Within the scope of the 14 March Medicine Day, Eastern Mediterranean University Dr. Fazıl Küçük Faculty of Medicine held an online seminar on Monday, 15 March 2021, at 1:00 p.m.. In the seminar moderated by EMU Dr. Fazıl Küçük Medicine Faculty Dean Prof. Dr. Nahide Gökçora, EMU Dr. Fazıl Küçük Medicine Faculty academic staff member Prof. Dr. Ömür Çınar Elçi made a presentation on "Global Medical Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic".
Speaking before the presentation, Prof. Dr. Nahide Gökçora thanked all doctors, nurses, medical students and other healthcare professionals for their hard work, thoughts and commitment to their profession during the pandemic period. Mentioning that they have come together to honor March 14 Doctors Day and Medicine Week together, Prof. Dr. Gökçora also reported that medical education at EMU Dr. Fazıl Küçük Medicine Faculty faced some difficulties due to the pandemic, like other faculties of medicine throughout the world,.
Prof. Dr. Gökçora made the following statements in her speech: “Medicine requires lifelong learning. Our mission is to train highly qualified, exemplary doctors with a strong commitment to excellence in medical practice and the advancement of medical science. We expect our graduates to lead public health solutions by demonstrating the highest ethical and analytical standards and embracing the most advanced technology in their daily practice. "
Before starting his presentation, Prof. Dr. Elçi expressed his pleasure to be holding the said event and welcomed everyone in participation. In his presentation, Prof. Dr. Elçi talked about how the Covid-19 pandemic has interrupted medical education around the world, the difficulties encountered, solutions and how it can be turned into an opportunity.
Stating that Flexner is regarded as the father of modern medical education, Prof. Dr. Elçi gave information about medical education in the 19th century. In his presentation, Prof. Dr. Elçi made the following statements: “Every event that comes into our lives adds new information to our basic medical knowledge as in the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, today we have learned that Covid-19 affects alveoli. When there is an attack on the human immune system, healthy alveoli die, and as a result, the ratio of oxygen and carbon dioxide changes, fluid enters the alveoli and breathing becomes impossible.”
Prof. Dr. Elçi emphasized that in the globalizing world of the 21st century, there are no borders between countries and that diseases can spread rapidly, and that the world has experienced this since the last year. Mentioning that the pandemic has affected medical education worldwide, Prof. Dr. Elçi added that online courses are at the forefront in this context. Emphasizing that the world is not ready for the pandemic, Prof. Dr. Elçi stated that the number of cases is a proof of this. Stating that the pandemic revealed that more attention should be paid to public health in medical education, Prof. Dr. Elçi emphasized that the new model medical education should focus on the protection, development and improvement of human health.
At the end of his presentation, Prof. Dr. Elçi pointed out that it is of great importance to have sufficient information about the disease, to wash hands, to comply with personal hygiene, social distance and mask rules and to keep the living environment clean in order to be protected from the Covid-19 pandemic.
As part of the 14 March Medicine Day events, an online painting exhibition will be held on Saturday, 20 March 20, 2021 as part of the 1st Brain Awareness Week. The painting exhibition, which will inaugurated at 10:00 a,m,, can be viewed on the faculty's webpage (https://medicine.emu.edu.tr/en).
