A Symposium Held on Novelties in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Diseases of the Gastrointestinal System

The interdisciplinary symposium "Novelties in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Diseases of the Gastrointestinal System" held on 22 April 2023 at the Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Republic of Srpska (ANURS), gathered numerous local doctors who had the opportunity to hear presentations by distinguished experts from the Republic of Srpska, as well as other countries in the region and the world.

Rector of the University of Banja Luka Prof. Radoslav Gajanin, PhD, said that the goal of such gatherings is for domestic specialists and residents to hear what the novelties in the respective fields of medicine are.

"Another goal is for domestic experts to visit European centers and to gain knowledge from different fields in the clinical and diagnostic branches of medicine", the rector stated and emphasized that such gatherings will become a tradition where novelties from different branches of medicine will be presented every year.

As he stated, the symposium was attended by pathologists as a diagnostic branch of medicine, and surgeons, oncologists and radiotherapists as clinical branches of medicine.

Academician Duško Vulić, president of the Committee for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases of the ANURS Department of Medical Sciences, states that last year a symposium was held on the treatment of malignant tumors in children, and that thanks to the initiative of Rector Gajanin, this symposium is becoming traditional.

”Chronic non-communicable diseases, which include cardiovascular diseases, malignant diseases, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diseases of the digestive system, constitute a crucial worldwide health problem. Between two and three percent of the population dies from diseases of the gastrointestinal system in our country as well as in Europe”, Vulić says.

He says that ANURS mainly organizes interdisciplinary gatherings, such as this symposium on novelties and diagnostics in the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal system, where certain topics are reviewed from all aspects. As he stated, everything that is analysed, discussed, along with conclusions reached, will be published in the proceedings so as to make it available to all doctors in the Republic of Srpska.

Pediatric pathologist engaged in Qatar Prof. Gordan Vujinić, MD, a member of the Organizing Committee of this symposium, says that the goal of this event is to bring distinguished experts from abroad to Banja Luka, but also to gather domestic experts in one place.

As he pointed out, such gatherings are also an opportunity to establish additional cooperation with distinguished experts from around the world, in order to pave the way for further training of doctors from these areas.

Professor from the Medical University of Graz, Dr. Cord Langner, states that he is satisfied with the organization of the symposium.

“This is a significant event that is interdisciplinary in nature, and interdisciplinary teaching and learning is becoming more and more important, because we pathologists learn from clinicians, and clinicians learn from us.'', he said and expressed hope that in the future he will have the opportunity to host staff from Banja Luka and the Republic of Srpska in Graz and share knowledge with them.

The organizer of this symposium is the Committee for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases of the ANURS Department of Medical Sciences, in cooperation with the University of Banja Luka, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Banja Luka and the Association of Oncologists of the Republic of Srpska. Presentations at the symposium were given by Prof. Cord Langner, MD, Prof. Radmila Janković, MD, MSc Dragan Prokić, MD, Asst. Prof. Aleksandar Gluhović, MD, Asst. Prof. Saša Jungić, MD, and Prof. Goran Marošević, MD.

Meeting with the University Management

Prior to the commencement of the symposium "Novelties in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Diseases of the Gastrointestinal System", the rector of the University of Banja Luka, Prof. Radoslav Gajanin, PhD, had a working meeting with Prof. Cord Lagner, MD, and Prof. Gordan Vujinić, MD. During the meeting at the Rectorate of the University of Banja Luka, which was attended by Vice-Rector for Material and Human Resources Prof. Dalibor Kesić, PhD, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Prof. Ranko Škrbić, PhD, and Prof. Slaviša Đuričić, PhD, establishment of cooperation with the Medical University in Graz, where prof. Langner is employed, was discussed.

This meeting was an opportunity for Rector Gajanin to introduce the guest from Austria to the work and activities undertaken at the University of Banja Luka, and he pointed out that a large number of professors and teaching assistants of our higher education institution participate in numerous international projects. He shared the project-related experiences with him, emphasizing that our colleagues are reliable partners and coordinators of EU-funded projects. The plan is for a certain number of doctors specializing in pathology to go to the Medical University of Graz for additional training in the future.