UNAIR NEWS – Faculty of Medicine Universitas Airlangga (FK UNAIR) made another international achievement this March. They are Pandit Tri Bagus Saputra (FKUA 2015), Nabila Izzati (FKUA 2015), and Kevin Luke (FKUA 2016). The three of them won 3rd place in RESPIQUIZ 2021, the respirology or respiratory medicine Olympiad.
The olympiad was organized by The Society of Respiratory Care Indonesia on 21-22 March 2021 in conjunction with the 22 nd International Meeting in Respiratory Care Indonesia.
The material tested in the competition was not limited to medical science of lungs, but also microbiology, parasitology, ENT, pediatrics, and pathology. “In essence, all branches of medical sciences related to the human respiratory system from A to Z,” said Pandit, one of the delegates.
The struggle put up by UNAIR delegation was not easy. However, there are things they considered fun when they learn something new.
Selection of the competition delegation was done through an interview test. The student, who was the winner of Medspin 2014, said something interesting during the interview session. “I don’t know why the interviewers asked questions beyond medical science, such as the names of cafes and culinary spots we have visited in Surabaya, what on their menus, what the best sellers at the cafes,” he said with a little laugh. He assumed that the interviewers wanted to find broad-minded delegates.
At RESPIQUIZ 2021, UNAIR delegates had to compete with 16 other medical faculty delegations in Indonesia. “Actually, there were participants from other countries, but we did not see them at the time of the competition,” he said. All participants in the competition were apprentice doctors (KOAS).
Many of the questions tested were unexpected. “The cases is long, tricky, with lots of pictures, and the working time is only 45 seconds per question,” said Pandit.
After the general symposium, the committee announced that UNAIR delegation had qualified for the grand final. “Alhamdulillah!” they exclaimed happily.
The next day, UNAIR delegation had to compete with UIN Syarif Hidayatullah and UGM in the grand final round. The round consists of two stages. The first stage consists of 10 questions with a total time of 3 minutes and the second stage consists of 10 essay questions with a duration of each question is only 5 seconds.
The competition was even more thrilling because it was witnessed directly by experts and doctors in the field of respiratory from within and outside the country. Even though there were one or two things that were not planned, UNAIR delegation was grateful for the third place.
Pandit said FK UNAIR’s support, especially mentoring from dr. Arief Bachtiar, Sp.P (K), dr. Farah Fatmawati., Sp.P (K), and dr. Irmi Syafa’ah, Sp.P (K) were one of the factors that led UNAIR delegation to win RESPIQUIZ 2021. They were very supportive in delivering material and strengthening the delegation’s mentality.
“During guidance sessions or outside, they never required us to become champions. So, there is no external burden, “he explained.
Pandit believes that a mutually supportive environment can improve students and campus achievements, both in the olympiad like Respiquiz and other fields. “We have many supervising experts here (FK UNAIR, ed). So don’t stop working,” he concluded. (*)
Author: M. Gita Jayanata
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
