Pharmacology Olympiad 2025: Developing Clinical Thinking in Dentistry Students

On November 13, 2025, the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy hosted a Pharmacology Olympiad for students of the “Dentistry” educational-professional program.
This competition, organized to identify, support, and develop creative abilities, became a powerful catalyst demonstrating a high level of integration between academic knowledge and clinical thinking.

The Olympiad was not a mere formal knowledge test but a true two-stage marathon involving the 13 top third-year students. The first stage, the Qualifying Round (November 7), was a rigorous online test consisting of 40 questions that filtered only the most prepared participants. The Final Stage (November 13), held in classrooms №715 and 720, was the decisive challenge, designed to test not so much memory as the ability to apply knowledge in critical situations. Participants worked on advanced tests, classified drugs, solved complex pharmacotherapeutic problems, and identified medications based on their pharmacological properties. The maximum score was 100.

The significance of the event was enhanced by the presence of key figures from both academic and practical fields. The jury, headed by the Head of the Department, Iryna Tymchenko, included:

Denys Makhnitsky – Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry
Kateryna Anzina – Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Psychology, and Management
Sepideh Parchami Ghazae – Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy
Kateryna Marchenko-Tolsta – Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy
Larysa Novikova – Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy
Volodymyr Horovyi – 5th-year medical student, Educational Assistant, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy

The jury’s work was also honored by a distinguished guest, Oleksandr Sevriukov, Deputy Director for Pharmaceutical Affairs at the pharmaceutical company “Apteka 911.” His participation symbolized the inseparable link between university science and the real pharmaceutical sector, highlighting the practical value of the knowledge acquired by students.

A special honor for the participants was the greeting from the University Rector, Borys Ivniev. His words underscored the importance of this discipline as the foundation of safe medical practice and emphasized that the university takes pride in students striving for academic excellence.

Based on the results of the competition, the top three leaders were:

Tsopa Oleksandra
Panchenko Denys
Burtsyo Anhelina

The Olympiad participants demonstrated a key quality essential in medicine — the ability to make rapid and responsible decisions. Thus, this competition goes beyond a simple knowledge test. It serves as a comprehensive motivational mechanism, enhancing the educational process and ensuring that the medical community receives not only graduates with diplomas but also highly skilled professionals capable of effectively applying critical knowledge to help patients.

IMG_2611

20251113_183355

IMG_5978

20251113_182936

IMG_2614

IMG_2620