Our students at the Government Coronavirus Call Centre visited by the President of the Republic of Slovenia

In cooperation with the National Institute of Public Health, the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Febrile Illnesses of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana and the Ministry of Public Administration, the Government Communication Office re-established the call centre, which provided residents with reliable information on the novel coronavirus epidemic in Slovenia. The call centre opened for the second time on 19 October 2020 and operated until 30 June 2021, two weeks after the end of the declared epidemic. On the last day, the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor visited students of our faculty in the call centre to acknowledge their contribution to controling the spread and mitigating the consequences of COVID-19.

Since 9 March last year, when the call centre was established for the first time, 173 students of the Medical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana have selflessly offered their help in informing the Slovenian public. They have done so under the leadership of the Government Communication Office and the supervision and mentorship of experts from various fields. With kindness, understanding, and enthusiasm, the students have answered more than 180,000 calls from citizens. 

Senior students of Medicine and Dental Medicine provided answers to questions from various fields, such as COVID-19 symptoms, vaccinations, hygiene and safety guidelines, border crossings, and numerous others.

The Faculty of Medicine would like to thank all the students for their contribution to the control of the epidemic and their work, which was already recognized last year, when the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor, presented the call centre with a replica of the Apple of Inspiration in June 2020. During the call centre's operation, the call centre was visited by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, the Dean of the UL MF Prof Igor Švab MD PhD, and the Rector of the University of Ljubljana Prof Igor Papič PhD and others.

The medical students at the call centre were coordinated by Ivana Krajnc, Klemen Petek and Kevin Pelicon. As one of the experts, who helped the students, our professor Mojca Matičič MD PhD represented the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Febrile Illnesses of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana.

We are convinced that the experience will help our students in their further studies and career, as it has equipped them with important communication and crisis management skills. The Faculty of Medicine is proud of its students, whose participation in the call centre is just one of the many ways our students have been able to help citizens during the pandemic.

 

 

More:
- UL Faculty of Medicine (SLO)
- Office of the President of the Republic (SLO)
- Government Communication Office (SLO)

 

Cover photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA