Tuesday, 26 February 2019
Several students have been actively involved in European conferences since last October.
MSc in Family Medicine student Dr Mohamad Itani presented a poster at the European Geriatric Medicine Society Congress held in Berlin last October. Dr Itani talked about his experience: I would like to thank my supervisor Dr Ourania Kolokotroni for her valuable advice which prompted my participation in the 14th European Geriatric Medicine Society Congress. My research entitled ‘Prevalence of sleep disorders in institutionalized elderlies: A cross-sectional study’ was positively received by the attendees at the congress. The research concluded that 75% of institutionalized elderly people have sleep problems that are under-reported by direct questionnaire and are better recognised by using standardized sleep questionnaires for sleep problems. It recognised decreased activity during the day, poor performance in memory tests and the intake of proton pump inhibitors as possible predictors of sleep problems in this population. Among the chronic conditions encountered in the elderly population, Alzheimer’s disease (which is also associated with poor performance in memory tests) was the only disease condition that was positively associated with sleep problems. We speculate that elderly persons with sleep problems and poor performance in memory tests should be closely monitored for the possible development of Alzheimer’s disease.
MBBS F-year student Catriona Walker gave an oral presentation at the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) in London. Catriona reported: On 5 December 2018 I had the honour of being shortlisted for the David Oliveira Medical Student Award in which I gave an oral presentation of an interesting case report to a nephrology audience at the Royal Society of Medicine in London.
The audience ranged from medical students to clinical research fellows, consultants and professors. Topics which were presented consisted of interesting cases, audits and research in nephrology and renal transplantation.
Although nerve-racking, giving this oral presentation at a national RSM meeting was a terrific opportunity. Gaining experience such as this while at medical school is not to be taken for granted and is such a wonderful way to develop skills which I will implement throughout my career.
Being an area which I am interested in, this was a superb opportunity to listen to outstanding speakers present interesting case reports, unusual findings, and developments for future practice.
The nephrology community is a small world as I met a professor who knew clinicians and researchers in Cyprus! It was a great opportunity to share medical school experiences with fellow medical students as well as to promote the campus in Cyprus, which everyone seemed to be interested in knowing more about.
I cannot overstate the importance of being involved in events such as this as a medical student. Opportunities like this can open doors as well as our eyes to different specialties. Without the help and guidance of Dr Elpida Toumazi and Professor Vassilis Hadjianastassiou at the Renal Transplant Unit at NGH, this experience would not have been possible for me. It is fantastic that we, as students, have clinicians who support us to be involved in national meetings and conferences like this one.
MBBS F year Giovanni Francesco Dall’ Amico took part in the European Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (ESPRAS) Congress held in Limassol last October. He presented four case studies along with Dr Christian Fesas.
MBBS F-year students Rahama John, Afreshdeep Sandhu and Catriona Walker attended the Annual Student and Trainee Ophthalmic Conference (ASTOC) at the Royal Society of Medicine in London (RSM). On behalf of the group Catriona Walker stated: On 1 December 2018 we had the opportunity to present our posters at the RSM made in collaboration with Pantheo Eye Centre. It was an honour and a fantastic opportunity to present our posters at an RSM event as well as attend the conference and participate in the workshop sessions.
The conference was a great opportunity to learn more about careers in ophthalmology, career advancement and the application process involved. The speakers, who ranged from registrars to consultants, were outstanding and exceptionally inspiring and motivational.
The workshop sessions were very hands-on in which we learned about and used equipment employed in low-resource areas to easily diagnose common and often life-changing ophthalmological conditions. In addition, we learned about community education schemes and the role of multidisciplinary team members, such as orthoptists, and were able to practise our funduscopy skills and to use slit lamps under the guidance of consultant ophthalmologists.