RSU holds first "Battle of the Paediatricians"

On 21 April, Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) was the battlefield for the first intellectual battle of paediatricians organised by the RSU Paediatric Interest Group with the support of the Latvian Paediatric Association.  In all, there were 35 participants – prospective paediatricians, students from the Faculty of Medicine interested in paediatrics and one resident.

Before the contest, Head of Department of Paediatrics Prof. Dace Gardovska, Dean of the Faculty of Continuing Education Ilze Grope and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Prof. Jana Pavāre addressed the participants, wishing them every success and a sharp mind in their fight for valuable prizes that could be useful for everyone interested in paediatrics. In her address the professor also shared her pride in the gaining popularity of paediatrics, emphasising that paediatricians have always had a special spark and capacity for work which has made it possible to move forward and reach big goals.

The contest consisted of two types of assignments to test the theoretical and clinical knowledge of the participants in various fields of paediatrics and also general knowledge and the ability to read between the lines. The participants had to complete a test and undertake various interesting assignments that were prepared with the assistance of 14 practicians from the Children’s Clinical University Hospital and the academic staff of the department. The use of remote registration when responding to questions in the test made it easy to immediately see the answer to each question and helped to make summing up of the results easier. The participants appreciated this technical solution as they could assess on the spot whether they had taken the right approach in solving a particular issue.

Winners of the battle

• 1st place – Lauma Vasiļevska, 6th year
• 2nd place – Katerīna (Kateryna) Bulavkina, 6th year
• 3rd place – Ieva Roģe, 6th year

Anticipating that 6th year students could be more knowledgeable and not to demotivate other students from participating, prizes were given also to the best students in study year categories:  

• Best result among 5th year students  – Liene Vītola
• Best result among 4th year students – Judīte Lukša
• Best result among 3rd year students – Monta Urbāne
• Best result among 2nd year students – Aleksandra Kuzmina

The winners in each category received modern pulse oximeters, whereas the winners of 2nd and 3rd place were presented with the latest issue of Pediatric & Neonatal Dosage Handbook by Lexicomp.

The main prize of the contest was a study trip to the 26th European Paediatrics Congress, which will be held from 22 – 23 October in Amsterdam.

Medical specialists Ieva Puķīte, Elīna Aleksejeva and Iveta Dzīvīte-Krišjāne presented motivation prizes to the students who had answered correctly all questions in the medical field represented by them. 

Article author: RSU Paediatric Interest Group leader Polīna Popeiko