On Saturday, students of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences USB who helped in hospitals during the pandemic won The South Bohemian Nurse competition. The victorious four-member team achieved the most points of all the 15 participating teams – who came from universities, colleges, and secondary schools. The cup was awarded in person by the Minister of Health, Adam Vojtěch, during a ceremony at the Clarion Hotel.
The faculty nominated three teams for the 6th year of the one-day competition held at České Budějovice hospital. Two of these finished second and fourth in their category. In total, 15 teams from universities, colleges and schools of health care measured their strength in the competition. Team No. 2, represented by Tereza Svárovská, Dominik Král, Ilona Špirochová and Nicole Šubrová, won category 1 (higher education institutions and universities), and became the overall winner of the whole competition.
The Dean of the faculty, Ivana Chloubová, praised not only the winners, but also the members of the other two teams from FHSS USB – all of whom had experienced the effects of the pandemic in health care at school and in practice. She said, "These are the ones who were deployed to hospitals in times of emergency and managed to move quickly to wherever staff were most needed. They were able to function in challenging conditions, proving themselves helpful and reliable. Of course, we are happy about the overall first place award, but all of our students are winners to us." She also thanked the head of year, Hana Hajduchová, and all the colleagues from the Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care of FHSS USB for preparing the students professionally, and for their positive motivation and support.
Bohumil Jiroušek, the Rector of the University of South Bohemia, was also a guest at the gala evening. He was delighted with the results of the competition, as well as the whole event and awards ceremony. He said,“It is an exceptional competition and I am delighted to have such competent students who will become health care professionals in the future. It gives me hope that if they ever care for me, everything will turn out well."
České Budějovice hospital prepared fifteen disciplines with amusing names, reminiscent of famous films and TV shows – so the students often didn't know until the last moment what to expect. The doors were marked with names such as Nurse in Action, The Bone Collectors, The Mummy Returns, The Apple Game, The Rose Garden Surgery, or Alles Gute. In the latter, students had to demonstrate knowledge of English or German, as the task was to treat a stranger. To make the situation as realistic as possible, the performers wore Tyrolean costumes or a Muslim headscarf and a long shirt. The competition was dynamic and exciting, it started at nine o'clock and finished by four in the afternoon. Afterwards, students, academics, hospital staff, and other guests moved to the Clarion Hotel for the results – which no one could have predicted given the number and difficulty of the events.
It was the third time that the Minister of Health, Adam Vojtěch, attended the competition as a guest. He described it as one of the best projects in our country to promote the profession of general nurses and health professionals in general and, above all, to motivate young people to get involved in the health sector. He told the students, "I think if covid has brought us something good, it is this – it has increased the prestige of health professionals and the interest in studying at medical schools. I hope this competition has also made you more confident that after you graduate you will go on to work in the Czech health sector, which needs you a lot."
