Croatia at the VdGM preconference in Vienna


Participants from Croatia: (standing l to r): Josip Družijanić (student), Ivana Babić, Dijana Ramić-Severinac, Franko Haller (student), (sitting): Tanja Pekez-Pavliško, Renata Pavlov

This year the Vasco da Gama Movement preconference was about “the art of becoming a general practitioner”.

Participants discussed, in four groups, how to balance the art with science in family medicine. Is it art or Evidence Based Medicine (EBM), or art and EBM? Soon I figured out we are looking for the Pythian answer (as from the Oracle of Delphi). My group skipped defining art, because you can look at it from many angles and never reach the answer. But still - the question was intriguing. If we strive for 100% EBM, does it create a robot? If all we are doing in our offices is art, are we then a medicine woman, a witchdoctor or a showman? Do we need talent as well as hard work? Is it going to be lot of players and just a few prima donnas? And isn't it that the patient is the main actor / player and we are there just for them? Can we learn everything there is to learn or would emotional intelligence be appreciated?

Isn't it all Yin and Yang? It’s always the same circle. My patient and I; me and my patient.

Group 4 took time out from their discussions at the preconference for a photo
And, as it is in every art - nothing without feelings! Feelings that the patient is expressing. Our feelings towards them. Even no feeling or an empty picture may have stronger message than you can handle.
Maybe that unpredictability or uniqueness of each consultation teases us - gives a flavour and texture to the art called medicine.

Dr Renata Pavlov (Croatia)