Svetlana Leonidovna Kulikova
Svetlana Leonidovna has been working in medicine for 18 years, and has been collaborating with the Chance Foundation for 4 years. Since 2018 we have been working together in the framework of the Assistance Program “Surgical treatment of epilepsy in children”.Social activities:
2010 to 2013 – Chairman of the Republican Section of Young Neurologists and Neurosurgeons of the Republican Society of Neurologists.
Since 2015 – EPNS member (European Paediatric Neurology Society).
Took part in the organization of many republican scientific and practical conferences.
Scientific activities:
Has 46 publications, 2 instructions for use, approved by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus.
She gave a paper at numerous congresses, scientific and practical conferences, seminars of the republican and international levels, scientific sessions and clinical conferences.
How many years have you worked in medicine?
18.
Why did you choose the medical profession and this particular specialization?
I've done some soul-searching more than once… In my family, there is no one who would work in the health system. At school, I was generally passionate about mathematics, did not like chemistry and biology, and until the beginning of grade 11 I was not going to be a doctor. I always have a feeling that there is some supreme power that makes the main decisions in my life for me... It was a spontaneous decision that, having originated in me, made me even obsessed with achieving the goal. One incomplete academic year was not enough for me to master chemistry, biology and physics at the proper level. And as a result, I did not enter. I remember how ashamed I was in front of my classmates. Everyone had already studied somewhere, and I continued to prepare for entrance. But the feeling of happiness when I realized that the exams were passed successfully is difficult to express in words.
So it was with the choice of specialty. At the university, I dreamed of cardiology, ophthalmology, oncology, clinical pharmacology, but I never considered neurology. I graduated from university with only two fours and on assignment, I was offered a whole range of specialties. And here again, the same unknown force made the choice for me.. “Neurology,” I said. I remember my husband (we studied together) could not hide his surprise: “You never thought about it?!”
What features are in your work? What is its uniqueness?
For me, neurology is the most interesting specialty! Sometimes it seems to me that the entire professional life is not enough to say, “Finally I grasped it!” It requires a lot of knowledge, logic, data analysis, constant study, and work with literature. Sometimes you get upset that the daylight hours are short and the body is so arranged that it needs to sleep at least 6-7 hours a day.
Where do you get your strength? What inspires you and helps you recover after a working day? What are your hobbies / interests?
When you work with people all day, you certainly feel exhausted by the end of the day. Even music in the car is different on the way to and from work: toning and invigorating in the morning and calm, relaxing in the evening. In general, I have one, in my opinion, a very unique ability - to sleep for 5 minutes, sometimes I manage to see a dream during this time and, waking up, feel rested. That's what I used to do when I return home, and, after that I turn into a mother and a wife. I love family dinners, evening walks, our country house and a bath-house on weekends. I look forward to watching a movie with the whole family every Friday night.
As for my inspirers, there are many of them ... first of all, this is my team - young, lively, interested. You rejoice for the success of each of them as for your own. Another driver of development is participation in international congresses. Returning after each of them, I am filled with new ideas. The result of your work is very important for the development of any doctor. When you see that you have solved some problem in a young patient, for example have made a diagnosis, helped with treatment, you understand that everything is not in vain... Strange as it may seem, failures are also inspiring. I usually get upset for one day. The next day I mobilize and build a new strategy.
What is the Chance Foundation for you?
Medicine is developing very dynamically: every year new methods of treatment and diagnostics appear. The introduction of these modern methods in different countries is proceeding at different rates. And “Chance” for me is a kind of bridge between what is and what will be. In this case, the Foundation performs a bi-directional task: on the one hand, it helps the child to receive a new method of treatment in the country where it is possible, on the other hand, together with the Ministry of Health, it is developing a strategy for the implementation of this method in our country. This, for example, is now happening with the program for epilepsy surgery in children Even 5 years ago, we could not even dream of some types of examination and surgical treatment. And today, thanks to the implementation of one of these programs, our children will be able to receive assistance at the level of advanced epileptological centers.
We are proud of our cooperation with Svetlana Leonidovna Kulikova and wish her every success in her hard work!
