CORONA PUT US IN OUR PLACE! Dr Davidović: 'Serbian healthcare system proves better than systems in much richer countries'
"Before the pandemic, modern humans acted both irresponsibly and arrogantly towards their natural environment, other humans, even themselves. We behaved as if we were the lords of all around us, and then a very simple-structured virus, but one with great 'hostile' capabilities, made us aware of what the reality was, even put us in our place. I think that our healthcare system has proven much better and more efficient than the healthcare systems of much richer countries. I mean primarily the swift construction and equipping of as many as three hospitals, and obtaining the vaccines and cutting-edge, most expensive medications," Lazar Davidović, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, vascular surgeon, and Chief Physician at the Serbian Medical Centre's Vascular and Endovascular Clinic, said in his interview with Kurir.
Let's kick off by asking you if you are happy with what you have achieved in the first six months as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine?
"I'm happy with what we have done in the first six months, although it's always best if other people make that sort of assessment. We've faced numerous challenges, the biggest doubtless being organizing practicals amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Let's just recall that in the preceding period medical science students hadn't had practicals for a year and a half, and practicals are one of the most important segments in their education. Practicals at the Faculty of Medicine are far more important than at other faculties. We'd been trying to find a way to get things organized without putting anyone at more risk of infection. This included lecturers, teaching assistants, students, and, above all, patients, as our practicals 'classrooms' aren't just laboratories, but also operating theatres, in-patient rooms, birth centres, etc. Students get into all these places. Although the Faculty's decision on conducting practicals raised some eyebrows, we managed to implement it almost fully. It was only in January, in the last ten days of the term, when the epidemiological situation was very unfavourable, that this form of teaching had to be conducted online as well. Both the students and the lecturers were happy with conducting practicals the way they're usually done."
What is the most important thing that you have planned for the upcoming period?
"In the upcoming period, we are planning to improve the undergraduate and graduate teaching, as well as the research activities. For example, new modules have been introduced in the PhD programmes, which gives us reason to expect international students as well. In a similar vein, a subspecialist cardiological programme has been accredited by the European Heart Failure Association. We've also had the opportunity to promote our Faculty at the Dubai Expo. A suturing training was organized for the students who have completed the surgery course. We will also endeavour to improve the general working and studying conditions, and the relevant government ministries have pledged their assistance in this matter. For example, funds have been set aside for renovating and equipping the English language teaching premises – with 100 students attending these lessons annually at the Faculty – and this should all be finalized by the end of the year. There is ongoing work on a monograph resulting from a monograph commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Faculty."
Charges were pressed against the Faculty of Medicine early this year because it required a negative PCR test, proof of vaccination, or proof of having had Covid-19 as a condition for attending lectures. You were interviewed by the police and the prosecutor's office. How do you comment on the charges? Has there been an epilogue?
"It is true that I myself provided information on the measure in question to the authorities, and made available to them the decisions made by the relevant bodies of the Faculty of Medicine. There was nothing unpleasant about it. No charges were filed against the Faculty of Medicine or anything of the sort related to this. There is no epilogue because there was no beginning or a process of any kind."
Were you surprised by the fairly small coronavirus vaccination rates among students? It was from them that we have heard many prejudices and conspiracy theories.
"I don't know what students you mean. I can assure you that the vaccination rates among medical science students were unsurprisingly high. I have said this on a number of occasions. Among the juniors and seniors, over 90 percent of students have taken the jab. What the vaccination rates are at other faculties, I honestly don't know."
Do you still stand by your statement: "If necessary, I would take the vaccine every month"?
"Of course I still stand by that statement. People much more competent than me – epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists – have insisted many times that vaccination is the most efficient means of preventing this disease. I'm glad that we got hold of the vaccine as early as in late 2020. There's no question that it must and will be improved. Experts are yet to tell us how often vaccination will be needed, and my family and myself will certainly follow their advice. I'll always say this to both students and the general public."
Can the world already get a clear picture of all the effects that the pandemic has had on human health? There have also been many postponed operations and medical check-ups.
"We are now in a situation that allows us to talk more specifically and in greater detail about the so-called indirect effects of the pandemic on human health. Some ten days ago, a very important international conference was held in Belgrade that focused on the Covid pandemic. Experts from all disciplines took part, and I was asked to prepare a segment about cardiovascular surgery. We had as many as three sessions at which 90 percent of presenters were international. Literally from every continent. They discussed the ways in which their services were organized during the Covid pandemic. Every single one of them acknowledged the fact that the Covid pandemic had sadly pushed back the treatment of many patients suffering from various cardiovascular diseases. Many of these patients – and the experience that we have had at our clinic confirms this – come in now in advanced stages of their diseases, when treatment is more difficult, less certain, and riskier. The specialist literature has increasing numbers of papers that confirm this. So, the markedly negative effects are already noticeable, but I think that we don't yet have a clear picture of it. I'm sure that my colleagues who treat other diseases, above all cancers, can say the same thing."
What was the most important thing that you have come to realize, find out, and learn during the coronavirus pandemic?
"My impression is that before the pandemic, modern humans acted both irresponsibly and arrogantly towards their natural environment, other humans, even themselves. We behaved as if we were the lords of all around us, and then a very simple-structured virus, but one with great 'hostile' capabilities, made us aware of what the reality was, even put us in our place. The pandemic required us to adapt and change in many ways, but not everyone was equally exposed. Healthcare systems, medical doctors, nurses, lab workers, and auxiliary medical personnel bore the brunt of it all. I think that our healthcare system has proven much better and more efficient than the healthcare systems of much richer countries. I mean primarily in terms of the swift construction and equipping of as many as three hospitals, and obtaining the vaccines and cutting-edge, most expensive medications. Humanity and solidarity, two of what are perhaps the greatest gains of civilization, were hit hard by the pandemic as well. I'll try to illustrate that using a text that I got from my best friend Srđan Radovanović, a respectable Belgrade lawyer. When students asked the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead what the first sign of civilization was, they expected her to talk about fishing hooks, knitting needles, or millstones. Not at all. She said that the first sign of civilization is the fossil record of a fractured femur that healed. The reason being that in the animal world, no individual can survive a leg fracture, as it cannot feed or defend itself. And absent these things, it cannot live long enough for the leg to heal. The same was true of the members of the earliest human groups. The fossil finding of a healed fractured femur is evidence that a human being had taken care of another human being long enough, i.e. until the bone healed. The evidence that someone helped another person is the first sign of civilization. We are at our best when we help those who are in need, Margaret Mead concluded. And those who have worked, who work, and who do not yet know how long they will have to work at Covid hospitals do a lot more, because by helping Covid patients, they put their own health at risk."
I know that it is difficult to make any predictions, but are there indications that the world could be threatened by new pandemics, possibly worse ones, in the future?
"Epidemiologists, infectious disease specialists, and microbiologists can give a more precise answer to that question than me. Personally, I don't rule out the possibility."
Boban Karović
