Team of Belarusian State Medical University became the silver medalist of the I International Student Olympiad in Ophthalmology

On May 23, the 1st International Student Olympiad in Ophthalmology was held at the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Research Institute of Eye Diseases named after M. M. Krasnov” (Moscow), in which the team of Belarusian State Medical University took part.

37 teams competed in the qualifying stage of the tournament, and 8 teams reached the finals: from the Syrian Arab Republic, Belarusian State Medical University, Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after Kh. M. Berbekov, Tver State Medical University, Russian University of Medicine, First St. Petersburg State Medical University named after Academician I.P. Pavlov, Ryazan State Medical University named after Academician I.P. Pavlov, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba.

BSMU was represented by students Ekaterina Kugaeva, Irina Fedechko and Victoria Kolesnikova. Under the strict guidance of Olga Tereshenko, a senior lecturer of the Department of Eye Diseases, and with the support of the university, students mastered the latest methods and techniques, being ready for any difficulties.

At stage I, the teams passed theoretical tests, where each of them had 19 questions that had to be answered briefly, accurately and in 90 seconds.

After the first stage the leading teams were from:

Syrian Arab Republic (19 points),

Belarus (18 points),

Saint-Petersburg (15 points),

Twer (15 points),

Russian University of Medicine (15 points).

At stage II, the teams faced real practice - solving complex clinical problems. Three tasks, three pathologies, three diagnoses... At stage III, participants felt like practicing ophthalmologists and surgeons. In five minutes it was necessary to apply a scleral suture to the sclerostomy and in a minute to obtain sections of the cornea and lens and assess the depth of the anterior chamber. Our team took the risk of participating in the complexity of this task made by the organizers of the Olympiad and independently installing and removing the port for vitreoretinal surgery, where they showed brilliant results, completing the task in less than five minutes

Participants of the Olympiad were awarded diplomas and certificates for the best contribution to the popularization of ophthalmology among students of medical universities of the Russian Federation, Republic of Belarus, the Syrian Arab Republic on the basis of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Research Institute of Eye Diseases named after M. M. Krasnov", for demonstrating a high level of knowledge in the field medicine and strengthening international cooperation. The second place, which the team of the Belarusian State Medical University ultimately took, is not only the personal merit of the students, but also of the entire academic staff.

Authors: Department of Eye Diseases of BSMU
Photos are taken from personal archives of students
Translation: Diana Petrushkevich-Hourou