site.btaBulgarian Emergency Medicine Recognized as Mission, Not Job at Conference in Sofia

At a scientific conference titled "Proud to Provide Emergency Medical Care" held in Sofia on Tuesday to mark International Emergency Medicine Day, Valentin Dimitrov, Director of the Pirogov emergency hospital, described emergency care as both a calling and a mission.

"Emergency care is where the greatest giants of Bulgarian medicine have emerged from," said Dimitrov. "It is a vocation, not just a job", he added.

He went on to address the emotional and professional strain that emergency medical teams often endure: "You are exposed to the harshest aspects of doctor–doctor and doctor–patient relations. In our society, emergency care teams are the ‘pressure valve on the pressure cooker’. You are often subjected to humiliation and insults – when you go to save lives, instead of thanks, you often receive what you least deserve," Dimitrov said. "Regardless of the difficulties in the healthcare system, we bear their consequences without being at fault for them," he added.

Rosen Radev, head of the National Centre for Training and Qualification in the Emergency Medical Assistance System, said that since 2019, when training under the Pulse project began for emergency care professionals, more than 8,500 people have been trained at the Centre. "These trainings would not have been possible without the support and dedicated knowledge-sharing from colleagues at Pirogov," he emphasized.

Key topics on the scientific conference’s agenda include:

• Prehospital and hospital stroke treatment organization
• Liaison psychiatry in emergency settings
• Hereditary angioedema
• Standards and protocols for activating air medical transport
• Added value of care in paediatric emergency departments