At the 1st National Medical Students Congress organized by Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, medical students met with academics and expert physicians in their fields to listen to their experiences. Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, who delivered the opening speech of the congress, stated that having a project perspective has a goal, an output, and a logical framework, and said, “Only individuals with a project perspective can make new discoveries and achieve what they desire in life.” Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan noted that as a university, they have been offering courses such as innovation, entrepreneurship, project culture, and communication skills to their students since their early years, and they are now starting to reap the rewards. “As Üsküdar University, we ranked 4th among foundation universities in Turkey in the SCIMAGO 'Research Index' ranking, and we are among the top 500 in the world,” he stated. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized the importance of social success and emotional skill, stating that 21st-century skills are not merely limited to academic achievement and technical proficiency.
At the congress held in the Ibn Sina Auditorium of Üsküdar University NP Dental and Health Campus, expert physicians and academics met with medical faculty students.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Skills do not develop in the comfort zone”
Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Üsküdar University, in his opening speech, touched upon the difficulty of organizing such congresses and said, “It must be difficult to ensure development in students. There is no development in something that is not difficult; this is a hidden law of psychology. When a person is challenged, riches emerge. Skills do not develop in the comfort zone. When challenged, a person develops new perspectives, establishes new connections, and learns new information. Therefore, seeking challenges is very important. Those who seek challenges and step out of their comfort zones eventually make a difference compared to others.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Students work with a project perception starting from their second year”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that a project perspective has a goal, an output, and a logical framework, saying, “Only individuals with a project perspective can make new discoveries and achieve what they desire in life. It is very important for students to start this as early as their third year. When the university was founded, we introduced courses like ‘Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Project Culture’ and ‘Sociopsychological Communication Skills.’ We made the decision in 2012 and included them in the curriculum in 2013. At that time, project culture and entrepreneurship courses were not discussed at all in Turkey, and YÖK (Council of Higher Education) had no recommendations in this regard. From their second year, students work with a project creation mindset. Last year, we reaped the rewards of this initiative. As Üsküdar University, we ranked 4th among foundation universities in Turkey in the SCIMAGO 'Research Index' ranking, and we are among the top 500 in the world.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “We achieve beneficial results with the Positive Psychology course”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that they received the 'Good Health and Well Being' label in the field of social impact, adding, “The Positive Psychology course had a great impact on us receiving that label. Harvard University included that course in its curriculum in 2015, Yale University in 2018, and Bristol University in England in 2019. They had evaluated it as a solution to the suicide epidemic. Mindfulness training began to be given in high schools across the entire Western world. In mindfulness, Anatolian wisdom has been taken, systematized, a methodology developed, and taught as a course. We introduced this course and we also receive learning outcomes at the end of the semester. We conduct surveys and see that beneficial results are obtained among students.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Social success and emotional skill are very important”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that 21st-century skills are not merely limited to academic achievement and technical proficiency, and continued:
“Our current education system is solely focused on academic success. Academic and technical success may exist, but if an individual is not happy and cannot maintain healthy social interaction in society, success is like a flash in the pan. Focusing on social and emotional skills is also important. This is where the difference between a manager and a leader emerges. A manager performs assigned tasks well, but a leader thinks big. They establish serious team leadership. The most important topic in the project culture course is team leadership. If a person cannot learn to be a team leader, that person cannot be successful. Success is not just academic success. Social success and emotional skill are also important. These emerge through social interaction in team collaborations. The United Nations provides labeling in 17 different areas. Last April, we received two labels. These show that our work related to project culture is starting to bear fruit. We aim to maintain the same quality in the Faculty of Medicine as well.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Measurability is very important in quality management”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that they have given importance to quality management since the initial establishment of the university and hospital, saying, “Within the framework of treatment quality, we create clinical roadmaps for each patient. What will be done from the moment the patient enters the door until they are discharged is determined in the form of a roadmap. During rounds, we measure the patient's progress in the treatment process. We cannot manage what we cannot measure. Measurability is very important in quality management.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “A physician is also responsible for treatments not applied”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that social transformation and life success cannot occur without mental transformation, and continued: “First, there needs to be mental transformation. We must overcome mental barriers and prejudices. In the hospital, we also wrote ‘First, do no harm’ under Hippocrates’ saying. One way to harm a patient is to abandon their treatment. Many colleagues, saying ‘first, do no harm,’ do not research a new treatment or a new approach for that patient out of a thought of not causing harm. This is a very regrettable approach. If there is scientific research or new information for that patient’s treatment, it should be attempted in treatment. The most important point in science is critical thinking. Methodological skepticism is very important because it develops and educates people. It is our duty to apply the treatment that benefits the patient. A physician is responsible not only for the treatments they apply but also for the treatments they do not apply. They should strive to research, find, and apply unimplemented treatments to the patient. For example, there is magnetic stimulation therapy. In 2003, to bring it to Turkey, I sold my cooperative house and bought the device. We applied it and started to get very good results.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Medicine is not just science, but also art”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that until recently, an understanding that viewed psychiatry solely as a philosophical field was dominant, adding, “Psychiatry has become a medical field. As Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur said, medicine is not just science, but also art. Art is learned by living, experiencing, and through a master-apprentice relationship. The best 21st-century learning skill is learning through experience. Therefore, these congresses are very important steps for the future in terms of students observing their mentors and experiencing their skills.”
Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur: “We need to learn science and draw it into the field of application”
Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur, Dean of Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, who delivered the opening speech of the congress, said that the congress took place with great effort from both academics and students. Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur stated that the World Medical Association held a congress in New York in 2013, adding, “There, they debated whether those practicing the medical profession are scientists or artists. There is a meaningful sentence in the concluding statement: ‘A medical doctor, a physician, is an artist who uses science the most.’ We must always be intertwined with science, but if we do not learn science and draw it into the field of application, then it becomes dead entities that we hold by rote for no value.”
Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak: “You will always renew yourselves”
Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak, Vice Rector of Üsküdar University, also advised students in his opening speech to always improve themselves. Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak noted that the student period in medicine is when responsibility is at its minimum, and said, “From the day you take on responsibility, your job becomes more difficult. Preparation for those difficult days happens today. Your research, your accumulated knowledge, and the skills you acquire from your professors will gain importance. Information quickly becomes outdated, but one thing remains constant: You will always renew yourselves.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zozan Güleken from the Department of Physiology, Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, also stated in her opening speech that 25 oral presentations and 5 poster presentations were accepted for the congress, adding, “The two-day congress featured three sessions, oral presentations, a panel, two workshops, and 14 speakers. We are proud and excited to chair this year’s first congress.” Mustafa Şanverdi, a 3rd-year student at Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, also thanked his professors and participants who supported the congress in his speech.
Experienced physicians shared their professions and experiences in the first session
In the first session of the congress, which was broadcast live on ÜÜ TV and will last two days, academics provided information about their fields and shared their experiences. In the first session, chaired by Üsküdar University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak, Prof. Dr. Sultan Tarlacı from the Department of Neurology, Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, shared his experiences as a neurologist in his presentation “Being a Neurologist.” Stating that medicine is a lifestyle, Prof. Dr. Sultan Tarlacı said, “A spiritual pleasure that cannot be obtained in other professions emerges. When you do this on brain diseases and neurology, changes occur not only in human relations but also in your religious, philosophical, and mystical understandings.” Prof. Dr. Sultan Tarlacı stated that problems arising with aging fall within the field of neurology and said that the need for neurologists will be greater in the future.
Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz: “Focus on solutions, not problems”
Prof. Dr. Aptullah Haholu from the Department of Pathology, Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, participated with his presentation “Being a Pathologist”; Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz from the Department of Mental Health and Diseases, Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, offered advice to prospective doctors on coping with burnout in her presentation titled “Burnout.” Stating that the primary way to cope with burnout is to try giving to others, Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz said, “We need to learn to give a little, not just take. We have a very beautiful profession, in this sense. In what profession do you do your job, earn money, and receive blessings? In a way, we do our work for ourselves. When we do something for someone, certain parts of our brain become active and make us happy.” Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz said that when dealing with problems, one should focus on solutions, not the problems themselves.
In the first session, Prof. Dr. Murat Kalemoğlu from the Department of Mental Health and Diseases, Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, presented on “Being a Surgeon”; Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak from the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, presented on “From 20th to 21st Century in Cardiac Surgery”; and Prof. Dr. Arif Aktuğ Ertekin from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, provided information related to their fields in their presentations titled “Clinical Approaches to Birth, Women's Health and Diseases in a Changing World.” In the afternoon, oral sessions were held.
The congress will last two days
On the second day of the congress, which will take place on Sunday, May 29th, Prof. Dr. Tayfun Uzbay from the Department of Medical Pharmacology, Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, will participate with his presentation “Being a Scientist,” and Prof. Dr. Barış Metin from the Department of Neurology, Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, will participate with his presentation titled “The Future of Neurology in Terms of Diagnosis and Treatment.” Academics from Üsküdar University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, and Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Genetics—Prof. Dr. Muhsin Konuk, Prof. Dr. Sevim Işık, Asst. Prof. Dr. Cihan Taştan, Asst. Prof. Dr. Ebru Özkan Oktay, and Asst. Prof. Dr. Yeşim Özdemir—will participate with their talks titled “Current Approaches in Molecular Sciences, Stem Cell Therapies, in Silico Studies in Diseases, Epigenetics.” The second day of the congress will conclude with an oral presentation session, poster presentations, and workshops.