The brilliant victory of Vitebsk State Medical University students at the Olympiad on Infectious Diseases in Gomel: continuity of traditions and high level of practical training

The team of Vitebsk State Medical University returned triumphantly from Gomel, where the Republican Olympiad in infectious diseases and epidemiology was held using simulation technologies. Our students were awarded first-degree diplomas, demonstrating not only deep theoretical knowledge but also excellent practical skills.

It is especially heartening to note that the university's honor was defended by students of the pediatric faculty. This is symbolic because it is primarily pediatricians—primary care doctors—who are at the forefront of the fight against infectious diseases every day. They are often the first to recognize the disease and prescribe the appropriate management tactics for young patients.

The key to this success was the well-coordinated work of the student and faculty team of the Department of Infectious Diseases, as well as the deep continuity among generations of staff at the department. The students were trained under the strict guidance of the head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Honored Scientist Valery Semenov. His leadership combined the efforts of experienced mentors and talented young educators, allowing the transfer not only of fundamental knowledge accumulated through years of practice but also of modern approaches to diagnosis and treatment.

An essential factor in the victory was practice-oriented learning, which is a priority for Belarus and our university today. Future doctors sharpened their practical skills and clinical thinking at the VSMU simulation center. The close cooperation and effective interaction between the Department of Infectious Diseases and the simulation center created conditions as close as possible to real clinical practice. Students worked through action algorithms for particularly dangerous infections and emergencies to the point of automatism, ensuring confidence during the competition stages.

On behalf of the teaching staff, I would like to express my gratitude to the colleagues who contributed to this success: staff of the Department of Infectious Diseases and the simulation center. Of course, we are proud of our students, who represented the university with dignity and demonstrated the high standards of Vitebsk's medical school.

Старший преподаватель кафедры инфекционных болезней Редненко Антон Викторович