Informator uniwersytecki

What do you think about the SimChallenge 2023 Competition in the Pharmacy category?
Prof. PhD Grażyna Biala: The introduction of the Pharmacy category to the SimChallenge competition turned out to be a great idea. Our students demonstrated professional knowledge and skills starting from prescription fulfillment to specialized pharmaceutical care. They excelled at the difficult, in my opinion, problem of interviewing a simulated patient and determining potential drug interactions. This requires a great deal of knowledge, interpersonal communication skills, but also empathy. Seeing the needs for the development of so-called soft skills, we are trying together in the College of Deans, to adapt the educational program to the needs of the implementation of a profession of public trust, which is also a pharmacist. I hope that every year the competition will attract more and more interest.

I also asked the participants representing each team about their impressions and valuable experiences of the competition:
Why did you decide to participate in the competition?
Third year team: We decided to take part in the competition to test our knowledge and out of a desire to gain new experiences.
Rafał Krakowiak, 5th year: Curiosity. I found out that this was the first edition of this event and thought it could be fun.
Dominika Kos, 5th year: I took part in the competition, mainly to test myself. To find out what I got out of the studies, how much I remembered and whether I would manage behind the first table without any problems.

What was the challenge for you?
Fourth year team: The biggest challenge was meeting the task with a pregnant simulated patient. We thought there was a doctor's error in prescribing a beta-blocker during pregnancy. It turned out otherwise, but it shows what kind of knowledge you need to have in order to help patients in the right way.
Dominika Kos, 5th year: The most difficult, but also the most rewarding, in my opinion, were the conversations with patients. When you have to solve a drug problem, to combine an adverse reaction with the substances you are taking, there is some incompatibility, drug interaction, you definitely have to think about it for a while.

What are you satisfied with? What was successful for you during the competition? What gave you satisfaction?
Third year team: We are satisfied with the very good organization and the variety of tasks performed.
Fourth year team: We certainly did a great job with the drug review and inhaler instructions - as it turned out the best in the preliminaries. In addition, explaining the interaction to the competition committee we can consider a great success - learning pharmacology and toxicology did not go to waste. We found and named drug interactions well.
Dominika Kos, 5th year: I think the SimChallenge competition was a time well spent - learning through fun and a bit of competition. A big plus here is working in groups. And once you've solved the "puzzle," there's joy that you managed to help someone.

What did the competition teach you? 
Third year team: The competition taught us the importance of good communication with patients and the responsibility we will have in the future.
Fourth year team: Certainly that we are an important link in patient care. It's up to us to play the role of convincing the patient of the validity of the therapy, but also to monitor safety, whether on an individual scale or in society as a whole. In addition, you can see that even in later work you will have to constantly educate yourself to stay up to date - for example, with the guidelines for treating hypertension in pregnancy. But with the experience we've gained this year, we won't give up and will compete next year!

The competition was summarized by Tomasz Baj, MD, president of the Regional Pharmacy Council. The Lublin Regional Pharmacy Council was one of the patrons of the 11th MedIQ conference.
Tomasz Baj, MD, PhD: The "SimChallenge 2023" competition allowed Pharmacy students to demonstrate their skills in providing pharmaceutical services. As a pharmacy self-government, we highly appreciate the preparation of the graduates of the Faculty of Pharmacy, as evidenced by the professional preparation of the participants. I am convinced that the participation of students in such projects is a motivation for them to deepen their practical knowledge, which they will later be able to use in their professional work. I sincerely congratulate all the participants and the Organizers, and I hope that SimChallege will be held periodically in future years.