22 teams from Russia, Germany and Serbia came to compete for the title of the best in the NSO International Medical Tournament in Akademgorodok. Nine of the teams competed in the English league and 13 in the Russian language league. Among the tournament experts were specialists from NSU, Novosibirsk State Medical University, Krasnoyarsk State Medical University, Georgievsky Medical Academy, Moscow State University, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, IM Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, University of South Carolina and other universities.
Andrei Pokrovsky, Director of the Institute of Medicine and Psychology at NSU, noted the international character of the tournament, "The idea was to unite the space from Lisbon to Vladivostok. We did not quite achieve that, but I think the next tournament will include teams from those cities. Then our medical community will be able to realize what big politicians dream about. Every year the team of experts becomes more and more international. This is very important because different medical schools have different approaches and it is not always clear which of them is the best".
On the first day of the tournament the competition used a quiz format. Four more rounds were conducted over the next two days. In addition to the competition, participants were treated to an extensive cultural program. This included a visit to the Oceanography and Marine Biology Center "Dolphinia", the ballet "Swan Lake" at the Novosibirsk State Opera and Ballet Theater and the Novosibirsk Zoo.
The medical students were given a real clinical case to solve during the tournament. The future doctors had to identify the causes of the disease and recommend procedures for treating a child whose mother reported to the pediatrician episodic (once in 3-4 days) attacks of increased neuromuscular excitability, spastic contraction of certain groups of muscles in the face and hands that lasted for a few seconds.
Tournament participant Pavel Krupenin shared his impressions, "The tournament was greater than all my expectations, both the organization and the overall atmosphere were impressive. Probably the most valuable aspect was the experience I gained from foreign participants, including informal contacts. I also liked the friendly atmosphere that existed even in the midst of an intense competition".
IM Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, second place went to the team "Crimean Spring Vernadsky" (Crimea), and third place was captured by “Over the Counter/Nadmozg Attacks" (Kemerovo).
The winner in the English league was “English Berlin” (Berlin), the second place was taken by the team "St. Vitus's Dancers" (IM Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University), and third place went to the “Bumblebee” team (Belgrade).
In addition, distinguished individual participants were awarded prizes from the tournament partners: internships at the "Magnesia" and "Verma" network of medical centers, the "Mother and Child" company provided a training course certificate at the European Medical Center, a certificate for the course "Basic course on magnetic resonance imaging" at the Scientific and Practical Center of Medical Radiology was awarded and an invitation to do research work at the University of Pennsylvania.
N.P. Ogarev MSU student and “Ogaryovtsi” team member Sergey Radaev thanked his colleagues, "Our team left with only positive emotions and impressions. We all know that Novosibirsk is a scientific capital, a center of science. It is an honor for us to represent our university in Novosibirsk and to test our skills and knowledge with the best representatives of medical universities in our large country. Thank you! May our student brotherhood blossom as friendship is eternal".
Darya Tkachenko, a member of the Crimean team, offered the following thoughts about the Tournament, "We are very grateful and admire the work of the organizers! Everything was wonderful, organized at the highest level down to the smallest detail. It was very pleasant to communicate with so many professionals, including both professors and students. Of course, the event required a lot of adrenaline and was exhausting, but it was the kind of fatigue you get in the service of an important goal and helped us to achieve it. Many thanks for the interesting and authentic clinical cases. It was fascinating to focus on them and to hear treatment options from the different teams. We learned to think, reason, explore, listen to the opinions of others, and make the appropriate decisions. We hope that this experience will make all of us healthier!"
Ekaterina Shumbasova from the "Special Opinion” team reflected on her experience, “The tournament is a bright, interesting, emotional professional event in the life of a medical student. While you are preparing for the Tournament, you feel like Dr. House. When you are competing and participating in discussions, you literally feel like an academician. And it's all so cool! During the tournament, you get to know a lot of different people who share your interests! There was endless aesthetic pleasure because the sexiest thing in the human body is the brain! It doesn’t matter that our team came in last, because the value of the new experiences and knowledge we gained cannot be measured. You also gain many life-long friends".
The "Medical Tournament" (MeDic House) Project was developed by students at the Novosibirsk State University Medical Faculty and has been supported by the Vladimir Potanin Charitable Foundation since 2013.
