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If you were to ask a certain lecturer at our university this question, she would almost certainly say that it is the most important subject. Because without fundamental knowledge of microbiology, you wouldn't be a good doctor later on. On the other hand, all lecturers claim this about their own subject. I can't yet judge how important microbiology is in hospitals (maybe I'll write an update on this one day), but I can tell you what the situation is with this subject at our university.
Position in the study programme
First of all in general. Microbiology starts in the third semester. Initially, it's about general things, such as the colouring of organelles or structures and general biochemical properties of various microorganisms. Personally, I didn't find this particularly exciting, also because you don't get too involved with the subject yet, as the focus in this semester is mainly on other subjects that are very time-consuming. The following semester is all about "special microbiology". Here you learn all the genera, subdivisions and similarities of microorganisms as well as their clinical pictures. Which is far more exciting than all the general stuff before that.
Real Life "Grey's Anatomy"
I must honestly admit that I really enjoyed learning the subject. Firstly, because it's the first subject where you can combine anamnesis, symptoms and diagnostics. I was also able to answer a question from "Grey's Anatomy" that Doctor Webber (the head doctor in the series) asked his interns. So if that's not convincing that the subject is important, then I don't know what is. The question was what the technical term for parasites in the head is (neurocysticercosis) and the residents in the series didn't know, by the way. Maybe I'm so enthusiastic about this subject because I enjoyed learning about it so much. Now I want to pass on a personal tip for learning. I've already mentioned "Sketchy", a website that creates videos from various medical topics to help you memorise the material. I can only recommend it to you. Whether you are studying here in Bratislava or in Austria/Germany, it is the best tool for learning microbiology and not to forget.
Microbiology in everyday life
Now to the question of whether it is important. I can only speak from my personal opinion here, as I'm sure some will disagree with me. But the pandemic alone has shown us all how important microbiology is. It is also useful in the day-to-day work of a doctor. For example, if a patient comes into hospital with a strange rash, which is pink in colour, mainly on the abdomen and occurs with pea-coloured diarrhoea, I will think of Salmonella typhi and Typhoid Mary. Of course, people with Naegleria Fowleri (a parasite of the CNS that can be caught in warm waters) will rarely turn up, but it's still not bad to have heard of it. Because who knows, maybe you will come across it.
Is our lecturer right in her opinion? Partly, nobody will remember all the microorganisms perfectly, but just having learnt and heard everything can be a help later in hospital. Or in private life, cough chlamydia cough.
To summarise, I can say that a lot of emphasis is placed on microbiology at our university, which I don't think is a bad thing at all.
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