I still do not know whether to regret that I studied so much or not. Did that result bring me benefits – yes, of course. But if the average had to be 9.9, from today’s perspective I would say it did not have to. It once happened that my nose was bleeding from a lot of studying and it reminded me that I have to reduce it, says Dr. Mitov.

– Almost until the end of high school I did not have a clear desire to study. If it were up to me personally, I would probably choose to study law. However, at that time there was an opinion that excellent students should go to either Medicine or Electro, and that informal social pressure directed me to medicine. Truth be told, biology was my favorite subject in both elementary and high school – says Dr. Aleksandar Mitov.

Dr. Mitov has a master’s degree in public health and environmental impact on health. He graduated from the Medical Faculty in Skopje as the first of the generation, with an average of 9.9. He then received a Master’s degree in Public Health from the Cyprus Institute established by the Harvard School of Public Health as a Validictorian, with the highest average in the generation (3.9 / 4), after which he completed a Master’s degree in Environment in Cambridge, UK, as a member of the prestigious College “St. Jones.”

In recent years he has been working intensively with patients helping them to change their habits and through a healthier lifestyle to gain better health. Following the evidence-based medicine, but also the natural interventions for which there are enough convincing scientific studies, Dr. Mitov has a comprehensive approach in the treatment of chronic diseases.

In the section “When I was a student”, which we create in cooperation with fakulteti.mk, we returned to the faculty lectures, socializing, challenges.

He lived in many places, but his native Strumica is close to his heart

Although he has lived in different cities around the world, Dr. Mitov says that only one place feels like home, and that is his native Strumica. From an early age, he was an ambitious child, with amazing grades in all subjects, and he wanted to attend all the additional activities offered at school in order to quench his thirst for knowledge.

– I studied in Strumica, at another time. I emphasize this because I was lucky to find the education left by Yugoslavia. I was a great student, I went to all possible sections, and I had a special love for poetry and recitation. I started working in high school, at the age of 15 at Radio Strumica. I had my own show, I read the news and I invested in diction and pronunciation – says Dr. Mitov.

My nose bled from a lot of studying

When he started his studies at the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Mitov studied for 17 hours a day and was determined to leave a great impression on the faculty, although from today’s point of view he thinks that at times he unnecessarily pushed himself to study so much. As a student from another city, he lived in Medicinar, as well as in the student dormitories “Stiv Naumov” and “Goce Delcev”, about which he says: “I loved the dormitories, with all their flaws. Only in them did I feel like a real student.”

– I still do not know whether to regret that I studied so much or not. Did that result bring me benefits – yes, of course. But if the average had to be 9.9, from today’s perspective I would say it did not have to. A little sleep, a little break and normally all the rest of the time I was in the Medical Library. Some subjects, in the first year, I passed over 10 times. I once had a nosebleed from a lot of studying and it reminded me that I had to cut back. In the summer between the first and second year I practiced fast reading and for a short period I started to progress faster with the material. Then I reduced the study hours. But I made myself too stressed – says Dr. Mitov.

I found a rat under my bed on the first day at the dormitory

His favorite subject at the faculty was Pathophysis, characterizing it as a bridge between the physiological and the pathological, where the roots of diseases and their mechanisms of occurrence are studied.

– I feel sorry for the new generations of medics because they do not know that there were giants in Medical in the true sense of the word, and I encountered only a small part of them. I had the honor to meet prof. Tadzer, who visited the Institute until old age. The same department was home to prof. Karanfilski.

I remember the beginning of my studies as one of the most difficult periods in my life. The tenth barrack in Medicinar was a special story – Dr. Mitov recalls and from those student days he singled out a series of unforgettable moments, as well as friendships that last to this day.

In the second half of his medical studies he began to devote more time to social life. Then he became president of the Association of Medical Students of Macedonia.

– The first day we found a big rat under my bed. There was a cracked wall in the room where I slept and we had to close it as we knew how. Several forever-students of the Faculty of Physical Education lived in the same barracks. During the day they were asleep, and at night they were awake and often drunk. It was too loud to sleep at night. However, I formed some of the greatest friendships then and to this day I have closeness and trust in those people – says Dr. Mitov.

With the recommendation of Harvard professors, he enrolled at Cambridge

Dr. Mitov brought his education to a postgraduate level in Cyprus, at the Institute established by the Harvard School of Public Health. The meeting with Harvard professors left a strong impression on him and because of their recommendations he managed to enroll in a master’s degree in environmental studies in Cambridge, UK, as a member of the prestigious St. Jones College and a scholarship holder of the Pexim Foundation.

– Almost all the professors came from Boston and on the diploma we have a stamp from the Harvard School of Public Health. In Cyprus I experienced the American education system, and in Cambridge I met the British way of education. Both systems are quite intensive, require a lot of work, but are different on many grounds. The British, above all, value personal labor, and the American system has stimulated cooperation and joint projects among students.

I was admitted to “Cambridge” due to the recommendation of prof. Ashford. St Jones College in Cambridge is an experience that words cannot capture. It was the hardest part of my education, but also the most beautiful experience of my entire student life. I was lucky enough to study there just when my college was celebrating 500 years of existence. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to be part of the best educational centers in the world, it left lasting traces on me – concludes Dr. Mitov.

prepared by: Nikola Petrovski