Medical and legal debate

On October 28, 2020, a student scientific and practical event called "Medical and Legal Debates" took place. Its uniqueness is that students of law and medical universities competed in the debates. The event was jointly organized by the Samara State Medical University and the Institute of Law of the Samara State Economic Academy. The topics were related to the most pressing problems of medical law in our country - legislative initiatives to expand opportunities for disclosing medical secrets, providing medical care without the patient's consent, the problems of bringing medical workers to criminal responsibility, legal regulation of innovative activities in medicine, etc. The debates were held on regulations developed by the Federal Chamber of the Russian Federation for the All-Russian Congress of Young Lawyers. The jury consisted of Natalya Yuryevna Sukhova, Vice-President of the Chamber of Lawyers of the Samara Region, Aleksey V. Kokin, Chairman of the Qualification Commission, Igor Anatolyevich Shmelev, Head of the Department of Medical Law of SamSMU, as well as the moderator of this event - a member of the PASO Council, teacher of the Department of Medical Law, Head of the Medical and Legal Clinic SamSMU Ivanova Tatyana Dmitrievna. The debate began with a welcoming speech by Maxim Aleksandrovich Tokmakov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Law of the SSEU, who addressed the participants through the Zoom program.

The event included two kick-off meetings, followed by the debate itself. Kick-off meetings were held at the Samara State Medical University and included classes on topical issues of medical law and rhetoric, conducted for the participants by T.D. Ivanova. A week before the debate, a drawing of lots took place, during which each student received a thesis that he must defend. In many cases, the lot determined the participant a position with which he initially did not completely agree internally, but had to find arguments in its defense.

Of course, the epidemiological situation made its own adjustments to the regulations of the event - in terms of the number of participants, the need to observe social distance and mask regime, etc. However, compliance with all the established requirements made it possible to conduct the debates in person and gave an unforgettable experience to all participants.

The panel, which is predominantly made up of practicing lawyers, expected a higher level of interventions from law students and less from doctors. However, the preparation of the latter literally delighted everyone. Interesting, modern presentations, vivid examples from their own practice of students working in hospitals and clinics, delivered speech and mastery of legal terminology forced the jury to unconditionally give the first and second prize places to medical students. Law students also kept pace and impressed the jury and audience with their preparation and audience ownership. The representative of the Institute of Law of SSEU received the 3rd place. Despite the fact that excitement was present among all the participants, there was no question of reading from a piece of paper.

The debates and their preparatory stages were filled with the joy of face-to-face meetings, a craving for new knowledge and became an interesting and vivid episode in a series of disturbing and often unhappy everyday life of recent times. Thanks to this project, law students plunged into a new industry for them - medical law, saw its relevance and prospects. And medical students have come to understand that in the modern world one of the components of a doctor's success in his practical, scientific and innovative activities is a solid knowledge of law and interaction with the world of jurisprudence.

PASO Press Center