IPOKRaTES – Neurology & Pediatrics Seminars
IPOKRaTES are an organization with local groups in Berlin, Munich, Vienna and Innsbruck, that organizes bedside teaching seminars throughout the year. For those seminars, we invite guest professors from renowned Universities from northern America and England. In the year 2024, after our Pediatrics seminar in February, we organized a second seminar at the end of September 2024 in Neurology.
Let us tell you a little about the two great events!
IPOKRaTES Pediatrics Seminar
Do you know how to examine a child? Have you heard of tularemia before? And do you think that you have enough bedside teaching experience?
All of these questions were answered in the IPOKRaTES pediatrics bedside teaching seminar in Innsbruck in the last week of February 2024. Hosted by our wonderful professors, Dr. Kiechl-Kohlendorfer and Dr. Müller, we were able to get a broader picture of what pediatric medicine has to offer. Not only did the participants get the chance to see and talk to different patients (or rather their parents) every day but they also got the opportunity to present cases, discuss them and expand their own knowledge.
Innsbruck got the honor to organize the first seminar of 2024, and together with our two guest lecturers Prof. Clifford Lo from Harvard University and Prof. Madan Kumar from the University of Chicago we were able to put together and plan a dream week for every medical student with an affinity or an inch of interest in pediatrics.
Our 20 participants from various medical universities in Austria and Germany had the opportunity to immerse themselves into the different specialties of pediatric medicine. After starting the week with a lecture on how to actually examine, interact with and talk to children they went to see their own patients right of the bat. Later on, the patients were presented to the whole group, discussed with the professors and taken as an example to learn something from. Each day the students saw as many patients as possible with different diagnoses and varying in age from a few days old to almost full-grown adults. Besides patient visits the participants also got a tour of the NICU, could practice their sonography skills and listened to interesting talks by our American guest professors and local hosts Prof. Kiechl-Kohlendorfer and Prof. Müller.
But the group spirit and the overall common curiosity to learn as much as possible (about peds and also from each other) did not stop in the seminar room. In the evenings we organized different events where there was plenty of time to get to know each other better and form lasting connections. Either by bonding over dinner and drinks, being on a team while playing board games or literally screaming the same karaoke song into the microphone.
Overall, it was an amazing seminar week and I think everybody will agree with me that it is incredible how much you can learn in just one week. In my opinion, all of the participants gained so much knowledge, confidence in their skills and outgrew themselves with all the advice and feedback they got from the professors as well as their peers.
© IPOKRaTES
IPOKRaTES Neurology Seminar
Acute strokes, infections, chronic conditions, autoimmune diseases, tumors, surgeries and so much more – Neurology in itself is a very diverse specialty. In September of 2024 we had the opportunity to learn more and explore this versatile branch of medicine. We were honored to have two guest professors from Yale medical school with us who took time to create a five-day bedside teaching seminar for and with us where 16 students from various Austrian and German universities were able to improve their bedside manner and gain some hands-on experience in the field of Neurology.
After our Pediatrics seminar in February, we organized the second seminar at the end of September 2024 with Prof. Joachim Baehring and Prof. Bhaskar Roy from Yale medical school. We also enjoyed two lectures from Prof. Freyschlag from the department of Neurosurgery in Innsbruck and Dr. Mayer-Süß from the department of Neurology in Innsbruck.
What did our week look like? After a general introduction on the first day we learned about taking a medical history with a focus on neurological symptoms and how to do a neurological exam. After that we started seeing patients right away. In groups of four we examined different patients, took their history and learned hands-on how to do a proper neurological examination. Our guest professors came along and helped us with various tests, explained what to focus on during our examination and provided us with many tips and tricks and gave us valuable insights into their experience with patients in neurology.
After seeing the patients we got back together and did our case presentations, worked on developing differential diagnoses and tried to figure out what underlying condition those patients had. Throughout the week we then had a diverse schedule consisting of seeing more patients with hands– on bedside teaching sessions, presentations and lectures by our American guests Prof. Baehring and Prof. Roy as well as Prof. Freyschlag and Dr. Mayer-Süß from Innsbruck.
Of course, after a full day of intense learning, we also planned a diverse evening program for all the applicants and our professors. Through food and drinks, bowling, board games and participating in a pubquiz together we were able to get to know each other better and quickly. So, within one week our little group grew together and what started as a room full of strangers ended up being one big team that shared this experience together and formed lasting connections.
We are so very thankful to all our lecturing and teaching professors and doctors, to our organizers in Innsbruck and of course to all the participants who made this experience possible. It was an amazing week that reminded us that learning is fun and exciting, gave us the chance to see many patients, and helped us improve our bedside manners. Last but not least we also got the opportunity to connect with motivated and determined fellow students. We gained so much knowledge while also having fun in our group and that is something we really value, so thank you!
Curious to find out more?
This really is what IPOKRaTES is all about:
Learning from each other and growing together to gain the most knowledge and experience while having an extremely fun time.
In case you are a dedicated, passionate and curious medical student who is now intrigued by our seminars, feel free to explore our website or follow us on Instagram (@ipokrates_students) to stay informed about upcoming seminars!
We would love to have you join us! 🙂
© IPOKRaTES
Rafaela Fridrich
Organisationsteam IPOKRaTES
Lena Kraft
Organisationsteam IPOKRaTES
