voluntary, non-governmental, politically independent non-profit association of professional societies (104) and associations (43) operating in the field of medicine, whose members contribute to the development of medical disciplines and healthcare. Its members include almost 13,000 physicians and 1,250 pharmacists, engineering degree graduates and Master degree graduates. The Slovak Medical Association supports lifelong learning, scientific research and the professional development of its members. It plays a key role in setting professional standards and ensuring high-quality healthcare, while actively representing Slovak physicians at home and abroad.
We extend our sincere congratulations to Professor Juraj Payer on his election as President of the Slovak Medical Association.