II. National Medical Students Congress

This year, we organized the second National Medical Students Congress. Organizing these congresses is a difficult task, not easy. I would especially like to thank the organization committee.

The event, planned for June, was postponed due to the earthquake, and its scope was also changed. In the last three years, we have faced two major events: one is a global disaster, the pandemic, and the other is a regional disaster, the earthquake. These unexpected events deeply affect our lives. When the pandemic began, we were in a Senate meeting. Issues such as the closure of schools, universities, and hospitals were on the agenda. I saw that some of our professors were hesitant to come to work, especially on the hospital side. This situation reminded me of Ibn Sina. At the beginning of his medical career, Ibn Sina encountered a major plague epidemic in the Khorasan region. While everyone was fleeing the region during the epidemic, Ibn Sina's student also suggested the same to him:

“Everyone is fleeing, let's flee too.”

However, Ibn Sina said;

“We are physicians, we must be in the field, we cannot flee,” and remained in the region.

This year, we will address natural disasters and the difficulties experienced in dealing with disasters. But even in the fight against all these disasters, a person's biggest opponent is themselves. Think about Ibn Sina's situation. If his biggest opponent had been laziness or fear within him... If he had been a person who lived in fear, an Ibn Sina would not have emerged. Therefore, our biggest opponent is ourselves; the desires and impulses within us… It is important to change the self-interest within us.

There is a saying: Is it profitable to be self-interested or virtuous? When I ask this question, many people thinking with a capitalist logic say: “Of course, it is profitable to be self-interested.” Not being self-interested in this era seems like foolishness. They see self-interest as shrewdness. Even honesty has become a virtue in this era. However, honesty is actually a quality that everyone should possess. Being self-interested may seem profitable in the short term; but in the medium and long term, considering the need for strategic thinking, being virtuous is profitable. Even in a disaster situation, Ibn Sina's consideration of humanity rather than his own interest, fulfilling his professional duty, and acting in accordance with ethical values became a characteristic of his.

On this occasion, I wish success to the 2nd Medical Student Congress (ÜSCOM), held with the main theme of ‘Medical Approach in Natural Disasters’, and I thank the Organizing Committee and everyone who contributed, and I wish them success.

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan

Publication Date: 2025

ISBN: 978-625-95464-4-5

Number of Prints: 1st Edition

Language: Turkish

Number of pages: 46

Publisher: Üsküdar University Publications - 98