For the first time two students of Faculty of Medicine made an outstanding achievement in the Indonesia Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) in Brawijaya University Malang, East Java, from 13 to 17 July 2012. The two students, Arifah Nur Shadrina and Ivan Wudexi, successfully won the gold medal in the IMO for cardio-respiratory category.
"Of course, we are proud of this achievement, because they are prominent in scientific field, not in others," said Prof. Dr. Suhardjo, S.U., Sp. M (K), Vice Dean for Students, Alumni, Business and Welfare of the Faculty of Medicine, Friday (20/7), in the Grha Wiyata Meeting Room.
According to Suhardjo, the achievement is certainly very beneficial to both students. Because after graduating, they will take Indonesian Doctors Competency Test (UKDI) to obtain Certificate of Registration to practice. "The questions raised in the UKDI are almost the same as the questions in the IMO," he said.
dr. Muhamad Nurhadi Rahman, Sp.OG, their supervisor, said the IMO this time is the largest ever held comparedto that in 2011 that was only followed by 12 colleges. IMO this time was followed by 48 universities that offer physician education. "In Indonesia there are 72 universities of doctor education providers, but only 48 were present here, involving 386 students," he said.
The administration of the third IMO competition is very strict. As a long-established Faculty, Faculty of Medicine UGM can no longer underestimate new Faculties of Medicine. "Especially those from private colleges which have dynamism as well as enthusiasm for trying to pursue standardization of physician education, and I think the competition will be even tighter next year," he said.
Both Arifah Nur Shadrina and Ivan Wudexi are entitled to certificate and coaching money of 2.5 million rupiah. Both felt happy for being able to show the best performance despite the limited preparation. "You can imagine we did a month of preparation, thankfully we can pass it through," Ivan said.
Arifah explained the intense competition, each participant was required to take Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) and Objective Structural Practical Examination (OSPE) at qualification stage, and take MCQ, Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and Structural Objective Case Analysis (SOCA ) and Public Health (PH) in the final round. Even at MCQ, participants had to answer 200 questions in 120 minutes. "In the final it was almost the same, even within 30 minutes we had to make a presentation about the cardio-respiratory, about heart disease," she explained.
Dr. Med. Dr. Putrika Prastuti Ratna Gharini, another supervisor, said that following the IMO would be a valuable experience for the contingent of Faculty of Medicine UGM. Although not becoming the best and only won silver and bronze, other students of the Faculty have shown tenacity and passion for achieving the best performance. They are Vincentia Meta Widya Paramita and Faiz Allaudien Reza Mardhika for urogenital-reproductive category, Mega Susanti and Indra Setyawan for gastroentero hepatology category, Cita Nuansa Imane Putri and Primadhy Rahardian for neurology category and Rahma Patria B and Irfan Haris for Musculoskeletal category. "They have optimized their potential with intentions, motivation and effort," she said.