Saturday, April 6, 2019

The second International Student Olympiad in Neurosurgery, organized by the Governor of Tyumen Oblast, Russia took place on April 2–4 at the Federal Center for Neurosurgery in Tyumen. The competition was attended by 46 people from 22 cities within Russia as well as from Aktobe, Kazakhstan. Wikinews attended the event, and talked to some of those involved.

This was the second consecutive student Olympiad in neurosurgery. Ten of Russia’s fifteen cities with populations in excess of one million and six of the country’s eight federal district capitals sent contestants. Detailed geography of participants is shown on the map. The winner is awarded free tuition at the academic department of Neurosurgery at First Moscow State Medical University (First MSMU), also called Sechenov University.

Madina Bizheva, a fourth-year student at Kabardino-Balkarian State University, won this second Olympiad. The other two places at Sechenov University were awarded to Oleg Titov, a fifth-year student at the First MSMU, and Irina Borovikova, fifth-year student at Ural State Medical University. Bizheva delivered the following speech as she was awarded the certificate: “I give my victory to my mother, who inspired me to study at a neurosurgeon. After she had a stroke, the dream of becoming a doctor began to turn into reality. I was seriously preparing for the Olympiad. One hand rocked the child, the other held a book on neurosurgery. If a person aspires to what and desires something, then everything will turn out.”

  • Contestants came from many parts of Russia and from Kazakhstan. Image: ??????? ???????.

  • Participants waiting for the start of the test. Image: ??????? ???????.

  • Olympiad participants complete a theory test. Image: ??????? ???????.

The chairman of the organizing committee of the Olympiad and the head physician of the center, Albert Sufianov, is also the head of the academic department of neurosurgery in the First MSMU. The three best performers in this contest are awarded the opportunity to study for free in his department in the residency of the Sechenov University.

The event was financed out of the Tyumen Oblast budget and the funds of the Association of Neurosurgeons of Tyumen Oblast. The new governor of the region, Alexander Moor, during his message to the regional parliamentarians read out on November 22, just offered to diversify the economy, reducing the focus on oil and gas from the third Baku and cultivating medical tourism: “Now the annual volume of our exports — non-row materials and non-energy — has come close to a billion dollars. In the next year, this must be given priority. And here, too, non-standard approaches will be required, in which trends of various origins will organically merge across the traditional industry nomenclature. For example, it is time to perceive Tyumen medicine as a full-fledged export-oriented industry, while closely associated with the tourism business. Medical tourism is growing rapidly all over the world, and in terms of price and quality, Tyumen is more than competitive — if not on a global scale, then on a scale of the whole continent Eurasia exactly. Here the themes of several national projects intersect at once!” ((ru))Russian: ??????? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? – ??????????? ? ????????????????? – ???????? ??????????? ? ????????? ????????. ? ????????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????. ? ??? ???? ??????????? ????????????? ???????, ? ??????? ?????? ???????????? ?????????? ???????????? ????????? ?????????? ?????? ?????????? ?????????????. ??????, ????????? ???????? ??? ???? ???????????? ??? ??????????? ?????????-??????????????? ???????, ??? ???? ????? ????????? ? ????????????? ????????. ??????????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????, ? ?? ?????????? ???? ? ???????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????????????????? – ???? ?? ? ?????????? ????????, ?? ? ???????? ????? ???????????? ?????????? ?????. ????? ???????????? ???????? ????? ?????????? ???????????? ????????!

The region has an established medical tradition: Venyamin Ugryumov, one of the founders of Soviet neurosurgery, was born in Ozhogino near Tyumen. Yuri Belyaev conducted in Tyumen his famous to the post-war USSR operations. Now the role of the flagship assumed the Federal Center for Neurosurgery. His chief physician, Albert Sufianov, is known for his many professional achievements, including abroad. In 2018, he was the first in Russia and one of the first in the world who managed to conduct a full-fledged endoscopic operation on an embryo. Sufianov is the only person from Russia who is an active member of the World Academy of Neurological Surgery, (academician Alexander Konovalov is an honorary member).

According to Professor Sergey Dydykin, who is both co-chairman of the organizing committee and head of the academic department of operative surgery and topographic anatomy of the First MSMU, in the United States and Europe it is not customary to teach manual skills, such as manual surgical techniques, to undergraduates. Conducting surgical competitions for students is a Russian practice. Olympiads in specific subjects, such neurosurgery, are relatively new, and Tyumen is one of the first districts to organize one.

During the Olympiad, students had to perform simulated practical tasks. For example, in the final part of the competition, the contestants had to mill away the shell of a raw egg without damaging the membranes beneath and so prevent the proteins from leaking out. This exercise, which Sufianov learned in Switzerland, simulates endoscopic drilling.

According to Sufianov, the Olympiad shows young people the “social elevators” available to them. Student Ibrahim Salamov is an illustration of his words. A year ago, this native of the Dagestan village took first prize, and he is now one of the organizers of the Olympiad. Under the Salamov’s leadership, students completed a theory test.

When asked which part of the competition was most difficult for aspiring neurosurgeons, Sufianov answered it was English language. From his view, this is a nationwide problem in Russia — there are many skilled surgeons in the country, but their knowledge of foreign languages is not very strong. Sufianov has interned several times at the world luminaries of neurosurgery in Germany, Japan, and the United States, and, in his opinion, a specialist has almost no chance to become a very high level professional without knowledge of English.

Alexander Gagay of Yekaterinburg, who took third place last year, does not agree with Sufianov. Gagay is currently a 4th year student at Ural State Medical University, and in the summer he expects his transfer to the place he won at the First MSMU. This year, he came to support his fellow Yekaterinburgers. In his opinion, the most difficult part was the theoretical tasks, and not English, because he still does not attract options to continue his career abroad. In his view, the federal neurosurgery centers like Tyumen created within the framework of the national health project are on the same level with their foreign counterparts. In his view, there are strong opportunities to become a very good specialist without leaving Russia.

Several people returned to the Olympiad after attending last year. One is Denis Kovalchuk, a 6th year student at Buryat State University. He is interested in neurosurgery from the first course, but in his home region there are no suitably equipped laboratories as there are in Tyumen. Kovalchuk also said that, after the first Olympiad, a community of young neurosurgeons emerged on social networks, numbering about 400 people. Students exchange professional literature in it and give each other tips for use in practical situations.

  • Ibrahim Salamov, last year’s winner. Image: ??????? ???????.

  • Alexander Gagay, who took third place in 2018. Image: ??????? ???????.

  • Denis Kovalchuk, a 2-year participant. Image: ??????? ???????.

This year, two participants in addition to the official winners performed at such a high level that Albert Sufianov thought it right to provide them with his personal grant for residency training at First MSMU. These were Ivan Shelyagin and Valentina Sidorenko from Tyumen State Medical University.

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