Standing Committee on Medical Education – SCOME

is CroMSIC’s committee, whose targeted area is adequate education of medical students. Isn’t 6 years of studying medicine more than enough? What is this additional education? Maybe, for community unaccustomed to studying medicine in Croatia, newly graduated physicians look strong and ready to take responsibility for someone’s life. However, for every medical student, it is clear that 6 painstaken years of medicine, armed them with theoretical knowlegde, but their practical experience is lacking. I have a dream (by SCOME team) – it is so that a degree in a physician’s hands have a true meaning. Not only to have confirmation of graduation but to guarantee readiness and ability to apply their skills and knowledge in key moments for saving someone’s life.

Getting a degree of medicine without ever having to draw blood, insert an IV or administer intramuscular injection? To a layman that sounds impossible but great number of students wave with their degree without ever having to do just that.

What is our goal? Before anything, to educate medical students about skills essential for their future work. It doesn’t mattter if they want to be become surgeons, internists, microbiologists or epidemiologists, they took an oath to help people in emergency and we want to help them do just that.

How? Countless workshops from sewing to handling a surgical wound, placing a bandage, using defibrilators, reanimation, catheterization, administering injections, IV placing… All of those workshops and many more educate students about proper clinical skills.

Something else? Lectures of experienced collegues about emergency cases, workshops about learning and repeating EKG reports, workshops of acid-basic status, medical quizes are extra materials that we strive to put students on the right path of becoming a physician.

Step by step, but every change is meaningful. When the vision is noble, there are no obstacles that could destroy it.

Marija Vrdoljak, NOME