A joint scientific poster between students of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Universitas Indonesia (FM UI), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), and Sam Ratulangi University (Unsrat) became the best poster at the 2022 Asian Medical Students’ Conference (AMSC) international event in Seoul, South Korea. AMSC is an annual event organized by the medical student organization Asian Medical Students Association (AMSA) International.
With the theme “Telemedicine: Is it ideal or suboptimal?“, the team consisting of Josh Nathaniel Jowono (FM UI 2020), Shakira Amirah (FM UI 2020), Natalie Gabriela Edravenia Tombokan (FK Unsrat), and Rifkanisa Nur Faiza (FKKMK UGM), made poster entitled “Breaking Through Barriers on Improving Balance and Gait in Parkinson`s Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Virtual Reality Telerehabilitation”. The student team competing at AMSC 2022 July 17-23, 2022 in South Korea are representatives of AMSA-Indonesia.
AMSA is an organization of medical students engaged in social, medical, educational, and humanitarian fields. AMSA is joined by 28 countries, including Indonesia. Besides Asia, AMSA’s membership includes Australia, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine.
FM UI student Josh Nathaniel Jowono said that the formation of this collaboration between medical students was indeed prepared to take part in the AMSC 2022 competition. “The beginning of this collaboration was formed when we wanted to participate in the competition, where we already knew each other through the AMSA organization. We realized that each of us has different strengths, so we can complement each other and produce the best thing we can do. This collaboration has the same vision to make work that is implementable and contributive, especially in the international arena,” he said.
Another FM UI student, Shakira Amirah, said she was very happy and grateful for the achievement. “I am very grateful to be given the opportunity to participate in AMSC 2022. Honestly, it is an honor and pleasure to have the opportunity to present the first winner in AMSC 2022: Seoul for FM UI, UI, and Indonesia,” she said. He said that this achievement was also a trigger to continue learning and developing himself in the field of writing. “During AMSC, I learned many new things, learned how various countries in the world develop their medical science, from quantitative studies to qualitative studies. I hope that in the future I can continue to learn and take many positive things from this competition,” she said.
This team of students conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the use of virtual reality (VR) in Parkinson’s disease telerehabilitation. “We conducted a quantitative and qualitative secondary review in the form of a systematic review and meta-analysis on the use of virtual reality in Parkinson’s disease telerehabilitation or gait and balance. This systematic review and meta-analysis is the first review conducted, there has never been a similar study that assesses the efficacy of using VR in telerehabilitation of parkinson’s disease,” Shakira explained.
The results of this study indicate that rehabilitative measures for Parkinson’s Disease using VR are an effective and complete intervention in supporting primary rehabilitation and improving balance, adherence, and quality of life.
Meanwhile, the Dean of FM UI Prof. Dr. dr. Ari Fahrial Syam, Sp.PD-KGEH, MMB said, “The achievement of Shakira, Josh, and their colleagues as first place winners in an international conference is a matter of pride for us. This shows that Indonesian medical students, especially FMUI students, are not less competitive compared to foreign medical students, but even superior. We hope that in the future FMUI students will be more active in participating in international competitions as an event to show the capacity of FMUI students. And, always make FMUI, UI, and Indonesia proud.”
