The team that won 1st place consists of Ivena Faustincia (11619003), Dewi Nurul Islami (11619026), and Anati Syahida (11619046) under the guidance of Dr. apt. Pratiwi Wikaningtyas, S.Farm., M.Si. On the other hand, the former team that earned the 3rd place consists of Aulian Fajarrahman (11618017), Fitri Rahmadini (11619001), and Nadila Nivio Anglina Maretha (11619040) with apt. Tjokorde Wife Armina Padmasawitri, S.Si., M.Si., Ph.D. as their supervisor.

Both teams went through three arduous and selective stages, competing with other teams from different universities across Indonesia. The competition began with an online preliminary round, where participants were given pharmacology questions in the form of case studies. With limited preparation time, the six students divided the learning materials among themselves so that each is given the responsibility to master a specific topic- their study strategy becomes more efficient.

After passing the preliminary round, the two teams qualified for the semifinal round held at Universitas Airlangga. Contestants are instructed to perform a correct simulation of cardiovascular system check-up to the community. However, the students were only given less than a week to prepare and practice the materials.

"During counseling, we must pay attention to the language we convey because most people would not understand the relevant medical terms. The style, intonation, expression, gestures and eye-contact during delivery must be kept in mind as well without it being boring. It must be interactive and engaging to the people,” Fitri, Vio, and Dewi added.

Upon entering the final round, participants were told to apply their clinical and community pharmacy skills in a 30-minute counseling session, in which they must explain information about the medicine to health workers and patients.

For the two teams, the final round was unexpected and full of surprises. They initially thought the medicine assigned would be written in a prescription, but they had to analyze it from the patient's medical record. It was a challenge for them to experience.

"The final stage was beyond our expectations, and it certainly is something that we are not fully prepared for. We were given complex medical records, complete with the patient’s daily progress," Ivena stated. “We were quite shocked.”

Despite the challenges, the two teams were able to face all the stages head-on with the materials they learned and simulations they performed. Believing all the struggles and progress made prepare them for the future, they accomplished a great feat with each of their abilities and the knowledge gained in class.

Reporter: Hanifa Juliana (Urban and Regional Planning, 2020)
Translator: Ruth Nathania (Environmental Engineering, 2019)