Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
Prof. MUDr. Juraj Payer, PhD., MPH, FRCP, FEFIM
phone number: +421 2 90119 466 – the dean's secretariat at the Faculty of Medicine
phone number +421 2 48 234 108 – the secretariat of the 5th internal clinic
e-mail: juraj.payerfmed.uniba.sk
e-mail: dekanfmed.uniba.sk
Prof. Payer was born into a medical family on 13 Mar 1958 in Bratislava. He is the fourth successor of the medical dynasty, and his son continues in his footsteps. After completing high school, he decided to study medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in Bratislava, which he completed in 1983. He joined the 1st Department of Internal Medicine of FMCU and FH Bratislava, where he stayed until 2004. During this period, he obtained certification in internal medicine, the 1st and 2nd degrees, and endocrinology certification. In 1994, he defended the title of candidate of sciences, and in 1997 he qualified as an associated professor of internal medicine. He was appointed the professor of internal medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in 2002. In 2004, he transferred to the Ružinov Hospital, where he started building the 5th Department of Internal Medicine of FMCU and FHB, today's most extensive department of internal medicine in Bratislava. Since then, he has been the head of the department of internal medicine. In 2014, the Royal College of Physicians in London awarded him an honorary FRCP degree. In February 2015, he was appointed a senior associate dean of the Faculty of Medicine CU for faculty cooperation with medical facilities, health care, and specialized studies. In the summer of the same year, he completed his studies at the Faculty of Public Health of the SHU in Bratislava and received the title Master of Public Health (MPH). On 8 Nov 2022, he was elected by a two-thirds majority of the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University as a candidate for the dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in Bratislava for the period 2023 – 2027. He was appointed the dean by the rector of the UK on 1 Feb 2023.
Prof. Payer also holds many other posts. He is the main expert in the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic in endocrinology. Until 2018, he was also the main expert in internal medicine at the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic. He is an opinion-forming personality in Slovakia's endocrinology, osteology, and internal medicine. He is involved in introducing new state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment modalities for internal diseases. As a member of the categorization and cataloguing commission at the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic, he actively participates in the creation of drug policy. Until 2023, he was the chairman of the Accreditation Commission of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic, thereby significantly positively influencing the further education of doctors and other health workers in Slovakia. Since 2020, he has been the chairman of the commission of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic and the expert guarantor for Standard diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and Procedures for the implementation of prevention at the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic.
He is a long-time member of the praesidium of the Slovak Medical Society (SMS), president of the Society for Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Diseases of SMS, president of the Slovak Endocrinological Society of SMS and vice-president of the Slovak Society of Internal Medicine of SLS. In 2016, he was elected the first vice president of the entire Slovak Medical Society. He is also an active member of several international endocrinological and osteological societies.
Prof. Payer has a rich publishing activity. He is the author and co-author of 16 books and 1,170 domestic and foreign literature publications and also has numerous citation responses (more than 1,500). He is a member of the editorial boards of Slovak and foreign professional periodicals.
A large part of his professional interest is devoted to osteology. He is a recognized expert participating to a decisive extent in the concept of care for patients with osteoporosis, which is at the top level in Slovakia and globally. In Slovakia, he built a new department essential for improving the population's quality of life and reducing mortality from osteoporotic fractures. It is a field where interdisciplinary cooperation is essential. And here, too, his management skills in integrating various experts in the conception of osteology were demonstrated. Prof. Payer is also an invited speaker at international osteological congresses. He is an internationally recognized expert in osteology. He represents Slovakia as a member of the EU panel of experts on the issue of osteoporosis at the European Parliament. He specializes mainly in the treatment of osteoporosis and secondary osteoporosis. He is also the editor of the first Slovak monograph, "Osteoporosis", published in 2012.
At the same time, he is a long-time teacher at the FMCU in Bratislava, a popular lecturer, and a strict but fair examiner. At the FMCU, he is a guarantor for teaching Internal Propaedeutic and Internal Medicine in general medicine. He is the chairman of the examination committee for the state final exams in internal medicine. He is responsible for the PhD studies, habilitation, and inaugural procedures in internal medicine at the FMCU. He is also the guarantor for specialization studies in endocrinology and the chairman of the examination committee for the attestation exam in endocrinology.
In the sense of the traditions of medicine, prof. Payer is building its own scientific research and medical school. He trained 1 professor, 8 associate professors, and 15 doctoral students during his tenure. And countless good doctors - internists, endocrinologists, osteologists. Despite the difficult times in education and healthcare, he supports the education and development of young doctors.
He was awarded several awards - the Bronze Medal of the FMCU in Bratislava, the SMS Dérer Prize for scientific and publishing activity, the SMS Jessenius Prize for the monograph Dictionary of Rheumatology, the Literary Fund Prize for scientific and professional literature for the year 2012 in the category of biological and medical sciences, SMS Jessenius Prize for the monograph Osteoporosis, SMS Gold Medal for services to the Slovak Medical Society, Medal of Society for Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Diseases of SMS, Medal for the development of medicine in osteoporosis and metabolic bone diseases.
Prof. Juraj Payer dedicated his life to medicine, which he takes as his life mission. He adheres to the principle that healthcare primarily serves patients. He is popular among his co-workers. Although he is often strict and demanding, both on himself and others, it is always for the development of the personality and professional growth of his colleagues and the progress of the department. He is empathetic towards his patients. He strives to help them in all circumstances. Despite his many posts and duties, he never forgets to be a "doctor-clinician" who, thanks to regular ward rounds, has a complete overview of all hospitalized patients and does not miss a day of his outpatient office hours.