The Impressions of Foreign Speakers of VI Interdisciplinary International Congress of the Forum

Vsevolod Kuz’kov, a member of the educational committee of the European Society of Anesthesiologists: The Ukrainian School is shown to the best advantage.
The International Congress of Anaesthesiologists Black Sea Pearl has taken place for three years in Odessa. The organizers tried to make it interdisciplinary: reanimatologists, hemostatistics, and intensive care specialists from nine countries came together with anesthesiologists on the Black Sea coast. A series of blitz interviews with honorary guests of the congress – about Odessa, cooperation, medical reform and the quality of the higher medical school in Ukraine.
Vsevolod Kuz’kov, Professor of the Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimatology of the Northern State Medical University, Arkhangelsk city. Representative of the Legal Committee of the Federation of Anaesthesiologists and Reanimatologists of the Russian Federation, member of the educational committee of the European Society of Anesthesiologists. In 2006, he received a PhD in Norway.
Why did you decide to take part in the congress?
This is a good tradition, I’m in Odessa for the sixth time. We have done a lot of educational work here, the goal of which is to reduce the frequency of complications, improve the quality of medical care, and generally prepare young specialists for work in difficult conditions. The fact is that our specialty imposes high requirements to young specialists for the speed of decision making, their correctness, the integrity of work, its maximum desire to reduce the risk of complications. Cooperation with Ukrainian colleagues has never stopped, it has always been mutually beneficial and extremely useful. Anaesthesiology in our countries has always kept pace.
How do you like the organization of the event?
Every year it is getting better. This is a huge merit of the organizers. I will tell you honestly, I have to travel a lot around Russia, and this level is extremely rare. This level is the highest, a high interest of specialists in gaining new knowledge is obvious. It is a pleasure that from year to year development is on the ascending.
And can you learn something useful from the experience of your Ukrainian colleagues yourself?
Certainly. Our specialty is very complex, all specialists are distributed in certain narrow directions. Therefore, let’s say, any part of this mosaic is useful, and we always share a wide experience.
In general, is medical science in the post-Soviet space experiencing not the best of times?
I would not speak in a pessimistic tone. There is now a certain degree of awareness in which direction we are moving further, and this is a common problem throughout Eastern Europe, many Asian countries. And, of course, we must somehow combine our efforts to develop new directions together. For example, with colleagues from Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other countries, we can, in particular, issue manuals and textbooks for young doctors in our countries. We work in a common information field.
Have you been to Odessa Medical University before? How would you rate the level of student training?
I can absolutely definitely say that there is a lot done in the field of anaesthesiology and resuscitation. As a representative of the educational committee of the European Society of Anesthesiologists, I can note that Ukraine has always been very well represented at international conferences.
Tell us how you started your professional career?
I started practicing at the age 22, in 1997.
Weren’t you afraid?
Everybody is afraid. Undoubtedly, the desire of a young specialist and understanding how to work with the zero frequency of complications is very important. Here we are talking not about reducing the frequency of complications, but about their total exclusion. For example, in some Scandinavian countries a program of zero traumatism on the roads has been launched. By their example, we want to do this in medicine. My colleagues and me believe that it is possible. And young specialists are always afraid and will be afraid, because without this there will be no desire for knowledge, a desire to protect themselves and their patient.