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Skill Race was organised for the third time by the Medical Skills Education and Innovation Centre this year, but students from abroad also participated in the competition for the first time among 22 teams from 5 institutions to present their practical knowledge in the medical field. Based on their feedback, the competition is really popular among students, many of them participated again just like in the previous years.

Written by Miklós Stemler

12 teams of medical students and 10 teams of dentistry students competed between 3–4 October 2025 at the Medical Skills Education and Innovation Centre of the University of Pécs Medical School, where they had the opportunity to get familiar with first aid and also with serious medical emergency situations. In addition to the well-known tasks, the third Skill Race included plenty of new elements, as well.

„Stations based on scenarios were set up last year and we really relied on their feedback, so this year the competition was much more precise, making the work of the judges easier. There was also a station with a built environment as the colleagues of the Skill Lab of the Békés County Central Hospital created a forest walkway at the Traumatology case station. For the first time, we had a Paediatrics station this year, where two young residents from Pécs helped, so we would like to thank them for that. First Aid was also a new station, which was interesting, because a completely lay treatment had to be carried out at an accident scene detected by civilians, so the simulation was completely realistic thanks to bystanders. The competitors did not know much about it before, and that is why interesting results came out” – says Fruzsina Abuczki, institute administrator and one of the organisers of the competition.

According to the rules, teams of five could apply for the competition, and students from abroad also joined the competition this year as two teams including dentistry students from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Târgu Mureș represented themselves. In addition, thanks to previously gained positive experiences, several students competed again. This was the case with the Sino morbo team from the Semmelweis University (SOTE), which won the medical category.

„Two members of our team participated in the competition last year, they mentioned many times how much they had enjoyed the competition, also that they had learned so much during the preparation and the competition” – says team leader Dániel Nyiri. Kitti Szendrey, the leader of the Dentartist team from Pécs, which won the dentistry category, also confirms the importance of oral tradition. „The team members and I did not even know each other until we applied, so we were completely blind about each other’s skills at different kinds of areas. Personally, I had my eye on the competition last year, but at that time I did not know much about what it was exactly about. I heard from our fellow students participating last year how good, sometimes playful, sometimes serious tasks they had to carry out and demonstrate their knowledge in.”

The organisers received positive feedback regarding the competition from previous years.

„It really demonstrates the impact of the Skill Race that the participants last year in Szeged stayed as demonstrators in the skill lab, and our winning team from last year actively participated in the organisation and in preparing the students this year, as well. Besides studying, they were here every evening until seven to organise the instructors, give advice to the competitors on what they should pay attention to and how to overcome their anxiety during the competition. As teams from Pécs finished in second and third place, the girls felt like proud mothers that their work was worth it, and they also stood there with almost the same satisfaction and joy as when they had won last year” – says Fruzsina Abuczki. Being responsible for organising the dental category, Dr. Kinga Turzó, associate professor at the Department of Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, emphasizes the significance of the competition beyond itself. „The Dental Skill Race has become not only a competition, but also an event to build community, a forum where dentistry students, teachers and professionals work together to ensure that practical knowledge truly becomes a value.”

We are so glad about all of this, because the main aim of the Skill Race is to draw attention to the importance of practical medical knowledge in an exciting, experiential way, while we also provide students with valuable knowledge for their future careers.

„Even if the competition does not increase the popularity of specific medical professions, the time spent preparing and competing might support many students, especially younger ones, to be more open to a particular profession. They get the chance to become familiar with equipment, procedures, and theoretical knowledge that they do not get during their third or fourth year of their studies, so they are able to participate in targeted tasks and get deeper insight of a particular field” – emphasizes Fruzsina Abuczki, and the participants see it this way, as well.

„During medical training, teachers mostly expect lexical knowledge from us, so we considered it valuable that we had the opportunity to practice practical skills during the preparation for the competition. Our team members plan five different specializations, but each of them found the competition extremely useful for their own future career. Most of the manual skills are indispensable for every clinical doctor. We take with us many experiences and skills from what we learned here that will be useful in our future work. Moreover, we were able to practice many non-technical skills, such as effective communication, teamwork, situation awareness, assertive communication” – says Dániel Nyiri from Sine morbo, while Szendrey Kitti, leader of Dentartist, also highlights the importance of teamwork. „We couldn't have completed the tasks without each other and as a team. We supported, encouraged, and helped each other. We will never forget the knowledge and experience we gained at the competition, and I am sure that we will use it in life, as well.”

The next Skill Race is currently being updated to be even better, and the organisers are also collecting feedback.

„We tried to change the evaluation system also this year, because based on the previous years, the difference between the first three to six places was less than one percentage. So, we tried to redefine this, but we still have work to do, because the difference between the first four places remained less than one percentage (one point) this year, as well. Since there were teams from abroad in the dentistry category, we are also thinking about open the medical category to international teams, but this would require a change in the structure of the competition. Internationalization will require serious work as with the 22 teams and the 110 students competing, we have reached the maximum capacity” – says Fruzsina Abuczki.

Probably there will be no shortage of applicants, as students had great experiences this year, as well.

„The stations had a very good atmosphere, thanks to the positive attitude of the evaluators. We were also very happy about receiving feedback, we learned a lot from them. We also really enjoyed the event at the evening, getting to know and talking to students and lecturers from other universities was really good. We wholeheartedly recommend that every medical student should prepare and attend the competition when they have the opportunity, as it helps to connect theoretical and practical knowledge” – encourages his fellow students Dániel Nyiri.

The winners of the Dentistry category in 2025:

I. place: DentArtists – University of Pécs

II. place: PresiDEnts – University of Debrecen

III. place: Decay Decoders – University of Debrecen

The winners of the Medical category in 2025:

I. place: Sine morbo – Semmelweis University

II. place: Flatline – University of Pécs

III. place: HyPOTEnsio – University of Pécs

Gallery:

Photos:

Kerekes Fotó & Film